22,403,235 members doing good!
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Apr 8, 2007
Focus: Health
Action Request: Write Letter
Location: United States
People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the
Study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000
Joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent
Marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in
Cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in
Marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of
UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not
Find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy
Marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.

Related Stories

Boomers Reaching Cancer Age                                                                                   The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because People older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their Teens and early adult years. “People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says.

A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601Patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood They lived in.

All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status. The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.

While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold Increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even The very heaviest marijuana smokers.

The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung Cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked More marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who Smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all.

The THC Connection                                                                                                  Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50 percent higher concentrations Of chemicals linked to lung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana Smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the Inhaled smoke in their lungs longer.

So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancer risk?The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do With tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in Marijuana smoke.

Cellular studies and even some Studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, Either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can Become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply That feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.

In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado Molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in Cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke.

The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to Inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite.

While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking Marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the Very weak as .... CONTINUED at:    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196678,00.HTML

~The Angel Power Emporium~

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted: Apr 8, 2007 12:53pm
Jan 25, 2007
To easily send pre-written message to state politicians:
 
Look them up here:
 
Lobby your Ohio legislators on February 7

The Ohio Patient Action Network (OPAN) — an MPP grantee — will hold a lobby day to generate support for medical marijuana legislation. Please join medical marijuana patients and health care advocates at the Statehouse in Columbus on Wednesday, February 7, to urge your legislators to sponsor medical marijuana legislation.

There are many new legislators in Columbus who are not familiar with medical marijuana, so we need to educate them about it. The most effective way to educate legislators is to meet with them personally.

If you are interested in participating in this vital lobbying effort, please contact Zane Hurst by e-mailing zane@mpp.org for details. If you or someone you know is suffering from a debilitating condition or if you are a medical professional, a member of law enforcement, or a public official, your presence during the lobby day could be tremendously influential. Please remember to dress and act professionally; we want to engage legislators, not alienate them.

If you are unable to come to the Statehouse on February 7, you can still take action by sending a letter to your legislators urging them to sponsor medical marijuana legislation this year. We’ve provided sample letters to get you started, but a personally crafted letter is much more effective than a form letter. Please take a moment to personalize the letter before sending it to your legislator. Please take action now.

Last session, Senator Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) sponsored legislation that would permit the medical use of marijuana by patients with qualified medical conditions under a doctor’s supervision. This legislation would have protected patients, their caregivers, and their doctors from the threat of arrest and prosecution for using or possessing medical marijuana. Sen. Hagan is now in the Ohio House of Representatives. MPP is working closely with OPAN to ensure that Rep. Hagan introduces this legislation in the House this year.

It is time for our elected officials to enact sane and compassionate legislation that puts an end to the prohibition of a substance that offers healing and hope to so many who have severe medical conditions and who may have no other successful treatment. We hope that you will be able to attend the lobby day on February 7.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this message along to your friends and family in Ohio so that others can stand up for the state’s most vulnerable residents.

 

Write a letter to your legislators
Please take a moment to urge your Ohio legislators to sponsor medical marijuana legislation this session.

Help fund MPP's projects
MPP hopes that each of the 100,000 subscribers on our national e-mail list will make at least one financial donation to MPP's work in 2007. Please click here to donate now.

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in its 2007 strategic plan if you and other allies are generous enough to fund our work.

Write a letter-to-the-editor
Please write a letter-to-the-editor of your local paper in support of ending the cruel war on medical marijuana patients. Click here to use our automated system to send your letter to up to five papers.

Popular Links:
• MPP's home page
• FAQ
• State-by-state medical marijuana laws
• MPP news releases
• 2006 strategic plan
• Download hand-outs
• About the Marijuana Policy Project
• MedicalMarijuanaProCon.org

 
MPP e-mail list options
• Update your contact information and alert preferences
 
Small Print …
You are receiving this e-mail because you subscribed to MPP's e-mail alerts. To unsubscribe, click the link at the bottom of this message. Removal may take up to 48 hours. To contact MPP, please click here or reply to this e-mail. Our mailing address is MPP, P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20013.


Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted: Jan 25, 2007 3:31pm
Jan 2, 2007
Focus: Health
Action Request: Petition
Location: United States
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/1,72120-0.html

THIS LINK PROVIDES EXTENSIVE INFORMATION AND THE PETITION TO SIGN.
PLEASE, read and take action. We need it legalized, especially for medicinal uses, as well as, to open jail cells for true criminals!!!
Thank you!

~The Angel Power Emporium~
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , ,
Posted: Jan 2, 2007 2:48pm

 

 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Kathleen R.
female , married, 5 children
Corning, OH, USA
Shares by Type:
All (236) | Blog (28) | Alert (23) | Poll (2) | Photo (2) | Message (181)

Showing shares tagged with: medicinal [show all]
SHARES FROM KATHLEEN'S NETWORK
May
21
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Three planets are coming together in the evening sky at the moment, putting on a celestial show that won't be seen again for more than a decade.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
WASHINGTON  †;” A congresswoman, the head of NASA and members of the public gathered in the U.S. capitol Monday to honor the memory of the late Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The cost of 3D printing has long kept the technology in a select few hands, but all that is changing as 3D printing blossoms into a full-fledged trend.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Infinity down, only 69,999,997 to go.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Scientists will visit Capitol Hill Tuesday (May 21) to testify before Congress about what it will take to send humans to Mars.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The public has no shortage of enthusiasm for fictional spacefarers, as this weekend's box-office win by the newest "Star Trek" film proves. Yet the real-life U.S. space agency finds itself strapped for cash these days. With federal budgets tightening...
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
More U.S. adults are getting up off the couch to exercise, a new report suggests.
by mark s.
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
Babies who sleep in bed with a parent are more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome compared with babies sleeping separately, even when parents follow other recommendations that lower the death risk, a new review of studies finds.

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved