text: speaking personally, i'd love to be able to say that no - marijuana isn't bad for you (because that would make my life easier), but sadly it is.\n\nif you smoke it, it affects your lungs the same way tobacco does - by damaging the small sacs of your lungs that convert the air you breathe to oxygen carriable in your blood.  some doctors think it's worse because when you smoke pot, you tend to hold it in for longer, prolonging the effect of the drug but also causing more damage to your lungs.\n\nwhile you're stoned, your blood pressure drops.  i've fainted a couple of times from this.\n\nalso while you're stoned, your reaction time is slower because your brain takes longer to process information.  this is a direct result of the THC in your system.\n\nand if you smoke pot for a long time? like, years? there are cases of people who are already prone to mental illness having their problems caused/exacerbated by using marijuana.  schizophrenia, paranoid delusions, general paranoia, loss of motivation - these are all potential side effects of long term use.  i've known quite a few people who've been kind of destroyed just from pot.  \n\nand then of course, there's the old argument that using pot leads to using other drugs.  i'm not sure about this, but most people i know who smoke pot also try other stuff.  i mean, a lot of us probably tried it cause we were bored with alcohol, right??\n\nat the end of the day, most things in life are bad for you when you do them to excess.  moderation is the name of the game.  remember that and enjoy a toke or two in peace : )