Marijuana is Good or is it Bad for You?

Hello:

I recently read an article about this drug, but it wasn’t a good review. It explained that it causes mental problems in later years.

From what I can see I believe this is true. My neighbor and wife both were “hippies” in the ‘70’s and smoked a lot of pot to their detriment, now they have insecurities, depression, recluse issues, and much more. So, please, do some research on it before you decided to try it.

orion- the study to which you refer has been refuted by numerous research studies.

February 6, 2008 - Washington, DC, USA Washington, DC: The results of a recent study from New Zealand reporting a nearly six-fold increased risk of lung cancer for individuals who smoke cannabis are based on only 14 cases, and have never been replicated in large-scale population case-control studies.

The widely reported study, published Friday in the European Respiratory Journal, assessed the relative risk of lung cancer associated with marijuana smoking in 79 cases and 324 controls. Of the 79 cases in the study, 70 reported smoking tobacco and 21 smoked cannabis.

Investigators reported that light-to-moderate lifetime cannabis use “was not associated with a significantly increased risk [of lung cancer].” By contrast, researchers reported that the 14 subjects in the study with the highest exposure to cannabis (more than one joint per day for 10 years) had a 5.7 times higher relative risk of lung cancer compared to controls. Overall, subjects who reported having ever smoked tobacco experienced a nearly seven-fold increase in lung cancer risk. By contrast, subjects who reported having ever used cannabis did not experience a statistically significant increased risk of lung cancer compared to non-using controls.

Previous large-scale population case control studies have also failed to identify a significant cancer risk associated with cannabis consumption. Most recently, a UCLA study of more than 2,200 subjects (1,212 cases and 1,040 controls) reported that marijuana smoking was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or upper aerodigestive tract – even among individuals who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints during their lifetime.

A prior Johns Hopkins University study of 164 oral cancer patients and 526 controls also concluded, “The balance of the evidence … does not favor the idea that marijuana as commonly used in the community is a causal factor for head, neck or lung cancer in adults [under age 55.]”

Finally, A 1997 Kaiser Permanente retrospective cohort study examining the relationship of marijuana use and cancer incidence in 65,171 men and women in California found that cannabis use was not associated with increased risks of developing tobacco-use related cancers – including lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, or melanoma.

“The release of this study does little to contradict the large body of existing science indicating that the moderate use of cannabis presents little-to-no known cancer risk”. “By contrast, a growing body of evidence indicates that compounds in marijuana may, in fact, be protective against certain types of cancer, including lung cancer.

“Moreover, cannabis consumers concerned about the potential health risks posed by smoking may engage in vaporization to significantly reduce their intake of respiratory irritants or gaseous combustion toxins. For select marijuana consumers, such as patients using medicinal cannabis to treat a chronic condition, this method of ingestion is both preferable and advisable”

You’re so full of propaganda, look up things for yourself and open your eyes, there are millions of people who use marijuana and live normal lives.

You know what else can be mentally and emotionally addictive? Chocolate. Cleaning.

Your arguments are void of logic.

Amoeba, I commend your efforts, very good post!

Amblessed, you say marijuana has 400 chemicals in it, try looking up the list of chemicals in a cigarette, I think it’s 600 toxic chemicals and then a bunch of others presumed to have no negative effect. Very recently it was discovered that the tobacco industry has known for years that tobacco contains the cancerous radioactive material polonium… Smoking anything is harmful, but marijuana does not need to have a serious negative impact on your life if self-control is employed.

amoeba, That is a lot of info you typed there ;)

Could you post the references that you were quoting? It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that I’d really like to have it for my own file. Thank you.

God bless

no smoking one joint is equal to 5 ciggarettes, but either way, there are more chemicals in weed then there are in ciggarettes, and when you smoke weed your not using a filter so your smoking all those chemicals, so no weed isnt good for you, and its not better then smoking ciggarettes

As far as lung health goes, smoking anything is bad. That said, marijuana has some minor health benefits for people with glaucoma or high blood pressure.

I REALLY DONT THINK THATS TURE I MEAN HAVE YOU HEARD THAT SOMEOND DIED FROM SMOKING A JOINT I MEAN NO I KNOW SOMEONE THATS BEEN SMOKING FOR YEARS AND NUTHING EVER HAPPEND SO NO

I don’t think that statement is accurate.

amoeba,

Although I do not smoke marijuana and will never suggest anyone else to do so, I believe it is a very important topic that should be thoroughly studied, especially if you are a user or plan on being one in the future.

A very wise man once told me; “if in doubt, do without” I’ll do without.

I appreciate that you have taken the time to research this out, amoeba. God bless you

WOW! Thanks jacob1 for the website! Good information!

amblessed what you said is exactly what the article said about marijuana. I know these facts are true because my younger brother smoked marijuana a lot and now he has bipolar disorder, which is somewhat like to schizophrenia. He has emotional ups and downs that are wreaking his life.

The article also said when you inhale the smoke (marijuana) it held in the lungs for as long as possible to intensify the affect of the drug. Because of this alone makes smoking marijuana very unhealthy. Holding it in the lungs allows it to seep into the tissues causing cancers to develop.

Here is the site where I found the information:

Marijuana Far More Harmful Than Cigarettes, Study Says http://www.adventistreview.org/article.php?id=1736 Smoking one joint is like smoking 20 cigarettes.

I looked up the research just the same way that I looked up the research you quoted. first I went to the site you mentioned. then I traced that to an article regarding the actual research. then I googled other articles regarding the same phase studies, mainly focusing on larger protocol groups. I cut and pasted the pertinent facts from each article. I questioned the fact that the initial new zealand study compared so few subjects. I have worked as a urology and endocrinology research associate (phase I and I) for more than 24 years and I do not consider research that tested such a small pool of subjects to be valid. also I question the fact that it had not been replicated. that always raises some flags. many researchers are too quick to publish their findings. I could take the time to go and look up every study again but it took me almost an hour to compile and I saved nothing. none of my questions regarding the study were a reflection on you. I just naturally prefer to read the studies myself.

Weed is good for many things,not just getting stoned.Cancer and AIDS patients use it to get back their appetite or help deal with the pain.When weed is bad it is usually laced with some other drug like PCP.I’ve been a weed smoker for almost 8 years,and other than some trouble with my parents it hasn’t been a problem.Oh and there was a pregnancy,but that was my fault.I went pass my limit and well…:)

thanks. sorry that I couldn’t provide you with the needed info. if I ever run across something, I will copy and send to you. I must add one thing . it does effect each person differently. I have a masters in biochemistry from a top university and I smoked the entire time. I never missed a class or a deadline. some of my friends who smoked were not able to keep up with their studies. I have smoked for over 30 years and it has had no effect on my lungs. or anything else for that matter. but I am a vegetarian and I exercise. I think that the trouble comes when you are a “couch potato” and that has an impact on everything, whether you smoke or not.

I have smoked marijuana for a while now and have noticed NO harmful effects pertaining to my lungs or breathing.I’m a three sport athlete and am on the varsity wrestling, varsity football, and varsity football team. I’m not by and means saying “Go out and smoke weed!” but I am saying that I have found more benefits to smoking weed than bad things.

lol dont listen to what people tell u, its all misleading information you need to do your own research and see for urself

These are some of the comments I have copied from a forum

-pharmaceuticals are known to kill more people than illegal drugs

-marijuana is the number 1 cash crop in the world it serves as a natural medicine and has many other uses thats why they prohibited it so big companies can make more profit thanks to “bad journalism”

-can also help aids patients, aids diminishes appetite have them smoke a joint and they regain their appetite counteracting the illness

-no one can die from smoking cannabis and has been no known deaths compared to everything else including alcohol, tobacco, etc..

I myself have asthma and smoking opens up my airways making it easier to breathe with no side effects when medically legalized in my state I look foward to becoming a patient for prescription marijuana. 12 states have already legalized it along with other countries in the world and more following my job is to educate people that are not aware of the plants uses

re-legalize!

-I did most of my research through websites, books, magazines, and the news norml.org high times magazine etc..

• theres more to it than just getting high and I believe legalizing it would make this a better world to live in

-God bless the whole crop!

• and for people that dont smoke, you dont need to smoke it to support it

-all the better reason for the government to legalize.. couple reasons why it should be legalized: -will be removed from black market and stop empowering gang members -medical reasons -would be sold like alcohol, remember alcohol was once prohibited too (in stores away from children, have to be 21+) -would be a law that you cant drive while intoxicated on weed -prison population would lower (prisons are overcrowding with nonviolent offenders) -keep patients from being convicted -would provide millions of jobs for people -would make us an independent country (fuel, etc.., debt free america)

people with an addiction (including hard drugs) shouldnt be thrown in jail, they need help theres more people in jail with mental illnesses than there are in mental institutions

the list goes on

• the War on Drugs is a failure, its a war on its own people. policies need to be changed we pay billions in taxpayers money to keep the war going and neither side is winning thats just a waste of our tax money I wonder what they do with all that money.. those greedy bastards just sell drugs back onto the street, you can even check urself on that there was a time when there was a cia operation transporting drugs overseas into america the government also provided Rick Ross with plenty of heroin to go around, course making money from it

the truth must be exposed, theyre dirty work must stop!

-Of course we can do something about it, we all just need to unite screw the federal government remember slavery? if no one stood up im pretty sure it would still be going on people were tortured, beaten, killed and thrown in jail but that didnt stop them standing up for their rights eventually slavery was abolished same with alcohol prohibition eventually became re-legalized

• its like theres some kind of conspiracy going on I sense the government is up to no good and trying to control us. credit cards, money, and now they have chips that can be implanted in skin for uselful reasons but if in the wrong hands well were pretty much fuct they hiding the truth from us its dangerous to be right when the government is wrong they got theyre privacy but we dont. they want to know everything were doing on our leisure time

get up stand up!

• marijuanas not anti-establishment because its illegal, its illegal because its anti-establishment

all facts stated have been double-checked and confirmed want to learn more? norml.org americandrugwar.org hightimes.com lets all make this a better place to live in!

Marijuana affects your brain. THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) affects the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed.

Marijuana affects your self-control. Marijuana can seriously affect your sense of time and your coordination, impacting things like driving. In 2002, nearly 120,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms suffering from marijuana-related problems, an increase of more than 139 percent since 1995.

Marijuana affects your lungs. There are more than 400 known chemicals in marijuana. A single joint contains four times as much cancer-causing tar as a filtered cigarette.

Marijuana affects other aspects of your health. Marijuana can limit your body’s ability to fight off infection. Long-term marijuana use can even increase the risk of developing certain mental illnesses.

Marijuana is not always what it seems. Marijuana can be laced with other dangerous drugs without your knowledge. “Blunts”–hollowed-out cigars filled with marijuana–sometimes have substances such as crack cocaine, PCP, or embalming fluid added.

Marijuana can be addictive. Not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, but some users do develop signs of dependence. In 1999, more than 220,000 people entered drug treatment programs to kick their marijuana habit.

Marijuana can be both emotionally and mentally addictive. Once an individual becomes addicted to marijuana it develops into part of who they believe themselves to be. Avoiding their friends who do not use, the addict will gravitate to others that do. Marijuana is a topic that is always on their mind, whether it be thinking about the next time they will be able to get high or where their going to get their next sack. When someone is addicted to marijuana eventually their friends and the people close to them only know how they act when their stoned because they no longer do anything without first smoking. Their constant abuse is due to the misconception that marijuana is what they need to solve their problems. Sometimes addicts will take their stash with them wherever they go, just in case an opportunity arises and they are able to take a couple hits. They may even go through several dealers in order to make sure they always have a constant supply of marijuana - For assistance Call 1-800-405-8409: http://WWW.marijuanaaddiction.info/