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Marijuana and Lung Cancer?

TDSS02

Member
Been reading a lot of material on Marijuana and health risks. A lot of government web sites talk about "Studies" that have been done recently that have concluded that:

"Marijuana smoke has been found to contain more cancer-causing agents than is found in tobacco smoke. Examination of human lung tissue that had been exposed to marijuana smoke over a long period of time in a laboratory showed cellular changes called metaplasia that are considered precancerous. In laboratory test, the tars from marijuana smoke have produced tumors when applied to animal skin. These studies suggest that it is likely that marijuana may cause cancer if used for a number of years."

I was wondering if there is any truth in this.
 
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LowGrow

No it does not cause lung cancer. Here is the doctor who did the exact study you are quoting he goes later on in the study to state that even tho these things happened that it does not cause lung cancer he even states that not a single person who only smoked cannabis in his very long study (like 20 years I think) went on to get lung cancer. He also stated that there appeared to be a lower percentage of cancer in the group that smoked both cigarettes and cannabis but more research was needed to prove it. This guy was hired to find negative effects of cannabis but didn't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJmQ16cGBHU
 

TDSS02

Member
HAHA thank you sir, thats very interesting they don't tell you the whole story lol wow just amazing.

No it does not cause lung cancer. Here is the doctor who did the exact study you are quoting he goes later on in the study to state that even tho these things happened that it does not cause lung cancer he even states that not a single person who only smoked cannabis in his very long study (like 20 years I think) went on to get lung cancer. He also stated that there appeared to be a lower percentage of cancer in the group that smoked both cigarettes and cannabis but more research was needed to prove it. This guy was hired to find negative effects of cannabis but didn't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJmQ16cGBHU
 
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LowGrow

Lord Doobie I would agree with you in all cases exept one. I have a theory go ahead roll your eyes lol. anyway while smoking cannabis it does 4 things which leads me to believe that it counters all negative effects. number 1. The doctor in that movie Dr. Donald Tashkin further studies this and found that thc killed old growth cells in the lungs which are the kind that go cancerous causing new growth cells to fill them in and literally preventing cancer.
number 2. Smoking anything does brain damage because of lowered oxygen levels to the brain due to co2 emission but cannabis actively oxygenates the brain in more than one way it does this by opening the bronchial tubes, widening blood vessels which allows them to get more blood to the brain, cannabis acts to increase heart frequency by as much as 40 beats per minute fully pressurizing these larger veins and arteries, The cannabinoids block a neurochemical, known as glutamate, that leads to the formation of toxic oxidizing molecules that kill brain cells. Glutamate is produced in the brain if the oxygen supply is cut off, for example, as the result of blood clot leading to a stroke. Researchers found that cannabidiol is a more effective antioxidant than vitamins A and E, which already are known to block the damaging effects of glutamate, and lastly after blocking that is hyper oxygenates the blood to your whole body especially the brain (this is why your eyes get red)
 

TDSS02

Member
Very interesting LowGrow thanks, and thank you Lord Doobie for the link.

Lord Doobie I would agree with you in all cases exept one. I have a theory go ahead roll your eyes lol. anyway while smoking cannabis it does 4 things which leads me to believe that it counters all negative effects. number 1. The doctor in that movie Dr. Donald Tashkin further studies this and found that thc killed old growth cells in the lungs which are the kind that go cancerous causing new growth cells to fill them in and literally preventing cancer.
number 2. Smoking anything does brain damage because of lowered oxygen levels to the brain due to co2 emission but cannabis actively oxygenates the brain in more than one way it does this by opening the bronchial tubes, widening blood vessels which allows them to get more blood to the brain, cannabis acts to increase heart frequency by as much as 40 beats per minute fully pressurizing these larger veins and arteries, The cannabinoids block a neurochemical, known as glutamate, that leads to the formation of toxic oxidizing molecules that kill brain cells. Glutamate is produced in the brain if the oxygen supply is cut off, for example, as the result of blood clot leading to a stroke. Researchers found that cannabidiol is a more effective antioxidant than vitamins A and E, which already are known to block the damaging effects of glutamate, and lastly after blocking that is hyper oxygenates the blood to your whole body especially the brain (this is why your eyes get red)
 
yes I attended a speech by Lester Grinspoon in the mid 90's, the guy's a renowned Harvard doctor, and I said "come on really, it doesn't cause cancer? well it can't be good right?", or something like that, after his speech. He just looked at me like I was some new kind of idiot or beamed down from Mars, and said something to the effect that no, it is virtually harmless. Cigs cause cancer because of all the shit that it added to them mainly, but the nicotine is a carcinogen too I think. I remember hearing studies since then, that suggest no proven link between cannabis and cancer, or lasting brain impairment, or any of the other hoaxes perpetrated by the government. I think that it has medicinal effects that more than compensate for any minor adverse effects, and I even heard a few times that it has been shown to shrink tumors. You'll never see any of this on mainstream TV or newspapers, they just keep publishing the bogus government "studies" that set out to prove cannabis is bad by smoking a chimp to death by giving him the equivalant of 50 pounds of pot in a few hours or something similarly ridiculous.
So no, cannabis seems to help in treating many ailments and has no proven link to cancer at this point whatsoever.
 

Pythagllio

Patient Grower
Veteran
Cigs have also been demonized beyond their actual danger. You're not going to drop dead from smoking a cigarette, or even a few packs. As a matter of fact, it's only 1 of 3 cigarette smokers that gets a tobacco smoking related illness, hardly a certain death sentence. Yes, more than enough reason to set them aside on a risk/reward analysis, but hardly the danger many ascribe to them.
 

Grat3fulh3ad

The Voice of Reason
Veteran
Cigs have also been demonized beyond their actual danger. You're not going to drop dead from smoking a cigarette, or even a few packs. As a matter of fact, it's only 1 of 3 cigarette smokers that gets a tobacco smoking related illness, hardly a certain death sentence. Yes, more than enough reason to set them aside on a risk/reward analysis, but hardly the danger many ascribe to them.
Cig smokers have 20x the cancer rate of pot smokers... 'nuff said.
 

SuperConductor

Active member
Veteran
bogus government "studies" that set out to prove cannabis is bad by smoking a chimp to death by giving him the equivalant of 50 pounds of pot in a few hours or something similarly ridiculous.

One of the studies I read about they injected rats with doses of pure THC and made them swim across a small body of water. When the rats were given enough THC so that they drowned before reaching the other side they came to the conclusion that THC killed the rats lol I'm pretty sure that's how they came up with the LD50 actually, dunno all these studies tend to blend into one big pile of indistinguishable bullshit to me.
 
First of all, if you smoke tobacco long enough, you will almost certainly get COPD or some other extremely unpleasant difficulty breathing... I work with geriatrics (elderly) and in the nursing homes you don't see many lifetime tobacco smokers who don't have respiratory issues... I can't say for certain about smoking cannabis because I have never had a COPD case where the patient history was a lifelong cannabis smoker who avoided tobacco... BUT all things considered, smoking ANYTHING is not good for you- flaming chunks of ash hitting those aveoli (lung tissue) is just not good, whether it's from a campfire, cigs, or even cannabis... when I was in college I was a competitive athelete and on occasion smoked pot recreationally; no doubt in my mind I remember feeling like I paid for it next day suffering in practice during conditioning, coughing crap up now and then during wind sprints after toking heavy the night before for the first time in a while... I love cannabis and personally, I choose to enjoy smoking it... but I don't tell myself that smoking is healthy... just my 2 cents for free, take it for what it cost ya.. :)
..magoo
 

Catharsis

Member
For me, smoking cannabis from time to time is alright, but more than once a month makes me feel like utter shit. I find it harder to breathe for days afterwards, the annoying little cough, etc.

So, on a personal level, fuck smoking. It may not cause cancer, but it makes me feel like shit.
 

SuperConductor

Active member
Veteran
First of all, if you smoke tobacco long enough, you will almost certainly get COPD or some other extremely unpleasant difficulty breathing...

I think I have something along those lines and I gotta say it really gets in the way of smoking cannabis. Fuck cigs and fuck me for being stupid enough to smoke them for 15 years, yes only 15 years.
 
R

Red Swan

People always try to justify behaviour. Inhaling resin is less healthy than not inhaling resin.

When I was a teen , I knew some trust fund adults who smoke morning, noon and night. They were ao unaware of how dishevelled and burnt out they were. Whenever I find myself smoking too much, I think of them and quit for a few weeks.
I find my mind is sharper and clearer after 3-4 days and gets better after two weeks.
Smoke a joint and play the card game "memory" with a ten year old and see how smart you feel.
I never smoke before I go surfing as it cuts my endurance in half.
I'm a grower and a smoker, but I don't kid myself. In Chinese medicine, they say excessive smoking affects the liver energy, which gives you motivation.

But if you are a motivated go getter or hyper like me, it can calm you down at the end of the day. I've got to try a vape. I hate coughing.
 

Catharsis

Member
I think I have something along those lines and I gotta say it really gets in the way of smoking cannabis. Fuck cigs and fuck me for being stupid enough to smoke them for 15 years, yes only 15 years.

I smoked cigs for ~7 years and while I don't have COPD or any detectable (by docs) deficit in lung function, I definitely think it had enough of a long term effect that it makes smoke of any kind unpleasant. I'm really lucky I broke the habit before I had truly horrible health issues.
 

Catharsis

Member
People always try to justify behaviour. Inhaling resin is less healthy than not inhaling resin.
. . .
When I was a teen , I knew some trust fund adults who smoke morning, noon and night. They were ao unaware of how dishevelled and burnt out they were.
. . .
But if you are a motivated go getter or hyper like me, it can calm you down at the end of the day. I've got to try a vape. I hate coughing.

It's pretty easy to pick smokers out of a crowd. The lethargic, disheveled look is pretty popular apparently.

Life evolved methods of removing pollutants from air (cilia, mucosa, etc) but prolonged exposure is a fucking nightmare. It's reversible to a point, but past that point you're in for a life of pain.

Yes, I think a Volcano is in my future this xmas. :p
 

Spiritu

Member
with all the bullshit flyin around it can be very confusing. I like LowGrow's way of thinking, it serves anyways.

Cigs have also been demonized beyond their actual danger. You're not going to drop dead from smoking a cigarette, or even a few packs. As a matter of fact, it's only 1 of 3 cigarette smokers that gets a tobacco smoking related illness, hardly a certain death sentence. Yes, more than enough reason to set them aside on a risk/reward analysis, but hardly the danger many ascribe to them.

Pythagllio, could you please direct me to a link or provide some more info about this.

Cheers
 
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