The British Lung Foundation has just issued a report summarizing the health risks from marijuana.
Here are the most sensational findings in a BBC story.
Some studies have also suggested cannabis increases the chances of developing mental health problems such as schizophrenia.
Almost 40% of the under-35s surveyed - the age group most likely to have smoked it - thought cannabis was not harmful.
However, the BLF report warned that smoking one cannabis cigarette every day for a year increases the chances of developing lung cancer by a similar amount as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes each day for one year.
According to the BLF, there are many other health risks, too. (You can read about them in the 19-page report.)
I am passing this on without an endorsement. In an election year, I don't want to take the weeks necessary to plow through all the papers listed in their footnotes. (You can see my lukewarm reaction here. I probably should have added that charities like the BLF have an incentive to exaggerate risks, and sometimes succumb to that temptation.)
But I did think that you should know about this report, and I don't think it will be the lead story in any of our newspapers, or appear on any of the local TV news programs, even though it is highly relevant to some of our current political fights. (If you do see the story, please let me know.)
(Fans of socialized medicine will be interested to know that Britain's National Health Service appears to approve of the report.)
Posted by Jim Miller at June 12, 2012 08:56 AM | Email ThisThankfully the Paul wing of the republican party is making progress and will hopefully be able to correct this injustice in the next 5 years or so.
Posted by: Lysander on June 12, 2012 09:43 AMPlease.
LOL, remember Lysander when I said the only reason you RP fools like him was for open use of drugs...
Thanks for proving my point.
Posted by: Medic/Vet on June 12, 2012 12:15 PMBurning marijuana is not the only method of ingestion.
Posted by: Poppa on June 12, 2012 12:57 PMWhen it comes to alcohol and tobacco, I think that there is a movement to slowly make it societally inappropriate. Only when (if) that happens can it be made illegal without a major crime wave. Given the known health related problems cause by both (lung & liver issues, drunk driving, etc) I look forward to when people will choose to avoid either, and not be forced by the government to do so.
Whether or not this is the right thing to do is a matter of opinion.
Posted by: Jeff on June 12, 2012 01:45 PMIs it hard for you to understand that supporting liberty means supporting things that help others not just yourself?
Posted by: Lysander on June 12, 2012 02:07 PMThe arguement for legalization is that we should have the freedom to harm ourselves.
Posted by: Lysander on June 12, 2012 02:08 PMIt has been legal and in fact we have found the same problems we created by making alcohol illegal. That is the message people supporting drug legalization have been trying to make for so decades now.
Basically all the problems people associate with illegal drugs is inherent in them being illegal, not with them being drugs.
It is -- though some of you may find this hard to believe -- not an issue I care much about.
But I do think we should all have solid information on the risks and benefits (if any) of marijuana use. And from what I can tell, that BLF report -- which I hope every single one of you will read -- provides some of that information.
Posted by: Jim Miller on June 12, 2012 02:42 PMhttp://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2012/06/12/diesel-fumes-cause-cancer-who-said/
While many Paulbots obviously ingested fumes from something, or else they wouldn't support such a blithering moron; few normal people make a habit out of drawing as many cancer fumes into their lungs for as long as possible as part of the product use.
And there are other ways of ingesting diesel fuel.
Posted by: Hinton on June 12, 2012 03:53 PMPersonally I've never understood the argument for the legality of smoking anything around anyone. Smoke does not stay within boundaries and is therefore inherently incompatible with personal freedom.
Lastly, I'll just say that almost all of the potheads I know are wasteoids. They claim it doesn't effect them but they curiously don't have anywhere near the drive and motivation of most I know who don't smoke pot.
Posted by: Jeff B. on June 12, 2012 04:52 PMI know the diesel fumes thing has nothing to do with the debate on this thread. I was just posting it because it is related to the actual article this thread is generating from. Both articles are about studies that state what everyone already knew was obvious... breathing in smoke/fumes is bad for lungs.
Jim,
sure it is good to have facts... I just do not see how these facts are new. Did you not know smoke was bad for your lungs?
Posted by: Lysander on June 12, 2012 06:31 PMHere are the facts as I know thme:
1. there is no hard evidence that marijuana does harm .. to the lungs or anything else. However SMOKING marijuana will deliver a major carcinogen to your lungs. It is very likley that this increases the risk of cancer though we do not have formal proof and one study failed to find the expected effect.
2. Given the concern about smoking anything, there is no reason folks who want the marijuana experience can nto get it by eating marijuana brownies. We can also provide the active ingredient of marijuana is forms that do nto damage the lungs ... what do you think about marijuana soda?
3. The active ingredients in marijuana re not likely to be as harmful as other drugs in common use .. e.g Nyquil,booze, caffeine, etc.
4. Medical marijuana's effects are equaly vague. There is some known benefit but this can be provided by taking the active ingredient in safe forms that apparently do not interest the MJ fans.
5. Oddly, MJ fans are laregley on the left where the same folks hate big tobacco. If MJ is leglaized, who do they think will sell it?
Posted by: The-Ave.US on June 13, 2012 09:05 AMStoners at HA? That explains a lot.
Posted by: Jeff B. on June 13, 2012 09:54 AMWhat about brain or lung cancer - no direct link- huh ? Yeah, I know you need to smoke it in copious amounts to have it happen.
I am for medical patients in pain having access to it - seems fair.
If it improves revenue for local governments, that would be a good thing.
Posted by: KDS on June 13, 2012 10:01 AMStupid!
Posted by: Medic/Vet on June 13, 2012 11:47 AMThat the GOP does not want to embrace this group who is fighting for SMALLER government is baffling.
Posted by: Lysander on June 13, 2012 12:14 PMI count myself among those, at least for marijuana. I certainly don't think anyone should be imprisoned for drug use either, even stronger drugs. If they commit crimes to obtain them, then that's a different story.
Posted by: Palouse on June 13, 2012 04:01 PMWwe agree on this one. As with global warming, evolution, and vaccines, sceince is vedry clear. Denying sceince .. whether it is something done by Republicans in regard to marijuana as a dangerous drug or dems who think it is a magic cure ... is stupid.
Worse, as a scientist, I get frustrated because we need your trust to make oue work useful. A Dem post fanatic, like Lee at HorsesAss, hurts ALL the issues where science should come first!
Posted by: The-Ave.US on June 14, 2012 09:03 AM