Marijuana cuts lung cancer tumor growth in half, Harvard study shows

you got that right, you sure got that right..

wrong, it actually GROWS brain cells......do a little research first

vaporizers are wonderful but i'll never put away my bowl. if youre an avid glass user like i am than you should know how to keep it clean...save the rez if you want. i take care of my pieces just like i take care of my body. i agree with those above like 3_8_2. id much rather hit my bowl than down some chemically fused pills for a headache or some cramps.

Part of what makes it help is the coughing effect the marijuana has on the consumer. The coughing moves stagnant fluid that would otherwise end up as pneumonia as well as the recent discoveries.

That dual edge sword goes the same with "Popping a Pill." All pills do damage to your liver and kidneys. Im still waiting to find out if my liver will be ok in the future do to all the "Ranger Candy" (800mg Motrin) the Army gave out for everything from a headache to broken ribs.

At least with the marijuana, the control is in the smokers hands. Smoke too much and all that happens is you go to sleep, generally after eating something. Still, more people die by aspirin today than marijuana has killed since the dawn of time.

wrong, there is no evidence of that anywhere....

I'm in complete agreement, Delia. Even if a topic isn't on the front page at the present time, all one has to do is type a word or two in the search bar to find what one is looking for. Add a comment, vote it up, and things happen. And if something happens to be missing from Current, everyone has the ability to add it themselves. That's the beauty of user-created content.

Personally, I find these "off" topics educational. Considering the circles that I run in, I wouldn't have known almost anything about, say, GMOs, biofuels, etc. had certain Current users not been so persistent with their posts.

^^^ this.

No. I am not ignorant. I was being cheeky. Current used to be occupied by more global concerns. I have been a member since 2005. Content has changed. I accept that may be an indicator. But, I have a distaste in my mouth that what used to be an aggregate of reader selected news on a variety of topics seems narrow in scope. None of the change Obama promised has come fully to fruition. New world order still doesn't exist. There is a lot of other stuff out there to talk about.

And by the way... I think that the popularity of these articles is also an indication of demographic shift on Current. Seems that previous participants were genuinely interested in sourcing that which was previously under-reported in mass media. Now, it just feels [sometimes] like self-interest. I am guilty of that, too. I am no saint.

i see...

References, please! Can I have some sources that say Marijuana is bad for your body; cause I can give you some that say the opposite!

just google something other than " marijuana is good for health"

Just google it?

That is hardly research.

Noo!
It's harvard this time, so it's important.

Don't forget war, banks burning us and recovering from damage Bush caused. Lots of depressing stuff so people in the world are going to pot.

Amen.

Ya get off your high horse and stop your bitching. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Obviously if it's making it to the top 10 enough people here voted it up. You alone are not the majority.

The people of Venezuela love Chavez. If that's what the people want, why do you want that to end? What if U.S. citizens wanted Obama to be in office for 12 years? Would it be acceptable for the EU or Russia to intervene? Why aren't you bringing up the fact that Putin is going to be put back in power?

Don't let the mainstream media get to you like this anymore...

Amen

Since we're bringing up more important issues, how about how the war on Cannabis alone accounts for billions of tax payer dollars. And quiet frankly I'm not okay with that.
You bring up the Stimulus Plan as being more important, but have you considered the impact Marijuana could actually have on our economy? I for one am sick and tired of being shunned and outkast like I'm some sort of irresponsible teenager. Alot of people feel this way, that's why these issues keep being brought up. Until this issue is brought to full public attention and we actually have an open and honest discussion about it, it wont end.

Peace!!

Actually, cerealforeal, a majority the people of Venezuela don't love Chavez. That is why in a recent plebiscite, they voted widely against his constitutional addendum to remove term limitations. Also, since he has been in power, his policies of nationalization have actually stagnated any positive GDP growth for the region. The divides between the rich and the poor have deepened.

The legalization of cannabis in all of it's forms is actually very relevant in America. You might think it's just about a bunch of potheads who want to get blazed, but if you do a little research I think you will find that the implications of hemp and medicinal marijuana is incredibly important!

MissG you still have yet to provide input on my statement. Wouldn't you agree that decriminalizing Cannabis, or even an out-right legalization, would help stimulate our economy? The billions spent on the War on Pot could be put directly into more progressive, forward thinking movements.

I won't stand for these injustices any longer. I for one hope to see more encouraging reports like these.

Peace

I am for industrialized use, and medical use, and perhaps decriminalization on a state level eventualy leading towards a legalization measure at a federal level but I am not all consumed by it! This is a news agregate website, not a pot policy project!

Holy hell! I come in peace! Just pointing out that I like to read non-pot related news in an earnest attempt to be a well-informed global citizen...

DeliaTheArtist, I have no issue with people who smoke pot or who research the potential benefits of the plant. I don't deny that pot could someday produce substantial gains for a lot of the global south. That said, I work with democratization, representation and development. This may be one potential revenue stream in the making. But for now, there are immediate issues of human suffering that are underrepresented on Current. And in Washington. And in academia.

urbanwolf, yes, I think that decriminalizing cannabis would bear a great impact. You are right - it would suck up less of the public purse. It would also to help de-marginalize people who involved themselves in illicit activities for their own livelihoods (I don't blame them. Never will). I am not anti-pot. I am not pro War on Pot. I just firmly believe that there are serious inequities in our system that won't be solved through its legalization... like education failure, dying energy fonts, racial inequality...

@MissG- If you feel that there are topics not getting enough attention on Current, post stories about them! But please understand that Current is a place where people choose what they want to see and hear about; the topics that get popular are the topics that are important to the community. You may not think that legalization of marijuana is a main issue in the world today, but obviously many people do.

If this post is true and more research can be done, a cancer cure or treatment is certainly newsworthy no matter what else in the world is going on. You mentioned our economy as well, but the legalization of marijuana would save us millions if not billions of dollars a year pumped into the "war on drugs" as well as generate billions of dollars worth of hemp products, medicine and if legalized for recreation and sold similarly to alcohol or cigarettes, billions of dollars in taxes as well. It is NOT about "If you want to smoke, smoke"- People who smoke marijuana already do. This is about the possibilities that marijuana provides outside of just getting high.

These other issues you mention are valid, but who ultimately decides what's "more important"? What is important to you might not be important to someone else and visa versa.

Thanks, DeliaTheArtist. And as this is an open forum, we can agree to disagree. I am a huge proponent of participatory media. I understand that other people prioritize news differently than I do. That's cool. It's what keeps me engaged. Still, that doesn't mean that I don't get to call it into question. I am allowed to be critical and curious. After all, isn't one of the primary objectives of an open, participatory media format to create a platform for a plurality of voices? What would we learn if we all agreed. This is a place to generate discourse - from MULTIPLE sides of the arguments at hand.

I'm done responding. I feel attacked for having a critical lens, which is really ridiculous considering the mission of this fabulous concept.

Well, lets see,

The US has the highest prison population in the world and accounts for almost half of the 9.25 million people worldwide held in penal populations.
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:lzGQNLGCeZ0J:www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/world-prison-pop-seventh.pdf+us+penal+population+world+population&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=safari

So that seems like it registers on the scale of an international human rights issue… and since almost half of those people (49%) are in prison due to the war on drugs
http://www.judicialaccountability.org/articles/prosecutormisconduct.htm

and 12.7 of the total population are there specifically for marijuana related crimes
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7434

that makes marijuana a significant part of that issue

and if you think those are all big drug dealers with violent pasts you might want to take into account that in 2007 alone there were almost 40,000 arrests in which possession of under one ounce of marijuana was the most serious charge in just NYC.
http://www.nyclu.org/files/MARIJUANA-ARREST-CRUSADE_Final.pdf

And the fact that although 60% of white people have smoked at one point in there life and only 50% of blacks have smoked in their lifetime, 52% of those NYC arrests were of black people and only 15% were of white people (and blacks only made up 26% of the population, whereas whites made up 35%)
http://www.nyclu.org/files/MARIJUANA-ARREST-CRUSADE_Final.pdf

I think marijuana laws qualify again for a significant civil rights issue at least at the national level.

Then there’s the fact that it costs about $23,000.00 per year to incarcerate each individual prisoner in the federal system (so, do the math, the cost of incarcerating that 12% that are in the system for marijuana offenses…)
http://www.uscourts.gov/newsroom/prisoncost.html

makes this a national budget issue

and the fact that we spent 1.4 billion in the last year or so on the war on drugs in Mexico, which only led to an increase in drug exports and resulted in 5,700 deaths
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/10/081110fa_fact_guillermoprieto

and makes marijuana part of an an international budget issue…

so I think there’s a reason that at a place like currenttv were the content is chosen by the people, that the marijuana issue keeps coming up. The question is why doesn’t it make it to the national media?

I am a proud member of the stoner lobby and DONT SMOKE WEED!

The economic implications of legalization are immense, and the relief of suffering that results in the saved money and hassle associated with not having hemp and prosecuting potheads is not quantifiable.

In your defense, MissG, there are bigger issues out there.

The biggest one, and, Ironically, the only one not mentioned here, is the health care industry.

It is the largest expenditure in the US budget, and consumes 1/6th of our GDP.

Single payer health care and a system run similarly to that in Great Britain and other health-care-progressive countries, would net a more than 1.2 trillion dollar ANNUAL net benefit.

It would pay for all of the stimulus packages this year and last year in one year, balance the budget the year after, and eliminate our national debt in all in less than a decade.

All of the above would happen WITHOUT a net change in our lifestyles or the standards of living.

THAT is an issue that is worth bringing to the fore... but MJ is a bit more personal, which is probably why it gets so much traction.

Unfortunately, fixing all the problems associated with how the government treats weed (even if you include the ripple effects) wouldn't even be a tenth of the net benefit of fixing the health care system.

@MissI didn't mean for you to feel attacked, I'm just putting my 2 cents in. You should have a critical lens, I just think that the marijuana issue relevant and "importance" depends on a lot of factors.

@occ-"Uh...DeliaTheArtist...are you implying that pot is more important than:

- The stimulus plan
- Mobilization in Venezuela to keep term limits under control (and end Chavez's reign)
- Energy discovery in Bolivia
- Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe"

Am I? I didn't think I was. I am implying that 1) importance in relative and 2) marijuana and the issues surrounding it's legality are completely significant to the world today and directly pertinent to at least one of the things you mentioned (the stimulus package/economy.)

"The generation that wants what it wants, and doesn't give a damn about anything else in the world (see: slaughtered africans above)." I call bullshit on this. You can care about more than one thing at a time. People who are interested in marijuana legalization can care about other worldly issues. You see a variety of topics and stories on Current, most of them are political.

"And its not a human rights issue. As much as you people want to toke up, getting access to a psychotropic substance is not your "inalienable right". Otherwise, we wouldn't need pharmacists, or drug enforcement."
Again, this isn't about "wanting to toke up". You are simplifying it to dismiss it but you are missing the points everyone is making. For some people it IS a human rights issue that their state government says they can use marijuana as medicine only to have the federal government take that medicine away. If you do just the smallest amount of googling on hemp or medicinal marijuana, you will see that there are a lot of benefits to be gained from the legalization of marijuana and hemp much of which do NOT have to do with getting high.

sorry missyg, your post about feeling attacked, came while i was typing or i would have tempered my response.

but in response to occhipij, i agree there are other issues out there, but this one happens to affect this particular age range. and it affects them in blatantly biased ways. as for violent videos, i could easily post horrific videos of the effects of the war on drugs in sinaloa, but i think its in poor taste to compare tragedies, jockeying for position. there are always a number of issues presented here on current.

but perhaps you should update yourself on some of our local issues before criticizing people who hope to gain recognition for local issues,

you say that "its not a human rights issue. As much as you people want to toke up, getting access to a psychotropic substance is not your "inalienable right". Otherwise, we wouldn't need pharmacists, or drug enforcement."

why dont you check out why exactly we have the cannabis crazed drug enforcement. we've inherited this approach from the first guy to head the Bureau of Narcotics, Anslinger, who spearheaded the campaign against marijuana with statements like,

"...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."

and

"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."

I agree there are many problems in the world but take your own advice and dont turn your nose up at an issue just because its not your problem

Quit your whining and POST something if it's important to you. Or go to another website if you have an issue with the content on this one. No one is holding a gun to your head and making you read articles about pot. Just.... um... DON'T CLICK ON SOMETHING IF IT DOESN'T INTEREST YOU.

Lord, some people.

go miss G. your comments on the nature of current itself are ON POINT. I wish more people came at it with the sensible intellectual approach that you do, regardless of our opinions on particular things. I'm pretty sick of the thoughtless cowardly personal attacks from the other side of the internet. acknowledging diversity of opinion is the only way to even begin to approach "truth". keep on posting.

miss G i need weed.the prescriptions do not work. marinol does not work.i have aids.cancer and a failing liver.may i indulge in the relief that works best for me?that just sounds silly doesn't it? if there where a soldier down in the field and heroin brings him some relief is it ok for him to have it please? that just sounds crazy also.we can not save the world from itself we can only live in it and do our best to love one another. have you seen all this middle east crap? i am so sick of it.but the afghans make the best hash.how about that mike phelps character.

MissG-
I would like you to think for one second of the implications the drug war has caused. The drug war is basically a war on pot since all the other drugs are only used by a very small almost insignificant number of people.

Central and South America have been virtually destroyed because of the illegal drug trade, that only became illegal because of the drug war.

Hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders are thrown in prison, along with violent offenders, 80% for simple possesion of marijuana.

The drug war is costing us billions of dollars every year, its giving the police more right and consequently taking our rights as a free people away.

I would say that right now the war on marijuana and all the injustice and ignorance its caused is a major problem for the american people.

Not only that but I notice one of your preferred topics says that you believe Hugo chavez is a problem. This irritates me, unless you are venezuelan stay out of their politics he was democratically elected by the venezuelan people, it is not Americas place to decide the future of venezuela that is the responsibility of the venezuelan people.

The only reason Hugo chavez is a problem to America is because he hasnt sold out his country or his people to American corporations.

Open your eyes.

current would be really boring if everyone focused on the same four or five issues, yes? if you want discourse, you're going to have to expect that people will answer you back and that it might not be in a way that you appreciate it.

I saw the same thing...

"Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use And Lung Cancer"

"Marijuana Smokers Face Rapid Lung Destruction -- As Much As 20 Years Ahead Of Tobacco Smokers"

...both on the same page

thinking that this will get weed legalized isn't the reason that people are happy about more evidence that weed fights cancer; people are generally happy hearing about anything that fights cancer. Also, it helps fight the the false information spread by drug warriors that marijuana is totally bad. Obviously if it can be used as a starting point for the synthesis for new drug compounds that can more effectively fight cancer than the heavy clubs that are radiation, chemo, and surgery, it is not the demon it has been portrayed to be.

I don't think most pot smokers are naive enough to think that yet ANOTHER study showing the benefits of marijuana will do anything significant to increase the likelihood of it getting legalized. These stories get pretty old pretty fast, but they're still vindicating.

your really clever. i think you should join the reaserch team with such insight. infact, fuck it, kick that new fella out of the white house n let you have a go i say.

Wow, you are a sharp one. Thanks so much for clarifying. My drug-addled brain couldn't grasp it.

what the hell bus did you ride in on? of course they will and of course we will

They already have pot in pill form. Marinol look it up.

Besides this isnt going to decide anything and we potheads understand this, however it does yet again prove that we are right.