[Pale Rider]

A recent study says.

http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20060523/pot-smoking-not-linked-to-lung-cancer

"May 23, 2006 -- People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study?s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

?We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,? researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA?s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. ?But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.? Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society?s 102ND International Conference, held in San Diego.Boomers Reaching Cancer Age

The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years.

?People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,? Tashkin says.

A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in.

All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status.

The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.

While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.

The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who did?t smoke at all."

What a smart government we have, where smoking something that can't cause lung cancer is illegal, but smoking something that can kill you, is addictive, and causes lung cancer is legal.

[its my life]

okay

[talon]

how is this a question? anyways smoking pot can cause lung cancer. Not as highly a risk as smoking cigarettes but you can still get lung cancer

[Neil]

INTERESTING! I have news for you: the only reason the government won't legalize marijuana is because they have no way of testing to see if you are currently under the influence if they pull you over! If marijuana use was legal, there would be no drug test they could use to see when you had used, so they come up with all these other BS reasons why it's so "horrible"

[irena_ladybug]

I would assume that marijuana does not have as many, if any, chemical additives that cigarettes have, and that is why there is a lower rate of lung cancer. As far as the legalization, I assume the government makes way too much money off the taxation of cigarettes to make them illegal, and if marijuana were legal nationally, the prices would drop dramatically. I don't think the government sees it as enough of a moneymaker to legalize it and get certain political groups in an uproar over it. It's not worth it too them, and it would probably be a huge hit to the pharmaceutical industry as well, who have their hands in who knows how many politicians pockets.

[Vee Good]

I think it's not really an issue of cancer at all...

We all know that the government makes huge $$$ on catching pot sellers and pot smokers. Think of all of the potheads on probation who slip up and smoke it, then they're back to paying huge fines, etc.

My second theory is that the government might truly have the interest of our population in their hearts, which I doubt, but anyways...I compare smoking pot with drinking alcohol. The effect is just about the same, in my opinion. The thing is, catching a drunk driver is a lot easier than catching a high driver. Theres not a breath analyzer test for pot smokers so it would be hard to control, unless the cop goes with smelling it on someone, but then still, what if you're at a party and people around you smoke it, it gets on your clothes, etc. If you can pass a sobriety test under the influence of pot its likely you can also pass one under the influence of alcohol which many people can,

Anyways, those are my 2 scenarios I think are the likely reason pot is not legal.

[Doktorr Hoo]

anything that does not belong there, can harm. don't believe everything that you've read sometimes they write things to promote something. then if it harms later, they redirect their reports to something else. they are just human being not god. so to protect yourself, don't just believe what you've read or hear. some people "feces" is a cure for some disease, will you eat it?

[mayaisdizzy]

Yeah, for some reason pot doesn't cause lung cancer. That's actually been known for a while now.

But seriously, while I agree it's seriously stupid that pot is illegal, the fact that it doesn't cause cancer doesn't make it harmless. I mean, smoking cogs can't cause demotivating, or schizophrenia, or damage your memory, while pot can.

[tell em like it is]

People who don't smoke pot think it's some far out wild drug and people who do smoke regularly know the Truth. Marijuana is not a debilitating drug in the same way alcohol is,marijuana is a safer alternative for responsible ADULTS " not teenagers in high school".? Obviously if you smoke pot all day every day that's not good for anyone and if worried about your lungs use a vaporizer or put it in food ! legalize it already, it's really a simple argument

[tom w/ shovel]

Your article is dated from 2006 . . . old data. Newer data does provide a link with cancer. You cannot continue to use old data to prove a point . . you need to use current data.

Marijuana Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615095940.htm

ScienceDaily (June 15, 2023) ? Using a highly sensitive new test, scientists in Europe are reporting "convincing evidence" that marijuana smoke damages the genetic material DNA in ways that could increase the risk of cancer.

he researchers add that the ability of cannabis smoke to damage DNA has significant human health implications especially as users tend to inhale more deeply than cigarette smokers, which increases respiratory burden. "The smoking of 3-4 cannabis cigarettes a day is associated with the same degree of damage to bronchial mucus membranes as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day," the team adds.

"In conclusion, these results provide evidence for the DNA damaging potential of cannabis [marijuana] smoke, implying that the consumption of cannabis cigarettes may be detrimental to human health with the possibility to initiate cancer development," the article states. "The data obtained from this study suggesting the DNA damaging potential of cannabis smoke highlight the need for stringent regulation of the consumption of cannabis cigarettes, thus limiting the development of adverse health effects such as cancer." - study was conducted by Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and Karolinska Institute, Sweden.