Dr. Donald Tashkin (UCLA) - "I'd be in favor of legalization"
"What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Tobacco smokers in the study had as much as a 21-fold increase in lung cancer risk. Cigarette smokers, too, developed COPD more often in the study, and researchers found that marijuana did not impair lung function. Tashkin, supported by other research, concluded that the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has an "anti- tumoral effect" in which "cells die earlier before they age enough to develop mutations that might lead to lung cancer."
However, the smoke from marijuana did swell the airways and lead to a greater risk of chronic bronchitis.
"Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects," Tashkin says.
"But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances, because of the potential for harm. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance.
"Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm."
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- Vierotchka
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- JackHerer
- added this
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Last week MSM reported an increase in cannabis potency. Where is this report in MSM? They pick and choose which reports they will report. Wouldn't it be better if they spent their time reporting, instead of distorting. When they choose to report the negatives, while ignoring the positives, they are willfully misleading ordinary Americans to believe there are no positives. Sad!
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Right, Conniepae. We need to quit referring to these MSM trashbins as "news agencies" and begin calling them what they are: "information manipulators."
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- isnamthere
- 6 months ago
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That pot head - isn't old enough, nor unbiased enough to make any objective observations.
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i sure hope my tax dollers did not go to a survey to brag about who happiest, which bye the way seems totaly biased and impossible to tell.
i allways thought that more republicans commited suicide.... but i cant know for sure. -
@googlemed on twitter says "Legalize it? Medical evidence on marijuana blows both ways - Sacramento Bee: Legalize it? Medical evidence on ma.."
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- twitterbot
- 6 months ago
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marijuana is just another type of tobacco grown in the ground on every single continent,I am not sorry to say this but the tobacco company could label marijuana as a ground grown tobacco plant.Any time they want.Any plant that can be heated to a certain temperature and be smoked, would be classified ground grown tobacco.Two smoke-able plants where found growing right next to each other.each had a name called tobacco each with a different potentse and color.
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- rabbitx3mike
- 4 months ago
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