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THC an immune enhancer?

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I quit all alterants over a month ago now, including pot. After a bad LSD trip I really wanted to let my body have a long break from having these outside chemistries introduced. My plan is to go for at least two more months. So far I feel a lot more grounded, and have a mental clarity that I have to get used to having again. There is no brain fog anymore.

One thing I've noticed about the absence of pot is that my lungs feel incredibly bare. I know that's a strange way of putting it but, they feel really raw and exposed. Every breath I take, is felt more deeply, but also more sensitively. My sense of smell is off the scale and if someone nearby me is wearing perfume or cologne it really bothers me way more than before, even triggering headaches.

But the biggest thing is that I have had respiratory infections non-stop, when normally I don't really get hit so hard. Smoking pot regularly makes any common cold I get have more profuse phlegm, but the duration and seriousness is not anywhere as bad it has been without the pot. My allergies this season have been off the scale and I don't normally have them this bad. I just had a sinus and bronchial infection and that's also something I haven't had in many years. All of this has happened after quitting pot.

I've tried doing research on THC and immuno-protection but the info out there is so inconsistent due to biased studies. I feel like the THC-laced tar that used to coat my lungs was protecting me somehow, because now that it's gone my respiratory system feels vulnerable and way more sensitive than ever before. It has also revealed that maybe my own native immune system is not as strong as it could be.

Does anyone else have any experience with this, either first-hand or in their own research? I'd appreciate it!
 
Pretty sure pot does the opposite to what your describing. The reason you didn't feel as shitty before is because you were high all the damn time.

Conclusion - smoking pot will not help your immune system, you'll just be too high to notice minor colds and whatnot.
 
^ lol... I would notice if I was sick. I wasn't high every second of the day.

A more scientific response would be nice.
 
Pretty sure pot does the opposite to what your describing. The reason you didn't feel as shitty before is because you were high all the damn time.

Conclusion - smoking pot will not help your immune system, you'll just be too high to notice minor colds and whatnot.

Yup. I'm pretty sure it actually weakens your immune system and if you decide to smoke pot when you're sick and recovering, all it does it prolong the process. Usually when I smoke when I'm sick it honestly makes me feel better for awhile, but when it starts to fade away I feel worse than before... but that doesn't stop me ;p.
 
If you're concerned about your lungs/respiratory system I'd get a vaporizer, eat edibles if you can, or smoke infrequently.
 
^ lol... I would notice if I was sick. I wasn't high every second of the day.

A more scientific response would be nice.

How about - Smoking weed is known to suppress the immune system, the reason you can't find an "unbiased" study saying otherwise is because it straight up isn't true?
 
How about - Smoking weed is known to suppress the immune system, the reason you can't find an "unbiased" study saying otherwise is because it straight up isn't true?

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_myth5.shtml

The immune suppression idea is a myth. What I want to know is if the effect is neutral or enhancing. Sorry that you drank the pharmaceutical industry koolaid but I'm not interested in your opinions. Now stop hijacking this thread and let the adults speak.

To others: I know that smoking WHILE being sick is not a good idea because it would hinder the respiratory system's expectoration ability. I'm more curious to know if there's evidence that it offers immuno-protection as PREVENTION, i.e. preventing microbes from proliferating at all.
 
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_myth5.shtml

The immune suppression idea is a myth. What I want to know is if the effect is neutral or enhancing. Sorry that you drank the pharmaceutical industry koolaid but I'm not interested in your opinions. Now stop hijacking this thread and let the adults speak.

To others: I know that smoking WHILE being sick is not a good idea because it would hinder the respiratory system's expectoration ability. I'm more curious to know if there's evidence that it offers immuno-protection as PREVENTION, i.e. preventing microbes from proliferating at all.

I found a study i while ago about certain cannabinoids acting as antibiotics, let me search..
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5787866&page=1 lame source but i'm sure someone will link a better article
 
Well, I'm a firm believer smoking anything isn't beneficial to your system...but who says you have to smoke it.
 
I always got sick more often when I used to blaze super heavily. Even if it doesn't directly decrease immune system function, it certainly decreases the amount of REM sleep you get, leading to a indirectly lower immune system the next day.

And smoking cannabis, or anything for that matter, definitely damaged my lungs, gave me bronchitis when I would smoke with the common cold, and reduced my sense of smell. I've never spit out so much mucus as during my break, it's been a month and I'm still spitting it out, lol.

Makes me realize how significant of a source of cancer the "smoking" part of "smoking weed" is, and how much it contributes to cancer in non-tobacco users. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life, yet my lungs and bronchial tree were damaged to the point of wheezing while laying down.
 
smoking anything is not going to be positive for you. period. smoke is smoke is smoke. it may have factors that can help protect against factor X and at the same time speed up factor Y or exaggerate factor Z.
 
sounds to me somthing similar to when someone gives up smoking tobacco. when iv previouslly given up i would get worse colds etc. think it has somthing to do with the cilia in your lungs pusing up all the mucus and toxins that have built up in your lungs.
 
Having been a chronic smoker for 6-7 years getting sick was a rare occurrence for me. I got sick at most twice a year...then I quit shortly before the new year. Since then I've been sick thrice. So...I started smoking again :)
 
I found that I get sick far less often when I smoke pot as well. That doesn't mean it's healthy to smoke things. It could be a coincidence. It could be my specific system responding well to the cannibinoids.
 
Maybe other forms of ingestion can enhance immunity but smoking I doubt does .

Smoking weed creates carcinogens which can only weaken the immune system

That's my opinion
 
I don't smoke tobacco and I've only been smoking/vaping cannabis for 2 years with the first 1.5 being daily. Prior to smoking weed I would get colds 1-2 times a year and they would be really bad and last over a week. Since using weed I had two colds last winter and they lasted only last a couple days. I have not had a cold at all this (2012) winter. Probably a coincidence but you never know.
 
Conclusion - smoking pot will not help your immune system, you'll just be too high to notice minor colds and whatnot.

Welll this would benefit a person with an overly-tuned, aggressive immune system a lot. My colds really used to suck but i cant figure it out really, but they mainly changed ever since i did mdma. A cold used to be an absolute write-off for me.
 
I've smoked (not vaped or eaten) weed every day for 15 years...I get sick once or less per year. I also eat well, exercise, and avoid pharmaceuticals, though. Weed certainly has no ill effects on my personal health that I can see. In fact, it may be beneficial. Sorry for the lack of hard evidence, but that is my personal testimony FWIW.
 
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