Emphysema is a type of lung disease that belongs to the category of chronic obstructive pulmonary conditions. It causes a deterioration of the lungs over time, and eventually leads to the patient’s death. Emphysema is most commonly caused by smoking of tobacco or tobacco-based products, and it has no known cure. In most cases, emphysema does not exhibit any symptoms until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Some of the most common symptoms of emphysema are recurring respiratory infection, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty, increased heart rate, loss of weight, and reduced bone density.
Because emphysema primarily affects the lungs, smoking marijuana is definitely out of the question. However, patients can still benefit from the relaxing and pain relieving effects of medical marijuana by brewing the leaves into a tea or cooking marijuana with food.
