You should wait a bit, it’s true about the studies. To be honest, I wouldn’t say a few times hurts much but it’s relatively easy to build a dependency though. Easy to go from every weekend, to every few days to always.

That being said, I second what people say about smoking and I also recommend using a good quality bong to make it easier on your throat. The smoothest hits I’ve ever taken have been with a home made gravity bong made out of a glass vodka bottle. Avoid plastic though, yuck. Don’t over do it if you use a bong. No need for like mega hits, you won’t need a lot anyways although some people don’t get high their first times.