I was reading an article today about an organization called Americans for Safe Access (ASA) which has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human services. In a nutshell, this organization represents patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens who advocate the safe use of and access to medical marijuana. ASA's suit claims that the government is using taxpayers money to disseminate false information about the 'dangers' of marijuana, much of which is presented in direct contradiction to scientific findings.
This isn't breaking news by any means. It's widely known that the government has largely failed on its war on drugs and Nancy Regan's 'Just Say No' campaign in the '80's correlated with an increase drug use among adolescent individuals. Despite the obvious failure, our government continues to spend taxpayer money on trying to convince the public that marijuana can and will lead to an awful case of Reefer Madness.
All of this brouhaha got me thinking about a couple of articles I read a couple of years back which went largely unnoticed, (surprisingly). One of the articles spoke about a study of 2,200 people in Los Angeles which found that marijuana users were no more likely than nonusers to develop lung, head or neck cancers. Another article from 2005, also described a study which had found no cancer risk resulting from marijuana use - even in multiple, daily users. In fact, both of these studies found evidence implicating THC as a potentially cancer-PREVENTING chemical. Because I haven't read the actual published articles for these studies (something I plan to do in the near future) I cannot vouch for the reliability and validity or the overall statistical design of these studies. Nonetheless, these PEER-REVIEWED and PUBLISHED articles are reporting a common finding - that marijuana use and cancer don't correlate. Granted, smoke in your lungs is smoke in your lungs - no matter which way you look at it - and can itself cause its own medical problems. For example, respiratory problems and chronic cough are all a result of heavy smoke inhalation regardless of whether you're inhaling cigarette or marijuana smoke - but for our own government to ignore science (i.s. see Global Warming) altogether is unacceptable.
I myself am not only an advocate of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but I am also of the field who believes marijuana as a whole should be legal and taxed just as nicotine and alcohol are today.
Below I provide both of the articles in question. Please feel free to forward this post on or copy and paste these articles to your friends. It's information well worth being exposed to.
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Marijuana not a major cancer risk, says study
by Amy Norton,
Reuters News Agency
Oct. 26, 2005
Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer- causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.
The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.
Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke, Melamede explained in an interview with Reuters Health.
"THC turns down the carcinogenic potential," he said.
For example, lab research indicates that nicotine activates a body enzyme that converts certain chemicals in both tobacco and marijuana smoke into cancer-promoting form. In contrast, studies in mice suggest that THC blocks this enzyme activity.
Another key difference, Melamede said, is in the immune system effects of tobacco and marijuana. Smoke sends irritants into the respiratory system that trigger an immune-regulated inflammatory response, which involves the generation of potentially cell-damaging substances called free radicals. These particles are believed to contribute to a range of diseases, including cancer.
But cannabinoids -- both those found in marijuana and the versions found naturally in the body -- have been shown to dial down this inflammatory response, Melamede explained.
Another difference between tobacco and marijuana smoking, he said, has to do with cells that line the respiratory tract. While these cells have receptors that act as docks for nicotine, similar receptors for THC and other cannabinoids have not been found.
Nicotine, Melamede said, appears to keep these cells from committing "suicide" when they are genetically damaged, by smoking, for instance. When such cells do not kill themselves off, they are free to progress into tumors.
THC, however, does not appear to act this way in the respiratory tract -- though, in the brain, where there are cannabinoid receptors, it may have the beneficial effect of protecting cells from death when they are damaged from an injury or stroke, according to Melamede.
All of this, he said, fits in with population studies that have failed to link marijuana smoking with a higher risk of lung cancer -- though there is evidence that pot users have more respiratory problems, such as chronic cough and frequent respiratory infections.
If marijuana does not promote lung cancer, that could factor into the ongoing debate over so-called medical marijuana. Melamede said he believes "marijuana has loads of medicinal value," for everything from multiple sclerosis, to the chronic pain of arthritis, to nausea caused by cancer treatment.
U.S. government officials, however, maintain that the evidence for medical marijuana is not there. Ten states allow people to use marijuana with a doctor's prescription, but the Supreme Court has ruled that federal law trumps state law.
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Marijuana Cancer Risk Played Down
By Heather Burke, Bloomberg News
Source: Boston Globe
May 24, 2006
New York -- People who smoke marijuana may be at less risk of developing lung cancer than tobacco smokers, according to a study presented yesterday.
The study of 2,200 people in Los Angeles found that even heavy marijuana smokers were no more likely to develop lung, head, or neck cancer than nonusers, in contrast with tobacco users, whose risk increases the more they smoke.
The findings seemed to be a surprise; marijuana smoke has some of the same cancer-causing substances as tobacco smoke, often in higher concentrations, said the senior researcher, Donald Tashkin, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. One possible explanation is that THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, a key ingredient in marijuana not present in tobacco, may inhibit tumor growth, he said.
``You can't give marijuana a completely clean bill of health," said Tashkin, who planned a presentation of the study yesterday before the American Thoracic Society. ``I wouldn't give any smoke substance a clean bill of health. All you can say is we haven't been able to confirm our suspicions that marijuana might be a risk factor for lung and head and neck cancer."
About 1,200 adults under 60 with cancer of the lung, tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus, took part in the study, as well as about 1,000 without cancer. The study ran from 1999 to 2003.
Marijuana use was found to have been no greater or less in any of the groups, 44 percent of those with lung cancer, 41 percent with head or neck cancers, and 42 percent of those without cancer, Tashkin said.
Other studies had suggested that marijuana smoking was a risk factor for cancer, Tashkin said. Marijuana smokers inhale more deeply than tobacco smokers, and often hold the smoke in their lungs more than four times longer, depositing more tar, he said.
The results of Tashkin's study corroborated some earlier research, said Paul Armentano of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which advocates legalizing marijuana use. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse, Tashkin said.
Note: Tobacco is called a bigger threat.
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Author: Heather Burke, Bloomberg News
Published: May 24, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: letter@globe.com
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/
Related Articles:
Marijuana Does Not Raise Lung Cancer Risk
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21869.shtml
Mary Jane Trumps Joe Camel
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21868.shtml
No Link Between Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21866.shtml
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