Secondhand Smoke and Air Quality: Rethink Smoking Cannabis Inside

If you live with someone who does not use medical marijuana, they may have different concerns regarding secondhand marijuana smoke. People who share the same indoor areas with you are exposed to secondhand cannabis smoke on a daily basis.

Unless someone has a respiratory condition, such as asthma or emphysema, the smoke exposure may not bother them too much. However, what if your family member, partner, or roommate works in an industry where drug testing happens frequently?

People who are employed in medical fields, such as physicians, technicians, or nurses, must submit to workplace drug testing on a regular basis. Other types of jobs include law enforcement (police or border guards), transportation (trucking and airline), and state or federal roles also have randomized workplace drug testing.

If you live with someone who regularly uses cannabis, you may be concerned that secondhand smoke exposure could lead to a positive drug test. Which, in some cases, may result in job loss from employers with a zero-tolerance policy for medical or recreational use.

Let’s dig into the facts about secondhand smoke and whether you can test positive for THC on a drug test when you are frequently around people who smoke or vape cannabis.

Hot Boxing and Getting High From Secondhand Cannabis Smoke

Cannabis isn’t part of everyone’s college experience, but for a large number of people, that may have been the first time they tried marijuana. That may have been at a house party, while camping, or possibly inside a car with a group of friends.

What do you call smoking a lot of cannabis in an enclosed space, like a vehicle? Hotboxing. Even if you are not consuming marijuana, but you are sitting inside a small, poorly ventilated room or space, you can get high from secondhand cannabis smoke.

If you have ever experienced that situation, you can, in fact, get high from secondhand cannabis smoke. However. the level of psychoactive effects and physical impairment you experience will depend on a number of factors.

How high you get from secondhand cannabis smoke depends on:

• The volume of smoke exposure.
• Whether it is in a ventilated room or not.
• The potency of the smokable cannabis being used.
• Whether you have a full or empty stomach when exposed to secondhand smoke.

If you have not previously used cannabis, or very rarely smoke or take cannabis edibles, and you are in a room with a large volume of vapor, chances are you will feel the effects of secondhand cannabis smoke.

Alternative consumption methods, however, such as edibles or tinctures, would have no effects. Since many people are concerned about secondhand exposure or the possibility of a failed drug test, edibles may be the safest choice when you plan on being social.

What Are the Health Risks of Cannabis Smoke Exposure?

For decades, no one thought that secondhand smoke from tobacco products presented any health risks until it became apparent that secondhand cigarette smoke was almost as toxic to people as it was for regular tobacco users. The same thing holds true for cannabis vapor and smoke, which is why, in most states, indoor smoking (of any substance) is prohibited.

Here are some facts about the health effects of secondhand cannabis smoke from the American Non-Smokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF):

1. Secondhand Cannabis Smoke Causes Lung Irritation

Combustion of cannabis causes fine particulate particles to be inhaled deep into the lungs. This can increase lung inflammation and make people more susceptible to respiratory infections. It can also cause asthma attacks and complicate symptoms of bronchitis and COPD.

Physicians do not recommend smokable routes or intake methods for patients who have respiratory health risks. There are other types of medical cannabis products, such as edibles, tinctures, or capsules and tablets that help reduce the risk of lung damage.

2. Marijuana Smoke Has Higher Particulate Levels Than Tobacco

There are particulates in the air we breathe every day. The five common types of particulates are dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and moisture droplets. A poorly ventilated room will have a high volume of particulates, which indicates poor indoor air quality.

It is impossible to avoid the environmental particulates you encounter every day, but secondhand cannabis smoke contributes to poor air quality and problems for lung health. According to a study cited by ANRF, pre-rolled marijuana joints were “found to be 3.5 times the average emission rate of Marlboro tobacco cigarettes.”

Another example was a dispensary that permitted cannabis smoking indoors. The researchers found that the PM2.5 emissions measured 840µg/m3 over nine visits, which was well beyond the safety threshold for human health. The average indoor air quality of a space with no smoking is 12µg/m3.

The study reported that smoking a paper-rolled marijuana joint indoors can quickly accelerate the build-up of air particulates. That can have negative health consequences for anyone else living in the home, including pets and children.

3. Cannabis Smoke Can Contain Heavy Metals and Chemical Solvents

What about using electric vaporizers? There is a misconception that vaping cannabis is less harmful than smoking raw cannabis flower by traditional methods (bong or pipe). But it is important to know that when it comes to air quality and your health, vapes and cannabis flower particulates are equally harmful. One is not better than the other.

Cannabis purchased from licensed dispensaries can be trusted, as there are multiple steps to ensure the quality and safety of medical marijuana products. However, illicit substances purchased from another source may contain pesticides, fungus, mold, and heavy metals.

Heavy metals are linked to

• Anemia.
• Memory loss and brain damage.
• Respiratory problems.
• Kidney damage.
• Liver damage.
• Cancer.
• Reproductive harm (miscarriages and birth defects).

Samples of cannabis products and flower sold on the black market regularly test positive for heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead, hydrogen cyanide, chromium, and nickel in higher concentrations than tobacco products. When you breathe in secondhand cannabis smoke, you may be at risk of serious health problems.

4. Secondhand Marijuana Smoke Can Impair Blood Vessel Functioning

It is well-known that cannabis can increase your heart rate and sustain it for a period after consuming any type of THC. But secondhand marijuana smoke has also been found to impair the function of blood vessels in the human body.

Animal studies on rats reported that as little as thirty (30) minutes of exposure to marijuana smoke (secondhand) had greater and longer-lasting negative effects on blood vessels compared to tobacco smoke.

5. Poor Air Quality in Homes or Rooms Where Smokable Cannabis is Consumed

Back in 2009, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment added cannabis smoke to the list of carcinogens and reproductive toxins. That list is Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. They identified 33 different particulates in marijuana and tobacco smoke that are known carcinogens.

Not very many people smoke cigarettes anymore, thanks to successful public health education and research about the health hazards of tobacco. But how many people do you know that smoke cannabis indoors? Around family, friends, or pets?

The University of California at Berkeley studied fine particulate matter exposure with smokable cannabis. The study reported that smoking from a cannabis bong (water pipe) in the home generated 4x the PM2.5 concentrations compared to cigarette or tobacco hookah pipes.

It is important to understand that when it comes to lung health and air quality, tobacco and cannabis smoke are equally harmful to your health, which means choosing another route or intake method for medical cannabis that is healthier. Or, to protect the health of your household, smoke outside.

Could You Fail a Drug Test Because of Secondhand Smoke?

There are many studies that conflict when it comes to answering the question about secondhand cannabis smoke and whether it could produce positive drug test results. People who live with or frequently spend time around others who smoke cannabis can have small levels of THC present in saliva, hair follicles, and urine.

It is possible to fail a drug test if you use full-spectrum CBD regularly. Therefore, there is also a possibility that being around cannabis smoke (even if you do not partake) can lead to absorbing a small quantity of THC into your body, which may result in a positive drug test.