Exposure to cannabis smoke, even over the long-term, is not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function. That’s the conclusion of a major clinical trial published today in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Investigators at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the association between marijuana exposure and pulmonary function over a 20 year period in a cohort of 5,115 men and women in four US cities.
Predictably, researchers “confirmed the expected reductions in FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration) and FVC (forced vital capacity)” in tobacco smokers. By contrast, “Marijuana use was associated with higher FEV1 and FVC at the low levels of exposure typical for most marijuana users. With up to 7 joint-years of lifetime exposure (eg, 1 joint/d for 7 years or 1 joint/wk for 49 years), we found no evidence that increasing exposure to marijuana adversely affects pulmonary function.”
The study concludes, “Our findings suggest that occasional use of marijuana … may not be associated with adverse consequences on pulmonary function.”
To those familiar with the science of cannabis, JAMA’s findings should come as no great surprise. They are consistent with previous findings reporting no significant decrease in pulmonary function associated with moderate cannabis smoke exposure. For instance, according to a 2007 literature review conducted by researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (and summarized by NORML here), cannabis smoke exposure is not associated airflow obstruction (emphysema), as measured by airway hyperreactivity, forced expiratory volume, or other measures.
Further, in 2006, the results of the largest case-controlled study ever to investigate the respiratory effects of marijuana smoking reported that cannabis use was not associated with lung-related cancers, even among subjects who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints over their lifetime. (Read NORML’s summary of this study here.)
“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,” the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles stated. “What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect” among marijuana smokers who had lower incidences of cancer compared to non-users.
A previous 1997 retrospective cohort study consisting of 64,855 examinees in the Kaiser Permanente multiphasic health checkup in San Francisco and Oakland also reported, “[E]ver- and current use of marijuana were not associated with increased risk of cancer … of the following sites: colorectal, lung, melanoma, prostate, breast, cervix.”
Separate studies of cannabis smoke and pulmonary function have indicated that chronic exposure may be associated with an increased risk of certain respiratory complications, including cough, bronchitis, phlegm. However, the ingestion of cannabis via alternative methods such as edibles, liquid tinctures, or via vaporization — a process whereby the plant’s cannabinoids are heated to the point of vaporization but below the point of combustion –- virtually eliminates consumers’ exposure to such unwanted risk factors and has been determined to be a ‘safe and effective’ method of ingestion in clinical trial settings.
even with all this scientific proof that cannibus is in no way bad for you and actually the opposite the government still wont legalize it, why? because their a bunch of greedy S O B’S! they have to have some sort of excuse to funnel all their dirty money right?
SOPHISTICATED ORGANIC WAR REALITIES
TIME TO RAPTURE THE TYRANTS
NEW FLAG GREAT HEROS NEEDED
DRACONIAN LAW IN AN AQUARIAN AGE
What is required for people to come together consciously for their own benefit. Ano Ano: The Seed–The Classic Trilogy by Kristin Zambucka enlightens the audience to the core wisdoms of Hawaiian Spiritual Traditions. The title is quite fitting for the circumstance of present and the forum for the discussion as the consequence of a citizens incarceration for providing the greatest wisdom for increasing joy and comfort during the passage of birth old age sickness and death will be embraced within an appropriate consequence in time.
Hence a great consideration to understand our collective situation is of the highest priority. Marc Scott Emery brings the wisdom of the seed. Jesse Ventura provides the clarity of the unlawful biological war used against North America in the Plum Island Conspiracy via TRUtv along with the Independent movie “Under Our Skin” showing the horrors and criminal results of this very sophisticated organic weapon empowered by the Marijuana prohibition.
Thus the question of personal self respect and positions of response are forced upon collective society who choose to fight for any intelligent right to life.
How ironic and necessary is it that the Cannabis Culture Crew is thurst into the position to play Citizen Cop to fix the greatest crime in our living history.
In Western society we use money to reflect values — where is the money supporting intelligent living citizens prosecuting left over Hitler assassin doctors working for a captured administration?
WHAT ABOUT DAMAGES FOR UNLAWFUL USE OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE?
HERMENEUTICS SCIENCE OF INTERPRETATION
HISTORIC CLASS ACTION DAMAGE CLAIM
FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT FOR MARIJUANA WHITE COLLAR CRIME
AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON MARIJUANA WHITE COLLAR CRIME!
WEED LYME CANCER CRIME/DAMAGE LITIGATION NEEDED NOW
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/07/medical-marijuana-becoming-blockbuster-drug.aspx
The Illegal Herb that Fights Cancer
Posted By Dr. Mercola | May 07 2011 | 420,850 views
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/26/obama-war-on-weed.aspx?e_cid=20111126_DNL_art_1
The Medical Miracle You’ll Get Arrested for Using
Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 26 2011 | 255,598 views
http://blog.norml.org/2011/12/23/drug-education-should-reflect-reality-not-deny-it/
http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=2135&cpage=1#comment-24112
By Virginia T. Sherr 7-31-05
Lyme borreliosis is a brain disease as well as a multisystemic disease caused by spirochetal bacteria.* Quite frankly, it is an infection that has been burdened with a thousand inaccurate medical diagnoses. The manner in which the current pandemic of tertiary Lyme disease, neuroborreliosis, has usually been handled— either angrily dismissed or strangely misdiagnosed–throughout the 30 years following its “discovery,” has blemished the historic excellence of modern American Medicine.
Special to AOL News
(May 28) — We’re in the midst of a terrifying epidemic, although you wouldn’t know it to talk to most doctors and health specialists.
The disease is growing at a rate faster than AIDS. From 2006 to 2008 alone, the number of cases jumped a whopping 77 percent. In 2008 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 28,921 “confirmed” and 6,277 “probable” cases of the disease, but there could be as many as 420,000 because of underreporting.
Prominent victims include Parker Posey, Richard Gere, President George W. Bush, Alice Walker and Christie Brinkley.
If any other disease had stricken so many people, the medical community would be scurrying for knowledge, scrambling for cures or rushing to warn patients (think swine flu).But more important is the need for public health community to treat this disease like the epidemic it is, and start putting real resources into educating the public and the medical profession about how to identify it, treat it, and prevent it.
KEY BACKGROUND:
http://www.thehumansideoflyme.net/
http://www.underourskin.com/
Here’s another study that D.C. will ignore. Scientists and medical doctors, what do they know? The Feds will stick with their Voodoo Economics and Witchdoctor mentality that willy-nilly places cannabis in Schedule I because cannabis is a gateway drug to less harmful drugs in Schedule II such as cocaine, including crack, methamphetimine and Oxycodone.
Whoa, this study really opens my mind to how distorted cannabis propaganda is. The FDA may say there’s no accepted medical value, but I bet if we flipped the argument on it’s head and judged marijuana and all drugs on how harmful they are, many prescription medicines would be illegal.
Hmmm i thought it obvious that SMOKING marijuana increases lung cancer and other respiratory problems… i dont think anyone ever said eating it or vaporizing it did… and this study isnt answering to that point…
Old news for those of us in the cardiopulmonary profession. Unfortunately, the govenment brainwashing of the last 70 years (going back) has taking its toll on factual findings, common sence, and rational thought.
Fortunately, things do seem to be changing for the better. I give it 5-10 years before Marijuana becomes legal. The biggest hinderence is the big PHARM companies. You all know that I wasnt a fan of the MM movement due to the amount of fruadulent patients.
Anyway see below for an interest read…
Prescribing Cannabis for Harm Reduction
Mark Collen
Abstract
Neuropathic pain affects between 5% and 10% of the US population and can be refractory
to treatment. Opioids may be recommended as a second-line pharmacotherapy but have
risks including overdose and death. Cannabis has been shown to be effective for treating
nerve pain without the risk of fatal poisoning. The author suggests that physicians who treat neuropathic pain with opioids should evaluate their patients for a trial of cannabis and prescribe it when appropriate prior to using opioids. This harm reduction strategy may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain medications. Keywords: cannabis, cannabinoids, opioids, neuropathic pain, chronic pain, harm
reduction, ethics.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is defined as pain caused by a lesion or disease of the central or peripheral somatosensory nervous system.[1] NP affects between 5% and 10% of the US
population [2] and examples include diabetic neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome,
radiculopathy, phantom limb pain, HIV sensory neuropathy, multiple sclerosis-related pain,
and poststroke pain.[3] Neuropathic pain is difficult to treat and opioid analgesics are often prescribed.[4] Recent science has demonstrated efficacy in treating NP with cannabis,[5, 6, 7] a safer drug than opioids.[8] This paper suggests that physicians who treat neuropathic pain should prescribe cannabis prior to using opioids as a harm reduction (HR) strategy. Topics covered include how harm reduction applies to prescription opioid substitution, the legality of medicinal cannabis, a comparison of cannabis to opioids, the
science on treating NP with cannabis and cannabinoids, and the ethics of prescribing a
drug which is deemed illegal on the federal but not the state level.Medicine relies upon the principle of, “First, do no harm,” and one might supplement the axiom to read – “First, do no harm, and second, reduce all the harm you can.” “Harm reduction” or “harm minimization” can be defined in the broadest sense as strategies designed to reduce risk or harm.[9] Those harmed may include the individual, others impacted by the harmed person, and society.[9] The substitution of a safer drug for one that is more dangerous is considered harm reduction.[10] Specific examples of HR include prescribing methadone or buprenorphine to replace heroin,[11] prescribing nicotine patches to be used instead of smoking tobacco,[12] and prescribing intranasal naloxone to
patients on opioid therapy to be utilized in case of overdose.[13] Substituting cannabis forprescribed opioids may be considered a harm reduction strategy. Under the Federal Controlled Substance Act “marihuana” is illegal and classified as a schedule I substance – meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical
use.[14 ] However, sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medicinal use and these include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Vermont, and Washington.[15] Each state law differs but all allow physicians to “authorize” or “recommend” cannabis for specific ailments.[16] This “recommendation” affords legal protections for patients to obtain and use medicinal cannabis, and may be considered the“prescription.”
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) and the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) are both ancient
plants that have been used medicinally for thousands of years.[17, 18] The natural and
synthetic derivatives of opium, including morphine, are called “opioids.”[19]
“Cannabinoids” is the term for a class of compounds within cannabis of which delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most familiar.[20] Besides THC, approximately 100
other cannabinoids have been identified [21, 22] including one of special scientific interest called “cannabidiol” (CBD).[23] The human body produces both endogenous
cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) and opioids (endorphins) and contains specific
receptors for these substances.[24, 25] There is an extensive literature on opioids but far
less on cannabis/cannabinoids (CC).
Adverse effects from opioids include respiratory depression, sedation, sleep disturbance, cognitive and psychomotor impairment, delirium, hallucinations, seizures, hyperalgesia,constipation, nausea, and vomiting.[26-28] Adverse events from cannabis/cannabinoids. include psychotic episodes, anxiety or panic reactions, memory impairment, reduced concentration, disorientation, lowered blood pressure and increased heart rate.[7, 29, 30,
31] In a systematic review Wang and colleagues found most adverse events for shortterm cannabis use were not serious, and there was a lack of evidence to determine
adverse effects for long-term use.[32] Opioids and cannabis share issues of addiction,physical dependence, tolerance and withdrawal.[5, 33, 34]Between 1999 and 2006 approximately 65,000 people died from opioid analgesic overdose.[35] Regarding fatal overdose from cannabis, Carter and colleagues write, “…
this well documented fact: no one has ever died from an overdose of cannabis.”[8] In
addition, there is insufficient data to demonstrate smoking cannabis causes lung cancer [36] but long-term use is associated with an increased risk of respiratory problems.[37]Although, eating cannabis [38] avoids the respiratory issues. In 2001 the total cost ofprescription opioid abuse was estimated at $8.6 billion.[39] Unfortunately, there are no
comprehensive studies on the total cost of cannabis abuse. However, enforcing the
prohibition on cannabis costs an estimated $7.7 billion per year.[40] Since the federal and most state governments view any use of cannabis as abuse – including medicinal use –
one might include this cost. According to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration between 1999 and 2009 admissions for treatment of
nonheroin opioid abuse increased approximately 516% while admissions for cannabis saw a 53% rise.[41]
Nerve pain can be refractory to treatment [42] and opioids are often used as a second-line therapy while antidepressants and anticonvulsants are commonly used first.[4, 43] Moreover, opioids may provide only limited pain relief and as Henry McQuay writes, “…you may be able to decrease neuropathic pain with strong opioids, but the decrease is often slight and is achieved with an adverse effect burden that will not be tolerable over weeks to months.”[44] Cannabis and cannabinoid research is in its relative infancy and many studies are of short duration and with small sample sizes.[6] However, a number of review articles suggest that treating neuropathic pain with cannabis/cannabinoids is efficacious
and with moderate adverse effects.[5-7] The most thorough of the systematic reviews was
of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CC therapy [6] which looked at nine studies [45-
53] whose focus was on treating different types of neuropathic pain with either smoked
cannabis,[45-48] a synthetic cannabinoid similar to THC,[49, 50] or a whole plant extract of THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio.[51-53] CBD may moderate the psychoactive effect of THC and have analgesic properties.[24] Seven of the nine studies demonstrated efficacy for
using CC for neuropathic pain [45-49, 52, 53] while two had mixed results,[50, 51] and
eight of the nine studies found no serious adverse events.[45-51, 53]A closer look at the four RCTs which evaluated smoked cannabis for neuropathic pain[45-48] reveals some common and contrasting elements (Table 1). Two of the studies, Ware et al. [45] and Wilsey et al., [47] examined cannabis in treating a variety of NP conditions;while the other two, Ellis et al. [46] and Abrams et al., [48] explored the effects of cannabis
on HIV-related neuropathic pain. Both Wilsey et al. [47] and Abrams et al.[48] required
participants to have previously used cannabis in order to reduce the risk of adverse
reactions from psychoactive effects. The RCTs used cannabis with a variety of THC
strengths ranging from 0% for placebo [45-48] to 9.4% in Ware et al.[45] Each studyrequired participants to continue taking their regular medications during the cannabis trials
and all found a significant decrease in pain compared to placebo.[45-48] In addition,
adverse events were tolerable for the vast majority of participants.[45-48]
Commentators have suggested that patients should use whole plant cannabis, as opposed
to chemical derivatives, because of other potentially beneficial compounds.[8, 19] In
addition, a number of articles have reported on interactions between cannabinoid and
opioid receptors which may result in enhanced analgesia and a synergistic effect when CC
is added to opioids.[54, 55] This may translate into patients being able to reduce their opioid intake with adjuvant cannabinoid therapy.[5,29]Although prescribing cannabis is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia, it remains illegal at the federal level. Portions of the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical
Ethics, Opinion 1.02 – The Relation of Law and Ethics reads, “Ethical values and legal
principles are usually closely related, but ethical obligations typically exceed legal duties. In some cases, the law mandates unethical conduct.” “In exceptional circumstances of unjust laws, ethical responsibilities should supersede legal obligations.”[56] An“exceptional circumstance of unjust laws” may be interpreted as the federal ban on cannabis for medical use. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia found the federal government’s prohibition on prescribing and using medicinal cannabis so unjust as to create laws in direct violation of federal statute. Therefore, one could surmise that prescribing cannabis for the purpose of harm reduction is ethical even though it violates federal law. In addition, Hayry suggests that the idea of “freedom” also provides an ethical
reason for prescribing cannabis and he writes, “… whatever the legal situation, respect for the freedom of the individual would imply that requests like this (for medicinal cannabis) should be granted, either by health professionals, or by society as a whole.”[57]
In states where medicinal cannabis is legal, physicians who treat neuropathic pain with
opioids should evaluate their patients for a trial of cannabis and prescribe it when
appropriate prior to using opioids. There is sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy for
the use of CC in the treatment of nerve pain relative to opioids and as Carter et al write,
“From a pharmacological prospective, cannabinoids are considerably safer than
opioids…”[8] Prescribing cannabis in place of opioids for neuropathic pain may reduce the
morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain medications and may be an
effective harm reduction strategy.
Well frack me. Why haven’t all the judges in the land said stop?
Just how bad or good for you pot may be has nothing to do with whether it should be illegal. The prohibitionists constantly try to bring the health issue into it but it’s irrelevant. Our system is a nonsensical convoluted mess of arbitrary distinctions that only a deluded drug warrior could understand.
When you click on ‘a safe and effective method of ingestion’ above, you will see that it is right there in the title of the study: Vaporization as a smokeless cannabis delivery system…
Here is how to get nonsmokers to help in the fight to re-legalize cannabis. Demand this simple definition of marijuana which
actually shows respect for our Constitution:
16. The term ‘marijuana’ means all parts
of the smoke produced by the combustion
of the plant Cannabis sativa L.
For more information, google Talking Points for the Peloton.
I feel like this blog is misrepresenting the meaning of the article. When critically reading the full article you can notice several limitations to the data that almost guarantee that the data will be insignificant.
The main concern is that one can’t compare tobacco smoking to marijuana use considering that they clearly state that the mean usage is markedly higher (mentioned in the blog as pack/years : joint/years, and again in the full text article in more detail). Notice how high the tobacco consumption is compared to the marijuana consumption. This is essentially comparing apples to oranges.
There are several other limitations discussed, including lack of randomization, demographic trends etc that can skew the data also. The researchers did an excellent job outlining their methodology and limitations but the conclusion is not meant to be published without the understanding of the study in entirety. Just because a statistically insignificant study did not find occasional (median of 2-3 episodes/month) use of marijuana comparable to tobacco use (8-9 cigarettes/day) doesn’t mean that there are no pulmonary consequences. It means that more research needs to be done.
Has anyone done a study into the effects of prohibition on people and society?
There is only one man that can help stop this travisty, and he scares the hell out of both democrats and republicans alike.
You won’t hear anything good about him on the news, if they mention him at all.
Don’t vote for a party, that only feeds the status quo.
If want REAL change, Vote Dr. Ron Paul!
I myself grew up with asthma…. Never was able to get rid of it without the use of an inhaler. When I went to college I decided to try it out. Turns out I believed I “grew out” of it. Recently ive had to quit smoking it so I can find a job….funny how now the symptoms of all my asthma has came back…
how about 4-5 joints/day? still no effect?
then legalize it…for me to enjoy it even if i’m in the mall…
I’m going to share this topic to my mom, so to allow my dad and I to smoke freely in our living room…irie!!!
These findings are hardly surprising — smoked cannabis has been used to treat asthma for thousands of years, which is somewhat counter-intuitive regarding smoke inhalation of any sort. What would be a major shock would be the Federal government actually accepting the results from this scientific study to alter official Federal policy regarding cannabis.
WTF ever happened to that “science-based policies” pledge that Presidential candidate Obama made? Instead of “hope & change we can all believe in”, it’s status quo business-as-usual — great for the 1% and not for anyone else. Too bad Obama didn’t get busted as a youth using & dealing cannabis & cocaine — we might not now have a former Constitutional Law scholar as President that killed the Constitution & Bill of Rights one day before that document’s 220th birthday by signing the NDAA FY2012 legislation that officially turned this country into a tin-horn dictatorship.
The “War of Drugs” and “War of Terror” has been turned into the “War on All Citizens”, with the passage of NDAA. The military has replaced local law enforcement, district attorneys, judges, juries, and even executioners, just as soon as martial law is declared. Lists of the ‘disappeared’ will become an everyday feature of the news, presuming SOPA internet censorship doesn’t kick in — a familiar term to the populous of past Latin American dictatorships.
Until we find a way to pay the politicians more than the pharmaceutical companies do, we will never be able to get clean medicine from the pharmacies and have to deal with the trash off the streets. To me, this prohibition is absolute proof that the government (politicians) are evil and should be removed from office.
(142 comments)
Permalink
Study: Occasional pot smoking not as damaging as cigarettes
Science has shown the dangers of cigarette smoking on lungs– smoking undermines lung function, causes lung cancer and long-term breathing problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But what about smoking marijuana?
Researchers sought to determine whether exposure to marijuana smoke, which contains many of the same components in cigarette smoke, would also show negative effects on lung function.
They were surprised to find that subjects who occasionally smoked pot – meaning two to three times per month – did not show the same reduced lung function that was seen in cigarette smoking. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Using data from a 20 year study designed to measure heart disease called the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, researchers analyzed data from more than 5,000 men and women, aged 18 to 30, from four U.S. cities.
Participants from Oakland, Chicago, Minneapolis and Birmingham were repeatedly measured for pulmonary function, height, smoking behavior, and waist circumference and asked about cigarette and marijuana smoking during each assessment.
“There are well known effects of tobacco on pulmonary function and we thought, going into this, that we would find similar types of effects for marijuana,” said lead study author Dr. Mark J. Pletcher of the University of California, San Francisco.
As expected, his team found among cigarette smokers, the more smoke a subject was exposed to, the more adverse effects they had in lung function. Lung function was measured with spirometry testing, which shows the amount of air a person can forcibly exhale, giving doctors a measure of how well the lungs are functioning.
But Pletcher notes that his team was surprised to find that subjects who smoked limited amounts of marijuana actually were able to blow large volumes of air into the spirometer.
“People who smoke marijuana inhale very deeply, which may strengthen the muscles used for inhalation – basically making them good at the test. So even though it’s a very statistically significant result, it probably doesn’t have any physiologic meaning in terms of function,” he explained.
Subjects who smoked larger amounts of marijuana, which Pletcher described as smoking one joint per day, did show evidence of reduced pulmonary function, and he stressed that his study results are not intended to encourage people to use marijuana
@mart: You’re misreading the article. The new study concludes that typical levels of exposure (to smoke, not vapour) do not produce negative pulmonary consequences. Vaporization and edibles are only mentioned at the end, as a way to avoid possible pulmonary problems associated with chronic exposure, which themselves appear controversial (as per the 2006 study). So no, it’s not “obvious” that the smoke causes problems; these studies are finding exactly the opposite.
@Anon: It’s true that the study’s sample is too small, but I don’t see how the differences in frequency between typical levels of tobacco and cannabis smoking are part of the problem. The results of a study where people smoked as much cannabis as a cigarette smoker smokes tobacco would be of questionable significance because real-world people don’t tend to smoke that much cannabis. The fact that cigarette smokers smoke more tobacco is an integral part of the problem with tobacco.
wow! The drug enforcement agency also known as DEA must have contacted its top experts in prohibition to try to decipher this journal article and comprehend its implications.DEA is becoming the most ridiculous agency in the US government. Cannabis a class I substance ?
Its more the DEA who is last of the class.And to think that there are people making a living working for the DEA.
WHAT IF
Pharma is working with monsanto to genetically modify cannibis and then they patent it. Then release the strain to the enviro until all cannibis plants have a gene of “theirs” then no one will be allowed to grow your own. Then it becomes legal for pharma to grow and sell. They did it with corn.
SCARY. Save yuor seeds my friends.
The fed judge will always kickout any truths and that goes for u.s. attourney’s because their afraid of getting found out. ”Run but they will never be able to hide.”
Long-Term Exposure To Cannabis Smoke Improves Pulmonary Function. Is that what it said. Wow
For the longest time I was reticent to admit that marijuana was good for you, or at least not as bad as some say. I think the reality is slowly dawning on me.
As an educator I feel it is my duty to release/assign this study for homework.
After all it is science and drug education! Just say know!
Pfft… American Medical Association. No surprise from a hippy, liberal fringe group like that!!!!!!11 What do the FAIR AND BALANCED medical associations have to say about this?
20 years ago a news organization would word the headline to this study something like, “Marihuana damages lungs, but not as much as tobacco, study says”
OK, so here’s the thing. There are real people working behind these policies, such as the ONDCP (Drug Czar), who have whole-hearted nice intentions when it comes to drug abuse. Together those employees don’t even make up 1% of the United States population. The real “problem” lies with cops, moms, drug dealers, and older people. Once we get past the whole “it’s for the children” thing, then we will as a society progress forward in a multicultural way.
Until the generation that still fantasizes that “Mayberry, USA” is still possible are no longer calling the shots, nothing will change. I hope I’m wrong!
everyone knows smoking marijuana wont cause caner, why else would they let cancer patients use it medically. People need to just stand up for what they believe is right. We the people!!
Once the children, and younger pot smokers grow older, this will get some much easier.
This info shoud have been entitled “Mayberry, USA” Breath deep.
Yes, we know all that we know about cannabis, yet government still says its dangerous.
We know this is a stupid law. So why is it still illegal?
http://buelahman.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/why-is-it-illegal-still/
The problem is that “medical” marijuana requires more than “occasional use”. Using marijuana as a therapeutic often requires multiple joints a day. This study says that smoking a couple joints a day for more than 3.5 years affects lung function (>7 joint years). If anything, this study supports occasional use, not daily dosing like a medication. Checkout http://toxtalk.org/archives/120 for an interesting talk on medical marijuana.
I use a vaporiser.I hve to admit that it was one of the martest moves i made pertaining to using marijuana since i was 14 and wil be 60 feb15th,I ahve bronchial asthmy.I grew into i and had first attack back in 87,the vap eliminates the smoke and there’s also no tar etc so I can use it without having ny brething problems and I must say it certainly meks you’r pot last muuch longer tha smoking it which I use to do all the time.This was a godsend
The “Good Physician” Ron Paul practically
Prescribes Potent Pot for USA. Good thing too because that is what I do all my good thinking on.(on the Pot)Ron and Rand Paul 2012
They will pardon US POTential prisoners.
Arresting people for marijuana is, the way the laws are currently structured, inherently arbitrary. Owning and selling is the same thing, but the law make strange and arbitrary distinctions that aren’t worth the paper they are written on. They “legally” nickle and dime us about grams, when this is a product that should be available by the pound. The only different between 20 grams and three pounds is how long it will last you–both are just as distributable–the law is inherently arbitrary and hence illegal. Saying any form of marijuana ownership is anything more than a dis-orderly offense is truly an abuse of power. There isn’t any other logical conclusion to make. Felonies are illegally given to people for things that aren’t even crimes.
Our justice system is rotting.
Wait for it – how can the gov spin THIS???
A friend just got out of the hospital from pulmonary function. Had a 5% chance of living. Why don’t I have the right to buy 2 ounces of oil to give her.
To all you pedantic idiots who question the study’s validity and accuracy, answer me this…..millions, yes, millions of people have been consuming cannabis regularly here in the usa for well over the last forty years…..where are all the sick people filling up the hospitals? My wife has been an operating room surgical nurse for nearly 40 years. When I asked her and her colleagues including many physicians if they ever heard of anyone getting lung cancer or emphysema from marijuana, not one of them said yes. Not one. NOT EVEN MY OWN PULMONOLOGIST! I’m also friends with many firefighters and emergency med techs. Again not one of them has ever come across any cancer, etc from marijuana smokers.
Shocking… How long before they change their propaganda?
Since stress is the number one cause of disease, surely plans are being made to outlaw anything which causes stress. No?
Oh my ! If cannabis can be shown to lower stress in users, well it could become the stress relieving drug of choice but the big pharmaceuticals (the smaller ones too) would never allow that unless they could get their cut.