No Link Between Pot Smoking, Cancer

[norml]

Health
No Link Between Pot Smoking, Cancer
-- Robert Preidt


WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Even though they're chemically similar, marijuana smoke is less likely than tobacco smoke to cause cancer, according to one expert review of the literature.

The review, by Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, noted that tobacco and marijuana smoke differ in a number of ways, particularly in the fact that marijuana smoke contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) , while tobacco smoke contains nicotine. Nicotine increases the cancer-promoting effects of smoke, while THC reduces those effects, he explained.

And even though THC and nicotine act on related cellular pathways, they bind to different receptors to activate these pathways, the review found. Cells in the lungs and respiratory passages are lined with nicotine receptors but these cells don't appear to have THC receptors. This may explain why smoking marijuana has so far not been linked with lung cancer, a major cause of death from cigarette smoking.

Research has also shown that marijuana kills cancer cells and reduces tumor growth. This is, in part, because marijuana reduces the formation of blood vessels that nourish tumors.

However, the review warned that the effects of marijuana are complex and sometimes contradictory. It also noted that many people use marijuana and tobacco together, and the two drugs may interact in complex ways.


snip


http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/200...

[henslee]

1. And it makes you smarter according to some other recently posted article.

wow.

[norml]

3. Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain

Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain
22:00 13 October 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Kurt Kleiner


A synthetic chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana makes new cells grow in rat brains. What is more, in rats this cell growth appears to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. The results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be good for the brain.

In mammals, new nerve cells are constantly being produced in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory, anxiety and depression. Other recreational drugs, such as alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress this new growth. Xia Zhang of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and colleagues decided to see what effects a synthetic cannabinoid called HU210 had on rats' brains.

They found that giving rats high doses of HU210 twice a day for 10 days increased the rate of nerve cell formation, or neurogenesis, in the hippocampus by about 40%.

Just like Prozac?
A previous study showed that the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) also increases new cell growth, and the results indicated that it was this cell growth that caused Prozac’s anti-anxiety effect. Zhang wondered whether this was also the case for the cannabinoid, and so he tested the rats for behavioural changes.


snip


http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8155

[grateful581]

24. Legalize it !

we need to combat meth, oxy cotton, and Heroin use in the united states. Marijuana is not a big deal.

[fujiyama]

57. It didn't necessarily say 'smarter'

It just MAY create cell growth. Also, I certainly understand that it reduces anxiety and stress.

But I'm not completely convinced regarding the memory retention. I have not been all that impressed with the memory of some of the pot heads I met. I'm still finding it especially difficult to believe that short term memory is helped by marijuana use. This isn't to say that all regular smokers are effected this way, but I wouldn't start smoking with the hope that it will make you 'smarter'.

I'm not saying I have a problem with the drug. I think it should be legalized, taxed, and regulated like alcohol or any other drug. It's less toxic in its effects than alcohol and less addictive than nicotine. But some on this board are acting as though excessive marijuana use is beneficial. THere is a limit to everything.

[txaslftist]

59. As a former state public defender I can attest...

...pot does NOT make one smarter.

I've encountered very few heavy pot users who were living what I would call a productive life. That may be just because pot is so expensive or it may be because my exposure to them was limited to the legal field.

That said, my libertarian streak tells me pot should be legal and taxed. It is way less destructive than alcohol. It was originally criminalized because it was the "drug of dirty Mexicans", not because of any legitimate health or safety concerns.

Jailing pot smugglers and potheads is a waste of correctional space that we are going to need for Republicans.

[marmar]

2. No surprise there...

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

[norml]

9. Here's a link to a DU poll on drug de-criminalization.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Name removed]

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[Rex]

7. LOL

How bout cocain use? What does George Bush make? FWIW, I'd take poor over lung cancer any day.

[leftupnorth]

8. yep, that's right

POT makes people losers.

I know dozens of people who smoke and are VERY successful businesspeople and blue collar carpenters, laborers, farmers, etc. who qualifies as a loser?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. Carl Sagan might have disagreed. He used it , liked it, wrote about it.

Quick link. MKJ


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan

Carl Sagan was an avid user of marijuana, although he never publicly admitted it during his life<4>. Under the pseudonym "Mr. X," he wrote an essay concerning cannabis smoking in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered, whose editor was Lester Grinspoon. In the essay, Sagan commented that marijuana encouraged some of his works and enhanced experiences. After Sagan's death, Grinspoon disclosed this to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson<5>. When the biography, entitled Carl Sagan: A Life, was published in 1999, the marijuana exposure stirred some media attention<6>.

[Name removed]

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[BleedingHeartPatriot]

22. Cool, I'm an outlier. I got an advanced degree and smoked the whole time.

Sometimes it's the person, not the drug. MKJ

[Name removed]

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[BleedingHeartPatriot]

28. I"m 50 y/o and just under 10 min. n/t

MKJ

edited to add: occasional use seems to enhance rather than diminish my endurance.

MKJ

[Name removed]

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[BleedingHeartPatriot]

33. Just the truth, I generally prefer 5K runs. Insults are not kosher here.

MKJ

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[BleedingHeartPatriot]

47. Self delete...looks foolish when the previous posts are gone.

MKJ

[Name removed]

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[walldude]

12. Well for every one of your

friends who are losers I can name a dozen long time pot smokers who aren't. Your comment is bullshit, it's a poor generalization that attests more to the character of the people you are talking about than their smoking habits.

[Name removed]

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[Synnical]

14. Right, your anecdotal evidence is much more conclusive than

an apparent scientific study. I won't mention the number of people I know who still smoke pot every day and are doing quite well both financially and mentally.

[Name removed]

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[arcos]

39. what does running the mile have to do with being a loser? nt

[Synnical]

44. Bait and Switch - not going to play that game

You wrote, "most of them are pretty big losers now. IMHO, studies linking income to marijuana usage should be more prominent,"

My comments were anecdotal, as were yours.

[LittleClarkie]

19. I have a different perspective. Study or no study

I have trouble believing that holding smoke in your lungs til you about ready to burst doesn't do something adverse to your breathing tubes.

Not to mention there aren't any filters on those things. Imagine the crapola that gets deposited. Surely people aren't suggesting that pot leaves your lungs pristine.

[Tsiyu]

54. Actually, that's just what people with asthma, as one example, do

Of course, they are inhaling a nebulized solution (and there are nebulizers for MJ administration as well), but they inhale a "fine mist" of normal saline and bronchodilator. Even though it makes them cough and makes their hearts race, breathing is improved from inhaling the "mist."

Cannibus is also a "bronchodilator." FWIW

[LittleClarkie]

55. Uh huh

I've never seen anyone "smoke" their inhaler. That's smoke your average cannabis smoker is inhaling. And while pot can be used as a medicine, it's not used for lung ailments.

Smoke inhalation can't be good. I don't care how fond you are of the smoke.

[NorthernSpy]

58. are you kidding? not only do I try to hold my meds in my lungs...

... for as long as possible, I also exhale slowly through pursed lips after using a metered dose inhaler or nebulizer. This is a trick that builds the pressure and forces all the little air passages to open as wide as possible. The point is to distribute the medication throughout my lungs, and to help it reach areas that were swollen shut.

In fact, pulmonary disease patients whose lung function is seriously decreased often use a device called a PEP valve to achieve this affect. "PEP" stands for "positive expiratory pressure". It's really not a bad thing.


FWIW...

[LittleClarkie]

70. But you don't smoke your meds, do you?

I'm talking about holding in pot smoke.

The only way I can see that pot smoke is better than tobacco is that you don't chain smoke joints. God knows that would get expensive.

[bicentennial_baby]

23. bwahahaha

Quick, tell me another one!

[yella_dawg]

41. I have quite a few friends who smoke pot

who are successful members of the community, including business owners and a NASA scientist.

Maybe you shouldn't hang with such losers.

[Redstone]

46. Well, you may not be too popular for saying that, but you're right.

I guarantee that the #2 cause of living in Mom's basement at the age of 27 is smoking a lot of pot.

(The #1 cause is being a right-wing wanker loser.)

Redstone

[mzmolly]

5. It has been linked to cancer in studies.

One study here for example:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/141891.stm

People will believe what they wish though.

[onehandle]

18. What? Taking foreign material into your lungs can cause cancer?

Burning fumes of most anything can cause damage.

Anyone remember coughing at anytime when there is smoke in the air, much less being directed straight into your lungs.

There's a reason. Your body is warning you.

[mzmolly]

27. I've personally known 3 heavy pot smokers who died of lung cancer.

I agree, coughing is a warning, and nothing can make you cough like a joint. I'm coughing just thinking about it.

[mikelgb]

62. strictly pot or paired with cigs? n/t

[mzmolly]

63. One strictly pot, 2 paired with cigs.

They both require one to inhale smoke - not good IMHO.

[shanti]

66. were they cigarette smokers too?

many are.

[Angry Girl]

6. If you follow the article's link to the Am. Acad. of Family Physicians

THERE it says:

Like tobacco, marijuana contains many chemicals that can hurt the lungs and cause cancer.

The propaganda is so thick on this poor herb....

[leftupnorth]

11. you said it

the facts are laid out in The Emporer Wears no Clothes by Jack Herer.

ever read it?

[MarsThe Cat]

13. nicotine is a vascular constrictor, pot is a bronchial dilator-

smoking pot can actually make it easier for a person to breathe.
it used to be prescribed to asthmatics.

[SpiralHawk]

16. I know it can give enormous aid and comfort to cancer patients

My wife never liked pot. She liked to keep her mind razor sharp. But when she contracted cancer and began chemo and radiation, some friends brought her some to try medicinally. It eased her pain and discomfort wonderfully, and calmed the nausea she expeienced from the chemo.

No matter what any one or any study ever says, I have witnessed the beneficial effects pot can have for someone who is desperately ill. I trust my own experience, and give thanks the plant was there to ease my wife's suffering.

[MarsThe Cat]

29. not just cancer patients.

i have chronic pain, and difficulty breathing(among other things) due to an arthritic condition caused by an out-of-whack immune system...pot is one aspect of my regimen.

i'm sorry about your wife, and that we have a society that demonizes something that could help so many- who knows what else the hemp plant might have to offer medically/medicinally..? not us- nobody can/will do the research.

nixon had the facts, at taxpayer expense, and threw them in the trash because they didn't meld with his personal view...evil...pure evil.

[catabryna]

65. Your wife's situation is very simlar to my husband's

before he passed away from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He had smoked some in college, but not really as an adult. It really did make it easier for him to keep food down; in fact, it was to the point that he lost very little weight during 2 years of treatments.

As for myself, there's nothing like a doob to alleviate the cramps associated with PMS and menstruation!

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

31. The broncho dilator effects of pot are exactly those which have been

identified in reducing the effects of glaucoma. MKJ

[MarsThe Cat]

43. my own condition makes breathing difficult-

my spine and ribs are gradually fusing, and my ribs won't move to allow my chest to expand when taking breaths-
and then there's the chronic pain that goes along with it...

pot keeps me sane.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

45. MarsThe Cat, you are a brave person and just know there are many of us

in medicine who recognize the many benefits of marijuana in managing chronic pain and/or nausea.

One day, the stigma will be lifted. Until then, I'm glad to here that you have found some relief with it. MKJ

[Name removed]

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[BleedingHeartPatriot]

37. Sigh, OK, here is the clinical evidence. Wow, you really hate pot.

Acute effects of smoked marijuana and oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on specific airway conductance in asthmatic subjects


American Review of Respiratory Disease, Volume 109, 1974, p. 420-428

By Donald P. Tashkin, Bertrand J. Shapiro, and Ira M. Frank


SUMMARY: The acute effects of smoked 2 per cent natural marijuana (7 mg per kg) and 15 mg of oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on plethysmographically determined airway resistance (Raw) and specific airway conductance (SGaw) were compared with those of placebo in 10 subjects with stable bronchial asthma using a double-blind crossover technique. After smoked marijuana, SGaw increased immediately and remained significantly elevated (33 to 48 per cent above initial control values) for at least 2 hours, whereas Sgaw did not change after placebo. The peak bronchodilator effect of 1,250 mcg of isoproterenol was more pronounced than that of marijuana, but the effect of marijuana lasted longer.

After ingestion of 15 mg of THC, SGaw was elevated significantly at 1 and 2 hours, and Raw was reduced significantly at 1 to 4 hours, whereas no changes were noted after placebo. These findings indicated that in the asthmatic subjects, both smoked marijuana and oral THC caused significant bronchodilation of at least 2 hours' duration.

http://www.thecompassionclub.org/library/asthma.html

Somehow, I think anything of scientific validity is wasted on you. MKJ

[cwydro]

26. I totally believe this

but have always been afraid of what might be added during the growing process..pesticides, insecticides etc...that is what has kept me law abiding since college

[gulfcoastliberal]

40. IGNORE ANY MJ RESEARCH BY GABRIEL NAHAS! THC: Best sleep medicine!

He is a paid shill of the NDCP and his "research" is bullshit and full of lies. My dad, a very respected medical sleep researcher, did human studies of the effects of marijuana on sleep. It is the only substance in the world that actually increases "deep" aka "stage 4, delta-cycle" sleep. REM sleep, commonly believed as the best sleep, is actually a very light stage of sleep and not as important as stage 4 - you dream in every stage of sleep, not just REM. THC: the only substance that increases deep sleep. Period.

Here's one citation:

THC does not differ from conventional hypnotics in reducing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (136). THC in doses ranging from 61 to 258 *g/kg produces in normal subjects increments in stage 4 sleep and decrements in REM sleep, but without the characteristic REM rebound which follows chronic treatment with hypnotics. When THC was administered p.o. as a solution in doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg, our subjects fell asleep faster after having mood alterations consistent with a "high." Some degree of "hangover" the day following was noted from larger doses (42). Another sleep laboratory study showed that a dose of 20 mg of THC given p.o. decreased REM sleep. After four to six nights of use, abrupt discontinuation of THC produced mild insomnia but not marked REM rebound (52). REM rebound may not be apparent after low doses of THC. However, very high doses (70 to 210 mg) reduced REM sleep during treatment and were followed by marked REM rebound after withdrawal (48).

Feinberg, I., R. Jones, J. Walker, C. Caveness and E. Floyd. 1976. Effects of marijuana extract and tetrahydrocannabinol on electroencephalographic sleep patterns.
Clin Pharmacol Ther 19 82-794.

[ismnotwasm]

42. You know what?

I smoked pot for a long time, and a lot of it. I was around a lot of people who did. I agree that it should be legal. I agree that most government sponsored studies are presented to put marijuana in the worst possible light.
That being said, It is NOT harmless for everyone. I've met people who get very paranoid on pot. They don't smoke. I know people who seem to do very little else. They probably shouldn't smoke. I don't smoke cigarettes. I had a chronic bronchial condition that persisted until I quit smoking pot. I've seen people drive while baked at stop a third of a street down thinking they were at the stop sign. There are a host in chemicals in marijuana, and as I'm fond of saying drugs do what they do. I've been around enough pot smokers that develop chronic coughs. (The only way to tell if pot is the culprit is if they don't smoke or imbibe in anything else.) Big ol' morning pot luggies. So it's not ok for one and all.

I do have some interesting news from a Multiple Sclerosis magazine we get at my house. It seems that Canada has tested and approved Sativex to treat MS pain. Initial studies show that it's "both beneficial and well tolerated" Studies showed "Sativex significantly reduced pain and pain-related sleep disturbance"
"In the US this drug has not been tested approved. Because it contains THC and is considered to be a Schedule 1 controlled substance, U.S. officials have stated that it would be legal to bring Sativex in the U.S."
This drug comes in a form of a friggin' mouth spray. Now if that doesn't illustrate how insane our government is when it comes to marijuana regulation, I don't know what does.
I say legalize it now. Lets get this drug studied and to suffering folks who can benefits from it.
And for you recreational smokers- I do understand your frustration with all this but any drug has the potential to be harmful. I don't buy the "good for the brain" and "good for the lungs" line. Not in the way the people I knew used. Maybe, like red wine, it's about moderation?

[the_real_38]

48. on the mile + kind question

... I smoke weed regularly - run the mile in about 7 and a half minutes (I still weigh about 200 lbs. at 6-feet, from the years of lifting weights) . I'm 41. If I want to toke up when I get home, that's nobody's business but mine.

[tabasco]

49. Lots of great medical news lately !

2 big breakthroughs with cancer and pot is good for you (I already knew that) !

[skids]

50. Hrm. He missed the Polonium 210 vector.

http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Drugs/THC/Health/cancer.ht...

[niallmac]

51. I wonder if there is a connection in the past between the spraying of

paraquat and the decline of pizza sales in the U.S.? ...Masters Thesis here I come!!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

52. Nicotine increases the cancer-promoting effects of smoke, while THC...

"Nicotine increases the cancer-promoting effects of smoke, while THC reduces those effects"

Does that mean if I smoke cigs, and pot, they cancel each other out?

[sepia_steel]

53. LEGALIZE IT

if for nothing else than to see the use of worse drugs go down and to stop the gov't from wasting money on a war against a substance that is pretty good for most people. and this is coming from someone who doesn't much care for it and hasn't smoked it in a decade.

[Warren DeMontague]

56. Yeah, and frequent masturbation in men during their teens and twenties can

significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Unfortunately, if it makes you laugh, feel good, question authority, think or just relax... and you don't have to buy it from a corporation, they would greatly prefer you not do it.

If they could criminalize spankin' the monkey, they would.

[txaslftist]

60. You mean masturbation is legal???

Shit, all this time I've been ...

nevermind.

[nookiemonster]

71. Well that's one form of cancer I won't have to worry about!

LOL

[Neil Lisst]

61. I can't speak to the weed, but cigarettes ...

... cigarettes have chemicals and glue that one inhales, and that shit can't be good for you, or me, I should say. But it's addictive, and sometimes a cigarette is to die for.


nasty

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst /

for all you cigarette smokers, you may have missed my only smoking cartoon, here:
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst/neillisst/seri...

[ultraist]

64. Lung cancer is caused not by just the tobacco but all of the chemicals

There are loads of nasty chemicals in cigarettes, which are big contributors to lung cancer. So, if you are going to smoke, smoke organically grown, whether it be tobacco or pot.

I don't smoke either for health reasons but I support legalizing pot. What a waste of our tax dollars to hunt down, prosecute and jail pot smokers.

[Kazak]

67. Freedom is NORML!!!

[StefanX]

68. So this means our govt is ENCOURAGING us to get cancer

They make tobacco legal, and criminalize pot.

So the GOVERNMENT is helping us to get cancer.

Thanks a lot, Govt. And FUCK YOU.

(takes a big toke)

[Zhade]

69. DUH!

Kick for the beneficial plant!