A new study by scientist in New Zealand claims that smoking one marijuana joint is as bad as smoking five cigarettes.

Smoking one cannabis joint is as harmful to a person’s lungs as having up to five cigarettes, according to research published on Tuesday.Those who smoked cannabis damaged both the lungs’ small fine airways, used for transporting oxygen, and the large airways, which blocked air flow, the researchers said.

The article further points out that the complications from smoking pot is not necessary cancer or emphysema, but rather a general breakdown of the lungs.

The study found only those who smoked tobacco suffered from the crippling lung disease emphysema, but cannabis use stopped the lungs working properly.

“The extent of this damage was directly related to the number of joints smoked, with higher consumption linked to greater incapacity,” said the authors of the report published in the medical journal Thorax.

Last week, British researchers released a study claiming that individuals who smoked marijuana were up to 40 percent more likely to develop a psychotic illness. Psychotic illnesses include schizophrenia and disorders with such symptoms as hallucinations or delusions.

They found that people who had used marijuana were 41 percent more likely to have a psychosis compared with people who had never used the drug. They also found that the risk increased as the amount of marijuana used and the length of time someone used the drug increased.

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