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Health experts do not believe recreational marijuana should be legal.

Smoking marijuana can damage lung tissues and cause respiratory problems; secondhand marijuana smoke is also dangerous. Research shows that smoking one marijuana joint is as damaging to the lungs as five tobacco cigarettes. Marijuana may contain five times as much carbon monoxide concentration and three times as much tar as tobacco. There is a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes in the hours immediately after smoking cannabis. And vaping is also dangerous and “likely leads to enhanced ingestion of toxic ammonia known to result in neurobehavioral impairment.” Ammonia ingested while vaping can result in lung irritation, nervous system effects, and asthma attacks. [114] [115] [116] [118] [119] [120] [134] [162] [164][114] [115] [116] [118] [119] [120] [134] [162] [164]

Some of the public health associations that oppose legalizing marijuana for recreational use include the American Medical Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. [94] [151] [152] [153] [154]

The American Medical Association “continues to oppose legalization of cannabis. Legalization of cannabis for adult use is associated with increased traffic fatalities, exposures reported to poison control (including infants and children), emergency department visits, and cannabis-related hospitalizations.” [275]

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