Let's be blunt: Studies on how to not let marijuana “toke” your breath away
Fatal car accidents, suicide, psychosis, memory issues lasting weeks, seizsures, sleep & relationship issues, anger, addiction, secondhand smoke cancer-causing chemicals
Updated May 23, 2025
Though I lost friends to weed and other addictions, you don’t have to. See studies below on how to protect yourself and others.
Fatal car crashes where a driver had THC in their blood went up after legalization
Also, cannabis makes people swerve while driving.
Surprise! Cannabis can make people more anxious over time
Secondhand marijuana smoke has many of the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke, can cause heart attack or stroke
Even if someone smokes in another room or out of a window or door, you will still breathe in harmful chemicals. Also, if you inhale cannabis while you’re pregnant, it can affect your baby’s brain and may lead to your baby being born earlier with a lower birth weight.
As for tobacco smoke, a study found that people who breathed in or touched a smoker's clothes ended up with 86 times higher levels of toxic compounds in their body. That thirdhand smoke can continue to pollute air from textiles (fashion, linens, furnishings, carpet) and drywall even years after cleaning them.
Cannabis may cause learning and memory issues for weeks after getting high
High levels of toxic heavy metals found in people that smoke or vape CBD or marijuana)
Lead and cadmium were found in people’s blood. There’s no safe level of lead. High levels of toxic heavy metals were also found in people that smoked tobacco.
Even cannabis that isn’t high-potency THC can cause painful breathing, cognitive and sleep issues
Marijuana smokers are more at risk for emphysema than cigarette smokers. Emphysema can cause constant painful breathing.
The impact of cannabis on cognitive impairment was greater than that of alcohol or tobacco use. Even mild cannabis users make riskier decisions than others and have more problems with planning.
Long-term cannabis users exhibited poorer learning in mid-life. People who knew them well described them as having memory and attention problems. These findings might post an eventual risk for dementia.
Heavy cannabis use among teens may boost risk of sleep problems later in life. Pregnant people may increase their kid’s risk of sleep problems.
You might not know which cannabis is riskier (has high-potency THC)
THC and CBD levels are often mislabeled on products.
Synthetic marijuana (colorless, odorless, hard to detect) can cause seizures, anxiety
High potency cannabis (10+% THC/serving) linked to schizophrenia, suicidal ideation, neurocognitive damage, mental health issues, addiction, vomiting, poor memory
If you like scary, true stories, click those links above.
A 2025 study showed “Patients with cannabis use disorder were 10 times as likely to die by suicide as those in the general population….Those numbers suggest that cannabis use disorder is about half as dangerous as opioid addiction and slightly less dangerous than alcohol use disorder…The rate of psychosis (without a diagnosis of schizophrenia) nearly doubled after legalization.”
No safe limit
When asked if one can do it once a month, Dr. Sharon Levy, the director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, said there’s no known safe limit.
Weed is a buzzkill for relationships
A study showed people who used marijuana:
Issued more criticism and demands
Avoided conflict
Were less able to discuss positive aspects of their relationship
Yet they didn't think they did those things.
Another study showed cannabis users believed that it improved their self-awareness, and, thus, enhanced their relationships. Family members felt otherwise.
Compassion meditations can help.
Early signs of psychosis
Spending much more time alone than usual
A lack of feelings or very strong, inappropriate emotions
A worrying decline in school grades or work performance
Difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly
Feeling suspicious or uneasy around others
A decline in personal hygiene or self-care
Withdrawal symptoms
Anger, irritability
Depression
Restlessness
Headache
Loss of appetite
Insomnia
Severe cravings for marijuana
Signs of addiction
According to the CDC, three in 10 people that use the drug have a cannabis addiction.
Signs of cannabis use disorder can include:
Needing more cannabis for the same effects
Ignoring any social or relationship problems caused by its use
Using the drug in high-risk situations, such as driving
Withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop use
Cannabis cravings
Being unable to quit or control the amount used
Spending a lot of time using the drug
Disengagement with work, school, or social activities
How to withdraw from weed
Gradually decrease the THC content of cannabis you use or how frequently you use it over several weeks.
Aerobic exercise, meditation, and psychotherapy might improve long-term cognition.
How to not let it “toke” your breath away
Try these surprising and mostly free tips.
Or try cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) helps improve the underlying neuropsychological functions affected by cannabis use, such as attention span, memory, information processing, decision-making and social cognition (crucial for social functioning and interpersonal relationships).
Other therapies include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): identify and change negative patterns of thought and behavior.
Contingency management: checking in frequently on the behavior that you’re working to change and receiving incentives or rewards for positive changes.
Motivational enhancement therapy: using your internal resources to engage in treatment and create positive changes.
Need weed? Ask me to investigate new, allegedly more sustainable cannabis brands and packaging.
I was voted most fun, trippy and sober by stoners worldwide, especially because I just shared this popular opinion.