more credible evidence

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin's previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought.

Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous.


Tashkin's study, funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse, involved 1,200 people in Los Angeles who had lung, neck or head cancer and an additional 1,040 people without cancer matched by age, sex and neighborhood.

They were all asked about their lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol. The heaviest marijuana smokers had lighted up more than 22,000 times, while moderately heavy usage was defined as smoking 11,000 to 22,000 marijuana cigarettes. Tashkin found that even the very heavy marijuana smokers showed no increased incidence of the three cancers studied.

"This is the largest case-control study ever done, and everyone had to fill out a very extensive questionnaire about marijuana use," he said. "Bias can creep into any research, but we controlled for as many confounding factors as we could, and so I believe these results have real meaning."

Tashkin's group at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA had hypothesized that marijuana would raise the risk of cancer on the basis of earlier small human studies, lab studies of animals, and the fact that marijuana users inhale more deeply and generally hold smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers -- exposing them to the dangerous chemicals for a longer time. In addition, Tashkin said, previous studies found that marijuana tar has 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to cancer than tobacco cigarette tar.

While no association between marijuana smoking and cancer was found, the study findings, presented to the American Thoracic Society International Conference this week, did find a 20-fold increase in lung cancer among people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day.

The study was limited to people younger than 60 because those older than that were generally not exposed to marijuana in their youth, when it is most often tried.

the ada lists no sources on their so called "fact sheet" and most of the information if not all isnt scientific fact only theories

heres another example of scientific fact
By Kelli Miller Stacy
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDApril 1, 2009 -- The active chemical in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves, researchers in Spain report.

Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain have found that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy. Autophagy is the breakdown of a cell that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests.

The team discovered that cannabinoids such as THC had anticancer effects in mice with human brain cancer cells and people with brain tumors. When mice with the human brain cancer cells received the THC, the tumor growth shrank.

Two patients enrolled in a clinical trial received THC directly to the brain as an experimental treatment for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive brain tumor. Biopsies taken before and after treatment helped track their progress. After receiving the THC, there was evidence of increased autophagy activity.

The findings appear in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The patients did not have any toxic effects from the treatment. Previous studies of THC for the treatment of cancer have also found the therapy to be well tolerated, according to background information in journal article.

Study authors say their findings could lead to new strategies for preventing tumor growth.

I'd love to see your claims validated with actual scientific EVIDENCE. These come in the form of research papers and quotes from reputable sources. "Studies have shown," "One study even found." These kind of claims need to be backed up with solid evidence, should you value your credibility. As it is now, you come of like an uneducated, puritanical, fraud. You are ignorant and brainwashed.Marijuana is in no way addictive or toxic. The amounts of THC needed to cause any form of overdose is so incredibly large that it is physically impossible to consume it either by smoking or ingestion. Furthermore, there is research that supports the idea that marijuana DOES NOT cause any type of cancer and in fact may help to prevent cancer.(source:Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control Study) All of the "warnings" you have posted above have no basis in SCIENTIFIC fact. Wake up and STOP LYING.

Educate yourself:
Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.
Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept.
1997
Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr.
21, 2006

you couldnt be anymore wrong, scientific studies show marijuana prevents cancer/smoking marijauna stimulates lung function and helps with asthma/prevents lung/neck/throat cancers, and cuts tumor growth almost in half, this has become scientific fact no longer a theory, the only proven negative effects from marijuana- after long term high amounts of smoking, 1 ounce daily for 10 years can cause bronchitis, this is a form of abuse, the average marijuana smoker induces .5 to 3 grams daily, and furthermore marijuana is non toxic so more potent marijuana is actually healthier because less needs to be used to gain the "recreational" effects. marijuana is also proven to be less addicting than caffiene and their have not been any proven signs of physical dependancies/withdrawels. all of this information is fact, and scientifically proven by numerous legitimate sources, havard research, National Research association, and many government based research groups, also I do NOT use marijuana, but if alcohol,caffiene,tylenol,tabacco,vehicle exhaust fumes, wood burning is legal. then we as a nation should not descriminate against marijuana users. not one death has been recorded due to marijuana use, compared to the 100,000s a year from alcohol and tobacco alone, please list your sources and try to remain unbiased/openminded. if there was any legitimate facts about negative effects of marijuana i would here them out- marijuana is a gateway drug is not a scientific fact only an opinionated statement/outdated government propaghanda. alcohol/tobacco is the gateway drug

blah blah blah blah..... Same BS they tell you on the anti-drug web sites. Try do some actual research be for you rant you might actually learn some true facts about marijuana instead of the lies you wright.

For all the hype in this article, I see very little credible fact or information. I wonder why the American Medical Assn recently reversed its official stance towards marijuana? The relaity of the matter is, if parents are so concerned about their children using, they would vote to end this prohibition now! Drug dealers don't card my friends, but if pot is licensed and controlled underaged consumption would greatly be reduced (the same as alcohol and tobacco). The studies coming out of CA (the UC system of researchers is a highly respected, as opposed to any "research" done for this article) are very exciting in listing the potential medical benefits to this plant. Research can be continued now that some of these draconian drug policies and laws of prohibition are lifting. In some places anyways;)