Marijuana & Diving

As marijuana legalization increases throughout the United States, it is important to see how marijuana use could potentially impact a diver’s abilities.

Doctor handling marijuana buds

I’m Taking This Medication…Can I Dive?

Certain medications can impact your health and/or ability to dive. There are important considerations that need to be made before heading into the water.

Knocked over prescription pill bottle

Facial Baroparesis

DAN medics and researchers answer your questions about dive medicine.

Divers hold onto a line and make a safety stop

East of Flores

Indonesia boasts many exotic dive destinations but one region, Flores, has not gone completely mainstream. Learn more about diving the island of Flores in Indonesia.

A volcano blows smoke into the air. The volcano is part of an island in the ocean

A Unique Solution

In an effort to improve the facility’s diver rescue capabilities, Dutch Springs recently upgraded its rescue vessel to a custom-built pontoon boat with a platform for transporting an injured diver.

A small pontoon boat pulls up to a ramp. There is an injured diver on the boat

An Island to Ourselves: Curaçao

Curaçao is unlike other Caribbean dive destinations in that it is not crowded by tourists. A diver can find just about everything they need both above and below the water. Learn more about how to dive it.

Thirteen-Foot Dive

A young diver performed a shallow dive and later ascended very rapidly. Symptoms were severe but were not decompression sickness. Learn more about the incident.

Female diver next to tower of orange coral

Deep in the Science of Diving

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the U.S. Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit. With experimental set-ups that seem reminiscent of comic books, learn how this unit is changing dive medicine and research.

Two Navy divers performing tests

Shooter: Kurt Amsler

Kurt Amsler has been shooting underwater for nearly 60 starts — first using a converted soccer ball to house a camera. Learn more about his inspiration for photos and how he got into scuba diving.

A black-and-white photo of Kurt Amsler as he pops up out of the water holding an old camera

The Physiology of Compressed-Gas Diving

The breathing of compressed gas while submerged and exposed to increased ambient pressure imposes significant homeostatic challenges on the body. This article discusses the important mechanisms of these challenges, with particular attention to the respiratory system.

Man holds onto dive line