What is Acne? Does Smoking Weed Cause Acne?

Weed is still a largely undiscovered plant. With many countries going the legalization route, people are discovering new and unknown things about marijuana.

One such unexplored and unanswered aspect is – does smoking weed cause acne? You either must have never thought of a relation between the two or never researched enough. Well, have you? Stress not, bear with us, and all your questions will be answered.

Acne is frustrating. There are absolutely no two ways about it. With all that zits and redness, not to mention the scars that it leaves, it is pretty evident that no one would want it even to start. However, the line seems a bit blurry when it comes to the relation between weed and acne.

First and foremost, it hasn’t yet been established that smoking weed bought from a Mail Order Marijuana site can cause acne. Neither is there any substantial proof to deduce that weed has extraordinary benefits on the skin? However, if you have acne-prone skin, excessive weed usage can definitely aggravate it.

The reasons can be numerous, but it is vital that you go through all these points. And then maybe the solution to your acne problem can lie in front of you.

What is Acne?

Going by a dictionary definition, acne is mostly an enlarged pore filled with sebum. The sebum results in the pores getting clogged. This is the main reason behind acne. Although plenty of sources quote that consumption of dairy products also aggravates acne, the main reason is genetics. As per neuroscientist Dr. Adie Rae, 

“Although there was once thought to be a link between acne and smoking tobacco, the evidence hasn’t supported this idea” (Source: weedmaps.com)

That being said, the causes of acne can be numerous – hormonal, PCOS, menstrual cycle irregularity, stress, dirt, pollution, and most importantly, an irregular sleeping cycle.

Now that you have a working knowledge about the reasons for acne appearance let us discuss if smoking weed can exacerbate existing skin conditions or not.

Is Smoking Weed Responsible for Acne Breakouts?

In a study published in the Dermatology journal, conducted in France in 2015, researchers deduced a direct relation between acne and weed smoking. However, the veracity of this research was under scrutiny and for all the right reasons.

The study was conducted on participants aged between 15 and 24. Therefore, the participants were adolescents, and we all know how rampant acne breakout is in teens.