Study links Marijuana use with Cancer

[TWiley]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Marijuana use may increase the risk of developing testicular cancer, in particular a more aggressive form of the disease, according to a U.S. study published on Monday.

The study of 369 Seattle-area men ages 18 to 44 with testicular cancer and 979 men in the same age bracket without the disease found that current marijuana users were 70 percent more likely to develop it compared to nonusers.

The risk appeared to be highest among men who had reported smoking marijuana for at least 10 years, used it more than once a week or started using it before age 18, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer.

Full Story Here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090209/hl_nm/us_cancer_marijuana

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Whereas studies like this one; even if it's disproven later- ESPECIALLY if it's disproven later--

Will continue to give would-be drug warriors hardons for years to come. Already, they're revamping all their stupid anti-pot ad campaigns.

SMOKE A JOINT-LOSE YOUR NUTS!!!

[TWiley]

2. Is it possible the study is actually true?

I mean, not every scientist and doctor out there is an anti-pot lunatic.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. pot seems to prevent lung cancer

pot DOES help cancer patients with chemo, pain, appetite.
pot DOES help people with glaucoma.

I give the original post about as much cred as anything the Discovery institute posts about evolution.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. A few points.

A) Correlation is not causation.

B) Yes, it is possible the study is actually true.

C) Given that the results of industry funded versus independent studies on things like Bisphenol-A, etc. tend to have a stastically significant likelihood of favoring the viewpoint of the funder of said study, first thing I would like to know is who paid for this thing.

D) Leaving aside the validity of the results, do you think this particular study will get less press, more press, or the same amount of press as studies which have shown THC to actually have antitumor properties? Or, hell, how about studies which have shown masturbation to reduce prostate cancer risk?

I'm betting "more". If I'm right, why would you suppose that is?

[rcrush]

9. There was just an article recently saying masterbation CAUSES cancer!

I think everything can cause cancer and nothing causes cancer. The most likely of scenarios is that the government targets people at random or people of interest and somehow infects them with a form of cancer.

This is what I have determined from reading Yahoo News headlines.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. And I'll bet you 10 to 1 that one had some church or otherwise religious funding behind it.

Apparently, the media wall of silence on "masturbation cuts prostate cancer risk" wasn't working, so the ChurchState PTB got out there and said "Fuck! Quick! Someone do a study that says it's BAD for you!" :scared:

Seriously. I call bullshit on that one (several peer reviewed studies have confirmed the original anti-prostate cancer results; the "causes" study is an outlier with questionable methodology as I understand it) ... and while I don't have any more information than is available in the article, this Seattle Pot study smells funny to me too.

[rcrush]

13. Did you hear that rap music can cause diabetes?

I heard that in a study of some guys with diabetes some of them listen to rap and like it.

[lame54]

17. they have to do many many many studies...

before drawing a conclusion

[grannie4peace]

14. most of the men i know are pot smokers & don't have any cancers

so, i'm not so sure this is a valid study!

[ecstatic]

47. maybe men won't lose their nuts, but it sure does cause impotency

:o

[Warren DeMontague]

51. Maybe you've just been hanging around with the wrong potheads.

I NEVER found that to be a problem, and believe you me, I used to smoke shitloads of it.

Now, a fifth or two of scotch, that's a different story...

[ecstatic]

52. LOL! nt

[RJ Connors]

4. Wow!!! What a surpise. I'll have to put this in my collection

of all the others that have appeared over the last 30 years and then never heard of again.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. god damn the article.

What a crock of shit.
We don't know what causes cancer. But people who use it may have more cancer.
EXCEPT, they did not factor in (or out) other lifestyle issues, genetic issues (family history of testicular or other cancers) nor the lifestyles of those who were cancer free.

Give me any statistic about Iraq, and I can "Prove" that Bush was a great man.

[TWiley]

20. God Damn the Pusher Man ...... Remember that song?

Stepenwolf

[rcrush]

7. Nice headline Yahoo.

When the article mentions that they arent even sure if marijuana has anything to do with it. This isnt the first time I've seen a freaking alarming headline on yahoo. If pot caused cancer then I am in trouble. I'll just smoke some more to forget about it.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. You should just pray.

Pray, stay indoors, and wait for instructions.

Turn on your tv, so you'll know what you need to buy.

[MindPilot]

34. Good point. I wonder how many of those men prayed?

More than once? Before age 18? Over a 10 or more year period?

Obviously prayer is a contributing factor.

[hobbit709]

11. I personally know only one person who had testicular cancer.

He never smoked.
I know thousands of people who smoke pot-NONE of them had it.

[hootinholler]

42. I've only know one also...

Also a non smoker. He did however sit for 10+ hours a day with a keyboard on his lap, and this was back in the day when keyboards were something not the squishy things we type on today.

RIP Jim,
-Hoot

[Grinchie]

12. How come no news about recent confirmed GMO effects causing sterility?

I'm always amazed that as soon as there is a hint of possibly removing the Nixonian clamps on Cannabis, the media rolls out another, "What If" question to frighten people.

Yet, you will never see the horrible side effects of Aspartame, GMO Corn which is present in nearly all processed foods and animals feeds, and have never been tested as heavily as Cananabis, yet is fed to Young and Old alike because "It looks like Corn, so it must be"

I believe nothing the media has to say anymore.

[elocs]

15. That was here last night:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5011772

[cbc5g]

16. It's allll bullshit folks...

It's all bullshit and it's bad for ya.

Keep toking.

[specialed]

18. Whew...just checked...nuts are still intact....

Fire up the bong!

[carlyhippy]

19. The study was probably bankrolled by the "war on drugs" promoters

Carly

[wildbilln864]

21. Marijuana Studies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oPaSnjHawo
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=218x3301
:hi:

[wildbilln864]

22. Marijuana stops cancer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n31Nuj_AvTg :banghead:

[TexasObserver]

23. Who is funding the study?

And what are the links between those running the study and those who have an agenda to vilify the plant's usage?

[wildbilln864]

24. an excellent question! nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. Funding:

National Institute of Health, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, National Institute of Drug Abuse.

[TWiley]

27. Are any of those questionable organizations?

I mean, can they be trusted to simply report the facts?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. The NIH and FHCRC are highly reputable.

The NIDA is somewhat suspect. However, they are an arm of the NIH, and would be expected to be involved in the funding of research on drugs.

However, this is neither here nor there.

The article is published in the journal Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal, and I'm sure the science is valid.

That said, the results of the study are inconclusive, and the only thing to object to is people who abuse this study as proof that marijuana causes testicle cancer.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. My point earlier in the thread was that whether or not the results are validated

I'll bet you anything we'll be "treated" to millions of dollars worth of taxpayer funded scare ads aimed at High School Boys, telling them that smoking a joint will immediately cause their nuts to fall off.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. They just make up shit anyway.

[Blue_In_AK]

26. I'm glad I'm a woman.

:smoke:

[Incitatus]

31. Well, it's a good thing I only smoke a couple times a month. lol

But seriously, I wonder what a study would say about people who drank or ate Big Macs more than once a week compared to those who didn't.

You can manipulate statistics to make then say whatever you want. There are usually more contributing factors in studies like this that are not taken into consideration.

[ShortnFiery]

32. One Study, One Geographical Area, Small Sample Size, NO CONTROLS for other contributing variables.

Oh yeah, let's generalize? :eyes:

[MindPilot]

35. The first thing I thought when I read "369 Seattle-area men ages 18 to 44 "

is "how many of them work at Boeing?"

Also if you have cancer--especially testicular cancer--that young, it ain't your lifestyle that caused it.

[MindPilot]

33. Did you know that everyone who regularly inhales oxygen eventually dies?

O2 is a killer!!111!!

[budkin]

36. Utter bullshit.

[SteelPenguin]

37. Wait

So a sample of young men already WITH cancer, were found to be more likely to CURRENTLY smoke marijuana.

Wow.

Give them the Nobel.

[TWiley]

40. Maybe they are self-medicating then?

for nausea or something?

[SteelPenguin]

43. Maybe

Hard to tell with a crap study like this.

[deaniac21]

38. How can filling your lungs with harsh smoke possibly do any

harm?

[TWiley]

39. Sometimes there is that herbacide Paraquat in it too.

I heard law enforcement in different areas sprays it from the air.

[Warren DeMontague]

41. All the more reason to legalize it, regulate it, and tax it.

There are lots of things that are not 100% healthy for you, yet we don't stick consenting adults in prison for using them.

The pertinent question is, do we really need to spend upwards of $40 Billion a yr. trying to keep people from smoking pot? :shrug:

[deaniac21]

44. Fine with me. I like it but I'm not dumb enough to believe it isn't

doing harm to my body.

[Warren DeMontague]

50. And I don't even smoke it anymore, haven't for years.

But I think the drug war is a fucking farce.

[deaniac21]

53. word

[ThomWV]

45. Using their criteria my balls would have exploded before I turned 35.

[ecstatic]

46. why no recs? lol

Is this news inconvenient?

[mdmc]

48. smoking...cancer

ohno!

[Flying Dream Blues]

49. Barbeque causes cancer too, and you don't see them outlawing that...nt