Marijuana plants flourish under grow lights at a warehouse in Denver. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Smoking the occasional marijuana cigarette does not  seem to have detrimental effects on your lungs, according to new research.

In fact, University of Alabama-Birmingham researcher Dr. Stefan Kertesz said his research showed pot smokers were actually better off.  The two-decade long study of more than 5,000 young adults showed the participants that smoked pot had healthier lungs compared to those who did not smoke marijuana.

Kertesz said the people involved in the study were not avid marijuana users, so the data did not show substantial harm to lung function. Kertesz speculated even regular pot-smokers would have less damage than tobacco smokers.

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