There is a long held belief, by many a stoner, that smoking marijuana poses no health threats, just possible legal troubles. Well, I hate to "bum anyone's high" but new studies indicate that regularly smoking pot poses an increased risk for cancer. It seems that smoking a doobie is bad for your lungs.
Researchers in New Zealand found that smoking one joint is the equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes because joints have no filter. Plus, pot smokers tend to hold the smoke in the lungs increasing their exposure time to the smoke. Cannabis smoke not only contains twice the amount of carcinogens as tobacco smoke, but pot smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their blood stream when compared to tobacco smokers.
To see how much weed makes for the danger zone, just read more
It should be noted that the pot smokers involved in the study smoked one joint a day for ten years, or two joints a day for five years (the accelerated approach), and were considered the "high exposure group" – no pun intended. The daily smokers lung cancer risk rose by 5.7 times.
I was a little amused to read that the researchers found it "intriguing" that more research hasn't been done on the cannabis lung cancer connection. Since pot is an illegal drug, I am sure funding for the research would be difficult to come by.
To borrow a line from Nancy Regan, "Just say no to drugs." It is better for your brain and your lungs.
Stuart Weitzman
Yumi
1928 Collection
Well I'll be forwarding this article to many a friend to prove my long standing point. haha
1But honestly, I don't think it'll change anyones mind. I mean if people are allowed to smoke cigarettes and ruin their bodies, whatever, it's their choice. Same for weed. Except it's not legal!
people who smoke pot have already convinced themselves that there are no long term consequences of smoking, they also have convinced themselves it isn't addictive... I doubt that this will make any of them stop... although I will add this to my list of reasons why people shouldn't do it
2blah blah blah....such a joke. everything causes cancer...havent you learned that yet???
plus...this is just some study...not medical fact. Use a vaporizer if you like your pot so much....theres no smoke to inhale. Its much cleaner.
3Teeny, tiny problem: the doctor whose research the US govt has used in the past for their anti-drug program, did a study where he said he completely and utterly expected to find out that pot users had more lung cancer. The government wanted him to find out that pot caused lung cancer. Except, to his complete surprise he found out that the results were not what he thought. Apparently, although pot has more carcinogens, there is something in the THC that keeps the cancerous cells from forming. The results from this study were only in the news in the last few months...
4keiren is right, and they forget to point out that people tend not to smoke pot as much or as often as people smoke cigarettes. Also, TCH actually protects the lungs from most carcinogens. There's so many points to debate about this subject. I tend to think that with the popularity of the drug and how it is in fact safer than alcohol, the government should regulate, legalize, and tax the crap out of it.
5thanks for the morning chuckle fit. i bet you had as much fun writing this as i had reading it.
6this shouldn't make it any more illegal than cigarettes then!
7It's true! Everything causes cancer!
8To be honest, I think being an alcoholic is worse then a stoner...
Soooo I'm still gunna egt my smoke on
i'm so glad i dont use this stuff. Regardless of whether it causes cancer or not, i know by experience (my ex) it makes you slow and stupid.
9whatever happened to "everything in moderation is okay"?
(i'll exclude herion/cocaine/meth/oxycotin and other hard drugs from this list)
sorry, i still don't buy this argument. if you can have alcohol and tobacco be legal (which cause SO MANY MORE health problems than pot), then marijuana should be legal too. i don't think i'll change my mind on this subject. also, i know that a lot of pot smokers smoke cigarettes in addition to pot so wouldn't that skew the results a bit?
10I've got to agree with legalize it crew on here. It hasn't been shown to be worse for you than anything legal you can get out there, and some studies have shown that it's actually less harmful, so I really don't see the problem. And with all the overcrowding in prisons I really find it kind of ridiculous that people are being jailed for offenses like this.
11I don't think legalizing it is a good answer. I know plenty of people that have done bad/stupid/unfrotunate things while stoned. And as much as people don't want to admit it, it IS a gateway drug. Go to an Narcotics Annonymous meeting to talk to some inmates and ask them what their first drug was. 90% of the time, it's weed. As an ex addict (I've been clean 5 years now) I know how one thing can lead to another. I know plenty of people use it and don't make huge mistakes, but I also know that plenty of people DO.
12As for the overcrowding in prisons and jails. How about instead of legalizing one drug, we stop treating addicts like morally deficient peices of trash and actually try to get them help. I was lucky enough to get that chance, but most people aren't.
Keiren63, StefaPie and tlsgirl are all right. It has not been shown to be any worse then any of the legal stuff put there. Hello...alcohol anyone??? "And with all the overcrowding in prisons I really find it kind of ridiculous that people are being jailed for offenses like this." - She's right on.
13Legalize it! Alcohol is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY worse. Like you ever hear that someone got into a "pot-fueled" car crash. I dont think so. lol.
14I'm OK with using it for pain management issues (I'm an RN). But I'm done harping on "friends" who are heavy recreational pot smokers, who constantly cough and hack after 30-plus years of using (and no cigarettes), and who constantly stink of stale smoke. Honestly, they sound like some former COPD patients of mine. Who wants to be around that?
15I was also able to go to Amsterdam for a week while I was in Europe where it is acceptable for you to smoke pot.
Honestly, I got a lot of information there about legalizing pot. First of, the govenement has CONTROL over the pot and how pure it is. Most pot you buy off the streets is often drenched in alcohol (yes-like rubbing alcohol) because it helps it weigh a little more AND drys it our faster so they can sell it faster. Which explains why some pot doesn't burn as well as others. The goverment in Holland makes it so ANY pot you buy is the PURE substance. Nothing is added to it. You know you are getting the real stuff that doesn't have all those crazy things added to it.
Secondly, the government says that because pot is legal, they find that more of the youth that lives there is not as inclined to try and experiment with harder drugs. Pot is legal, and it's not as special or "bad" and not frowned upon. So the youth don't try get as much out of "breaking the rules".
Anyways, that's what i gotta say
16the gov't won't leagalize it. they have to much fun busting ppl for growing a herb plant in their back yard.
as far as causing cancer - like everyone above has said. everything causes cancer. I don't see anyone dropping their cell phones b/c they have been shown to cause cancer as well.
17hahaha...whoops...
i guess college will end up being deadly! haha
18Ummm ya.
Stoners.
19what if you smoke from a pipe? =o
20If you don't die from anything else, you'll eventually die from cancer. Everything causes cancer eventually. Basically, I totally agree with everything ashcweb said.
21Interesting. I thought cigarettes were bad!
Well, I'm glad I don't smoke anything.
22yes eventually you will die from something. And yes it can be argues that cigarettes and alcohol are just as bad HOWEVER, Lets say that cigarettes were illegal, and we knew everything about how hazardous they are do you think people would be wanting to legalize them? Just because there are other bad things out there that happen to be legal because of the way cultures developed before we knew the consequences doesn't mean that we should legalize other things that are equally if not more harmful. and lets be honest because Pot isn't legal it is really hard to have studies, and such about its effects now isn't it?
and "THC actually protects the lungs from most carcinogens." really that sounds as dumb as people who say smoking helps to dissolve cholesterol. THC is not exactly a substance you want to be putting into your body.
and seriously I don't think the govt won't legalize it because they enjoy arresting people for it... My father was a substance abuse counselor, and most of the people he treated ended up with addictions that started with a little pot smoking.
basically what I'm saying is yes there may be some bad things out there already, and any number of things can kill you/ give you cancer, but that doesn't mean we should add more to the list.
23Well, I'm sure that hot, tar-laden smoke is not good for your lungs. Anybody that's gotten a good look at resin should know exactly what's going in to their lungs. But, I've read about the same study as keiren and find it credible as well.
And, I'm definitely not in the "if something is bad for you, it should be illegal" camp. The legalization debate can go on ad infinitum, but I just can't let the whole gateway thing go by without comment. Yes, you'll find that most people who do hard drugs, did pot first. You'll also find they smoked cigarettes first. You'll also find they drank alcohol first. You'll also find they went to school first. You'll also find they ate peanut butter first. Blabbity blabbity. Nonsense argument.
24jennifer, I understand that of course people have done other things before doing drugs. But as I said before, I've been there. Most of my friends are recovering addicts as well. I'm not jsut making this up. Personally, I smoked weed before I ever drank. I think I smoked a cigarette around the same time. That's not my point. The point is that when I smoked weed I liked it. Then I realized there were other things out there that would give me more satisfaction than weed. It's a progressive disease. That is a Known fact. Tolerance, addictive personality, availability, crowd. All of these things contribute to it, but it IS progressive.
25The reason I bring these up is because when I hear people debating this, the pro legalize it side always brings up how it doesn't hurt anyone and I beg to differ. I know people that have cause accidents, or have almost burnt down their home being stoned. I don't think it's should be banned simply because it's bad for you. I just haven't heard a good enough argument as to why we should legalize it that would counteract the bad.
I keep coming up with all of these rebuttals to the gateway drug argument. 100% of criminals have tried wheat! wheat must be the cause of their crimes!
anything is a gateway drug if a person has an addictive personality. alcohol, pot, whippets, that game kids play when they make themselves pass out... pot is more like alcohol. not a good idea at all in excess, but it does have it's moments. it's up to the person not to abuse themselves. having a glass of wine doesn't make me an alcoholic, having a bottle every night to get myself to sleep does.
"that pot made me do crack."
f that, that pot made me sit on the couch and eat fritos.
you choose to move on to other drugs. I've never been even tempted to try other drugs, despite all of that gateway crap.
oh, and my favorite stoner joke:
26what's the difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver?
a drunk driver will blow through the stop sign, the stoned driver will stop and wait for it to turn green.
The only reason that marijuana was ever made illegal in the first place was because the government saw that Mexican immigrants were bringing it in and smoking it. This is where that whole "lazy Mexican" stereotype came from. Pot wasn't banned because of its health effects....it was banned because the people running our country back in the day were racist. I smoked pot for 6+ years and have now been clean for almost a year. I'm not saying I will never smoke again and I'm not saying people shouldn't smoke I just got to a time in my life when I needed to stop for personal reasons. Pot IS NOT a gateway drug, but it CAN BE. Just like alcohol is not a deadly substance, but it CAN BE. If you abuse anything you are going to be in trouble. But I honestly have never believed that smoking pot is worse for you than smoking cigarettes. I think it's just coming out with that statement so that all the people against pot will be like "see look what they have proven now" which is dumb. All the people who don't smoke and don't agree with pot should just keep their opinions to themselves. Stop preaching. Pot smokers do not preach to non-smokers about how they should smoke or how they should stop drinking at the bar every single night. So non-smokers should stop preaching to people that think pot is OK and realize that people will do what they want.
27Another reason that pot was illegalised was becuase, in WWII, the DuPont company invented Nylon, which was used to make rope on Battleships. It was a strong fiber, however, nowhere near as strong as Hemp, which was used up until then. So to fill their greedy pockets, they made a deal with the government to spread anti-marijuana propaganda and to make growing hemp illegal.
Another reason that benefits the government is so that police can control gang warfare - give us a cut of the drug money, we won't arrest your crew of 14 year olds gangbangers and instead arrest the drug dealers of the rival gang. It all boils down to money. Especially with something as harmless as pot.
I can't fully say that Pot is good for you.. I can't imagine that it is. But it does not ruin lives in the manner of other drugs.. including ALCOHOL. Pot doesn't make you angry and willing to fight others. Pot doesn't make you black out and forget what you did the night before. There has never been an instance of Lung or Liver Cancer connected to smoking pot.
I think it boils down to being a lifestyle choice and as long as the people in your life aren't suffering because of it - in the way that alcoholism ruins families - then it is ones civil right to make the choie for themselves.
28Look, the media shows what a certain group wants to show people. This started back in the 1800's, look up The Sacking of Lawrence online. Just as then, the media persuaded people by putting their beliefs in the media. You can google does marijuana cause lung cancer? and there are all these researches that say marijuana does and some the say marijuana doesnt. It boils down to this, Marijuana is not a gateway drug. I have been a smoker for a year, and have never even thought about using any other drug. Also, anyone who says marijuana is addictive is a liar. I am in college, have a 3.0 gpa, a job, and smoke almost every day, but am able to not smoke for weeks, months, years, and would be fine. My point is, everyone needs to just drop all of this judgement stuff and just respect the lifestyle a person wants to live. Nothing is more annoying then listening to all of my friends who drink alcohol say to me, damn, your always using drugs. Isn't alcohol a drug? Just be yourself do what you wanna do and let other people live the way they want to.
Also, the legalization of marijuana is an issue that should be brought up in our government. Im not saying it is more important than major issues such as immigration or poverty, but with our economy looking like it may go into a recession, new ways of funding certain things need to be found. And for all of the people who want to talk about how bad marijuana is think about this.
Alcohol- 100,000 deaths per year legal
29Tobacco- 400,000 deaths per year legal
Marijuana- No causes of death found ever illegal
Renees - I hear what you're saying but I see it from a different perspective. People who would be open to doing other drugs start with pot, sure. But, not everybody is even a possible candidate for a heroin addiction. I have smoked a lot of pot in my lifetime (disclaimer: haven't in quite a few years) and have been offered many other drugs that I'm sure have equally if not more fun highs, but I'm aware of the problems they can cause and I'm not interested.
Look, I don't need the government to tell me what I should or shouldn't do to lead a healthy, productive life. And people who do need that aren't likely to listen to it.
And, for the record, people have caused accidents stone cold sober talking on cell phones, eating burritos, fiddling with their radios, etc... And people have almost burned down their houses stone cold sober forgetting to turn off their stove or leaving candles lit, etc... Not everything that is unhealthy or even potentially dangerous should necessarily be illegal.
So, given the problems that the war on drugs does cause, i.e. enriching gangs and drug dealers, encouraging violence and driving the entire thing underground where there is little to no accountability not to mention filling our jails with nonviolent offenders, I haven't heard a good enough argument as to why we should continue that.
30Water pipes eliminate much of the carcinogens, they are left in the water. Also, vaporizers are an expensive option which remove even more. Most importantly, no need to hold the smoke in. If you are doing all of that, the marijuana is no good. It should be one or two hits and done.
But I'm not a smoker.
Also, what keiren63 wrote.
31I'm giving you a virtual high-five, well written!
I am against drugs and have never done any; however pot has helped reduce some of the negative effects from cancer treatment so the patients could at least perform everyday activities until the high effect wore off (being happy, munchies, etc..) So I think if allowed for cancer patients for just a brief time during their treatment it would be okay, since it wouldn't be a year of smoking, it would only be a month. If it helps them out, I agree with it.
32No one I know that smokes pot smokes that much! Most usually do on weekends. Who smokes 2 joints a day?!? Besides usually no one smokes a whole joint by themselves.
33It's interesting to note that there are cannabis receivers in the brain; their sole purpose being to react with THC. So it's more of the method of receiving THC than the drug itself that poses a threat. At this point, I think people realize that if at any point in your life you're inhaling smoke into your lungs, it's probably not going to be good for you. On a side note, I feel that people choose to be lazy potheads. Some are fully functional, healthy and have really good jobs
34Wow...i love what a lot of the people have said on here. I could quote so many....atleast those who are arguing FOR legalization of marijuana.
Arrgh...i could go on and on about how alcohol is so much worse. You dont ever hear of them using "medical alcohol"???? um...yeah, didnt think so. Yet, i am sure most all of you who are against marijuana drink on a regular basis. Just the fact that they have approved marijuana for medical purposes is one step in the direction of making it legal.
That "gateway drug" argument is nonsense. I have smoked marijuana for several years now...have stopped for months at a time...no addiction...just pure enjoyment. Never EVER have i done any other drugs..nor have i wanted to. I've certainly been around them enough..but no desire to graduate from my beloved MJ to something stupid like heroin or cocaine. I just have a love of the pure relaxation that smoking a little herb can bring.
35The best way to avoid inhaling any cancerous toxins is to buy a vaporizer. They can be pricey, but some personal ones are only about 100 bucks. They elliminate the harsh toxins and smoke...so that you only inhale pure THC. Its wonderful.
36alcohol is used extensively in medicine. both topically and internally. frequently just as a solvent for delivering some other drug.
37Yeah, i knew someone would bring up the "topically" etc...i dont know about internally...unless its an open wound or something and they use rubbing alcohol or something. Thats not what i was talking about. Its not like they open some Jack Daniels and say "Here, drink this...it will help your tummy ache" or something like that...lol.
38There are ways around smoking it. Of course smoking a piece of paper isn't healthy, and there are carcinogens in burning paper. But, you can make butter and cook with it, and thereby totally bypass the lungs. You can also buy vaporizers which set at the exact correct temp as to get the vapor from the THC rather than the smoke. Either way, if you wanna make everything that causes cancer illegal, you better stop drinking the milk in your fridge, the water from your faucet, tanning (duh!), walking down the street in a city, inhaling the fumes from the back of your car or your neighbor's ungodly SUV. Stop talking on your damn cell phone, don't microwave anything, don't set food on your granite countertops, stop dying your hair that perfect shade, stop drinking all that alcohol on Friday nights, and drop the diet soda.
39I also did some research last night and found that our government spends over 3.67 billion dollars a year on the war against drugs, with such programs as DARE, or other teen and young adult programs. As election 08 is just around the corner, it would be interesting to hear from politicians on why so much money is being force fed into a program that seems to have failed the majority of our generation (people ages 18 to 30). Instead of wasting money on stupid ass commercials where a dog tells his owner that he doesn't like her smoking pot, maybe teach parents how to talk to their damn kids. Also, over a billion dollars is spent each year on jailing offenders, court fees, etc.
40I've never smoked pot because I've never been interested. If it were legalized, I'd try it and hope I didn't get addicted. I wouldn't be able to satisfy the curiosity until I did. That being said, if I had children, I wouldn't want them smoking pot. If I don't want someone that I love and feel the need to protect to do something, then it doesn't make much sense for me to do it.
41Actually there was a recent study that finds there is NO cancer-marijuana connection.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR200605...
42I live in California where Marijuana is legal to smoke and have.
I don't understand what the big deal is, this is a bias study.
zb420
43Apart from all the pot and tobacco discussion here I need to mention something very important. Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in US that counts for more victims that other forms of cancer combined together. Smoking is not the only cause of lung cancer, we also have an invisible threat and that's asbestos, so now here we have another serious reason to have an x ray of our lungs, to quit smoking and to have our houses checked for asbestos. Check this site for more information:
44http://biotrue.org/asbestos-law-firm.html
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