Cannabis and Lung cancer-claims.

[moeburn]

My family believes that because I smoke pot every day, and while I do not smoke as much plant matter as my cigarette-smoking sister, they believe that I too will contract lung cancer, because of the higher tar ratio in cannabis smoke.

I showed them that they cannot find a single case of lung cancer or any other lung-related fatality in which the primary stressor on the lungs was cannabis.

They showed me 6, six Toronto doctors that tell them without flinching that "cannabis causes lung cancer". Can someone please explain to me why Canadian doctors can go about spewing whatever first comes to their head, without having to use any medical literature to back their claims up?

You tell a kid cannabis will kill them. They find out on their own that it won't. Now they don't know if anything their parents said about drugs was true. Now they don't know if heroin is really dangerous as everyone says it is. "The ends justifies the means", the liar will say. But the ends are not as sweet as they seem.

[flyingimam]

so long as people believe what they here from an "authority" without cross examining it or researching it through other independent sources, this will be the case, whether its America or Canada or anywhere else

same applies to religious stuff, just cuz a church says something, people believe it, thats the utmost form of ignorance and inaction. thats basically like saying \


I am slave to this authority and will listen and submit to whatever is said by this authority regarding the related issue in which the have the "expertise"

I try not to "hate" people of some certain type, but ignorant and passive, non-intellectual people who can't think independently and freely, fall into the category of those that I would categorize as hated had I allowed myself to hate people. those who buy word of 6 doctors for the sake of them being doctors without confirming their word by a 3rd party independent source are just an example of such people.

[Storm Crow]

Drop a print-out of these in those doctor's and your family's laps. Most are only a page or two. :)

Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids
Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids (http://www.ukcia.org/research/AntineoplasticActivityOfCannabinoids/default.html)

Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial growth factor-induced lung cancer cell migration
Unbound MEDLINE | Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial growth factor-induced lung cancer cell migration in vitro as well as its growth and metastasis in vivo. Journal article (http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/record/17621270/abstract/Delta_9__Tetrahydrocannabinol_inhibits_epithelial_ growth_factor_induced_lung_cancer_cell_migration_i n_vitro_as_well_as_its_growth_and_metastasis_in_vi vo)

Smoking Cannabis Does Not Cause Cancer Of Lung or Upper Airways
CCRMG (http://ccrmg.org/journal/05aut/nocancer.html)

No association between lung cancer and cannabis smoking in large study
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=219#2

Marijuana Smoking Found Non-Carcinogenic
Medical News: ATS: Marijuana Smoking Found Non-Carcinogenic - in Hematology/Oncology, Lung Cancer from MedPage Today (http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/LungCancer/tb/3393)

CLAIM #4: MARIJUANA CAUSES LUNG DISEASE
Erowid Cannabis Vault : Exposing Marijuana Myths (http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_myth4.shtml)


Marijuana Ingredients Slow Invasion by Cervical and Lung Cancer Cells
Pot Slows Cancer in Test Tube (http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20071226/pot-slows-cancer-in-test-tube)

Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors
Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors (http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20070417/marijuana-may-fight-lung-tumors)

Anti-Tumor Effects
Anti-Tumor Effects (http://www.ukcia.org/research/AntiTumorEffects.htm)

In fact, turn them all on to the up-dated "List"! (bottom link)- they deserve to have their minds blown! ;) And remember, these studies are not are not from some "pothead conspirators" trying to get cannabis legalized- these are DOCTORS and SCIENTISTS doing independent research. And they are all finding the same thing! :thumbsup: Cannabis heals! :D


Granny :hippy:

[Storm Crow]

Duplicate post! lol

[Weedhound]

As someone WITH LUNG CANCER I must say something here.

It's extremely peachy for everyone to run around saying yes or no but how many of the folks saying yes or no have actually SEEN this work or are fighting cancer themselves. I'm sure there's plenty here that use pot for appetite or whatever. How come they're not all getting cured and their tumors aren't disappearing? THESE are the people I want to hear from. DO THEY THINK IT HELPS OR DOESNT??

Storm Crow, you're a sweetie and I love you but you can find a study or "source" to back up ANYTHING you want on the internet as I discovered while researching my own cancer type, therapies, and txs so while these articles etc dangle quite nicely let me warn you Moeburn that you are playing with fire. There are TONS of other ways to use ganja.....vaping, cooking, capsules, tinctures that you KNOW 100% won't cause lung cancer. Why would you screw around?

The question is rheotorical.......from someone who smoked cigerettes (and pot) for 35 years and is now paying the price. Was I warned? Hell yes!! Just didn't want to believe it could happen to me and so I just used some good old fashiioned denial and it really was just THAT simple.

Try one of those methods and give your lungs a break.

From someone who is now living the nightmare of lung cancer....trust me ........this argument will mean NOTHING to you if you are indeed diagnosed with cancer.

[phatsesh101]

I think moes statement backs up my theory on marijuana being a gateway drug. In the fact that were told how bad cannabis is and then try some and its not what it was depicted to be, so now other drugs dont seem as bad and i might give them a shot also. whereas if you tell a child that it is medication they would look at it as a need to take med instead of as a good time.

[backwoodsindo]

I have been a heavy cannabis smoker for about 6 years and after the first 4 years I started to worry about lung cancer... then I came across that widely publicized study by dr. Tashkin and I convinced myself that it was pretty harmless. Now, a few years later I'm starting to reconsider. I am in no way real knowledgeable in science but let me give my take on this issue. When you constantly expose your lung tissue to smoke, over the years that lung tissue will mutate into new tissue, a different kind of tissue, the kind of tissue where tumors are more likely to develop later in life. People with stomach acid reflux, who are at risk for espohagal (spelling?) cancer, have similarly developed a new type of tissue lining their esophagas, as a result of years of burping up too much stomach acid. It is this sort of tissue that the body creates in response to environmental factors that leads to pre cancerous mutations. Again, I am not a doctor and I haven't researched this thoroughly, but this is the opinion I have formed from what I do know. Tell me, why are cigerettes so much worse for you? Is it the nicotine? When you burn plant matter and inhale the smoke you are putting hundreds of different chemicals in your blood stream, and you are irritating your throat and lungs, regardless of whether the plant matter is tobacco or cannabis. In my 6 years of heavy weed smoking the two most harmful things I have done I would say were gravity bong hits and smoking resin out of my bowl. I feel like those two activities have really stressed out my lungs. I'm 24, still young I guess, but I really think I'm done with smoking. I will cook weed into oil and vaporize and get high that way but I just don't think I can continue the smoking under the pretense that "it doesn't cause cancer because there is no documented case of it." I don't want to be the first one! Since this actually IS a matter of life and death I think I'm gonna need a lot more scientific proof than one study a few years ago. How did Tashkin conclude that his subjects weren't at increased risk? Doesn't it cost thousands of dollars to scan somebody for tumors? Maybe I missed it but I have no idea how exactly Tashkin determined that these heavy smokers weren't at risk.

I'm not trying to argue with anyone.. I will advocate cannabis to the death.. but as magical and wonderful as the plant is, it's still smoke in your lungs.

[moeburn]

As someone WITH LUNG CANCER I must say something here.

It's extremely peachy for everyone to run around saying yes or no but how many of the folks saying yes or no have actually SEEN this work or are fighting cancer themselves. I'm sure there's plenty here that use pot for appetite or whatever. How come they're not all getting cured and their tumors aren't disappearing? THESE are the people I want to hear from. DO THEY THINK IT HELPS OR DOESNT??

Storm Crow, you're a sweetie and I love you but you can find a study or "source" to back up ANYTHING you want on the internet as I discovered while researching my own cancer type, therapies, and txs so while these articles etc dangle quite nicely let me warn you Moeburn that you are playing with fire. There are TONS of other ways to use ganja.....vaping, cooking, capsules, tinctures that you KNOW 100% won't cause lung cancer. Why would you screw around?

The question is rheotorical.......from someone who smoked cigerettes (and pot) for 35 years and is now paying the price. Was I warned? Hell yes!! Just didn't want to believe it could happen to me and so I just used some good old fashiioned denial and it really was just THAT simple.

Try one of those methods and give your lungs a break.

From someone who is now living the nightmare of lung cancer....trust me ........this argument will mean NOTHING to you if you are indeed diagnosed with cancer.

While I don't have lung cancer, I have two uncles, one with MS, and one with leukhemia, and neither of them have smoked a single joint since they were diagnosed (only eaten), so I understand your position. The argument really does indeed mean nothing when you are diagnosed with cancer.

Why smoke pot with all the risk? Because it is the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to get high. Cooking with weed takes time, and generally requires more weed to do. Vaporizing requires a vaporizer, something not very portable or cheap, and doesn't always work well. Capsules don't work (tried em, even with ghee, they waste a LOT of weed to get high), and tinctures take weeks or months to make.

The fact is that there is no other way to just grab some weed and get high without smoking, otherwise this discussion wouldn't even need to take place, because nobody would be smoking.

But with tobacco, I used to occasionally partake in a cigar or shisha smoke, because the word wasn't yet in on whether it caused cancer. The risk wasn't high for me, but as soon as I heard of a definite connection, I stopped. That's the breaking point for me. I smoke pot a lot more, so I have made it a goal of mine to uncover everything I possibly can about the link between cannabis and lung cancer. Maybe pot will never cause cancer on its own, but if you combine it with tobacco, it will make you even more likely to contract cancer, combining the physically damaging effects of pot smoke with the cancer-causing effects of tobacco smoke. This is the kind of thing I want to find out.

That's the second thing that bothers me. I understand that tobacco is likely to cause lung cancer, and that cannabis isn't. I don't understand why, or what makes the difference. But I do know that if you tell a kid that pot causes cancer, and then they can't find a single case of pot actually causing cancer (on its own), then they might assume that tobacco doesn't cause cancer either.

Finally, I am sorry to hear about your condition. My best wishes are with you, and I hope your life is full of love.

[Weedhound]

from everyone.

Moeburn....thanks for the good wishes. I really appreciate them. :)

It's obvious to me that everyone who answered this question has given it some good thought.......nobody just jumped in and "I don't want to believe it; therefore I won't believe it." THAT's the kind of person who won't learn and no one's answer reflects that.

I made my own decision......you folks can too. You all sound like intelligent people who commented here and I love that people have been thinking about it which shows they have an open mind.......perfect for learning and absorbing everything the world has to offer.

And THAT's really what we're here for right? :thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

One intersting thing here Moeburn.....you mentioned you were trying to find out the connection (if any) If you don't mind, I will add my experience here and you can decide for yourself whether it's an argument FOR or AGAINST cannabais and smoking.

Smoked for 35 years; smoked pot for the 20; took ten years off pot then picked it up again (smoking). One year and ONE MONTH after I quit smoking cigerettes i was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer .......one of the cancers KNOWN to be related to smoking.

A.....Did quitting cigs but not pot make this worse?
B....You can bet your ass I don't put ANYTHING in my lungs now
C....Cannabis obviously played no POSITIVE ROLE in my cancer ARISING......in other words it did not prevent it in any way. I quit smoking cannabis when I had so damn much trouble breathing.......which turned out to be 2 softball sized tumors in my chest.
I did continue to eat it in cookies and my capsules.
D.....With conventional chemo therapy I've SO FAR (knock on wood) have experienced EXCELLENT results with tumor shrinkage. Something like in the top 16% because my type is very aggressive and fast.

E....last question.......did cannabis play a role in my tumors shrinking? I eat or use capsules the equivelant of several grams a day. I can't say.......could totally be coincdence.......but interesting isn't it?

[unknownsoldier]

Smoking pot will not cause cancer. Smoking tobacco will. This is because certain compounds that are found in cannabis smoke actually protect you against the carcinogenic compounds found in both tobacco and marijuana smoke. Its a simple as that. The bulk of recent research supports this.

The reason why people with cancer do not see tumour shrinkage from smoking pot is because the amounts of cannibanoids needed to have an effect are too small when pot is just smoked. If you want to use cannabis to fight cancer you can either wait for pharmaceutical companies to start producing these types of medicine (you'll be waiting a very, very long time) or you can make your own. This is what a growing number of people are doing and they are having extremely positive results (e.g Rick Simpson www.phoenix tears.ca).

I agree with people who say that to vapourise/make edibles,etc is better than smoking. Burning plant material will always produce harmful substances. Although pot smoke has anti-carcinogenic properties, its still better to avoid these carcinogens in the first place!

[Weedhound]

Anyone who says they KNOW pot does this or that lost me immediately.

[Weedhound]

Can't seem to get your link to work either.....says server not available.

PS....Lumping all cancers into one big catagory also tells me your info is not reliable. There are many MANY different kinds of cancers just as there are MANY different types of infections. According to your argument we should only need one antibiotic but we don't........because there's just too much difference between them to be able to lump them all into a "one size fixes all" catagory.

Lastly, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough......I've been consuming several grams a day for years. Before I got cancer and after. I've been eating cookies and using capsules for quite a while. Again.......according to your theory I should never have gotten cancer in the first place but I did.

[unknownsoldier]

Try Cure Cancer with Hemp Oil - Phoenix Tears (http://www.phoenixtears.ca) or just google "phoenixtears" and you should be able to get it.

I'm not saying it will work for all cancers but it has so far had positive results in treating cancers of the brain, lung, colon, prostate, breast, liver, bone and pancreas. And by the way, a natural antibiotic called colloidal silver kills 600+ different types of bacteria. All cancer cells, like bacterial cells, have common characteristics that allow for cannabis oil to be effective in treating different types of cancer. And you need to consume cannabis oil daily for at least 3 months (a few ozs of oil) for it to have any effect on tumour growth. Check the link for more details on it.

[veggii]

Hi WH hows goes the battle, good I hope,
I have read a few studies and they have concluded that THC does inhibit some tumors growth! So if you can produce some pure THC and then put it directly on the cancerous cells you should be in business, maybe something like a vaporizor with the pure thc oil? or one of those asthma breather tube thingy's I'm a firm believer in multipile treatments too kill off nasty hard too kill things, maybe the future will use THC and chemo and another undiscovered compound. the treatment for hep-c has been interferon and ribovirin for 12 months the new treatments coming out have another compound added too them and you only have to take it 30 days!
the federal government needs to be sued in civil court or something so they get the fuck outta the way of THC studies ! Its horrible how the dea is stoping studies and jailing scientists working on THC alright i'm getting off subject better close this out keep up the battle WH sening some more prayers too you good luck
WH check my post in this thread if I find more i'll add them in
http://boards.cannabis.com/medicinal-cannabis-health/163884-granny-do-you-have-any-studies.html

[veggii]

You tell a kid cannabis will kill them. They find out on their own that it won't. Now they don't know if anything their parents said about drugs was true. Now they don't know if heroin is really dangerous as everyone says it is. "The ends justifies the means", the liar will say. But the ends are not as sweet as they seem.

its not just about the drugs its all the lies we feed them
then they find out theres no easter bunny, no santa claus and none of all the other shit we feed them growing up ! Parents end up being the person the children can't trust the most because our society has us feeding them all these bullshit lies, it crushes them and destroys everything they have ever known and they have too rethink and check everything they have ever learned, we need too fix this part of our society and bring the trust back into families gotta go heading into a rant ooops srry :D

[Weedhound]

I did get the link to work.....thanks Unknown.....I willl study it. I already listed the fact that I wonder myself if IN CONJUNCTION with conventional chemo (ganja obviously did not PREVENT my cancer) whether ingesting the amount of mj I do has anything to do with the good results.

I've also asked my cancer doc his opinion on "marijuana in cancer therapy." While he seems to think that there IS a place "somewhere" (he did not specifiy) he mentioned something that's really had me thinking. Unless the mj was STANDARDIZED....he doesn't think it will be of any use in cancer work. In other words, not knowing who grew it, what pesticides they did or did not use, what sort of diseases or bugs may be hiding in the weed........you get the idea. Unless it's grown and regulated in a way to make sure it's SAFE for immune compromised people......he votes no.

[Dave Byrd]

I'm with your doc on the standardized bit, Weedhound. We pretty much all think that way. When it's standard and legal, it can be helpful in widespread medical use.

So sorry to read about your small cell cancer, dear. My heart goes out to you. Please know that you're in our thoughts and prayers. My wife sends you her love, too. If there's anything we can do to help, please let me know. Are you anyplace near Sloan Kettering or MD Anderson or Dana Tarber? One of the cancer centers of expertise? If not, can you access the latest info and find out about clinical trials if you need to?

[DontPush]

I did get the link to work.....thanks Unknown.....I willl study it. I already listed the fact that I wonder myself if IN CONJUNCTION with conventional chemo (ganja obviously did not PREVENT my cancer) whether ingesting the amount of mj I do has anything to do with the good results.

I've also asked my cancer doc his opinion on "marijuana in cancer therapy." While he seems to think that there IS a place "somewhere" (he did not specifiy) he mentioned something that's really had me thinking. Unless the mj was STANDARDIZED....he doesn't think it will be of any use in cancer work. In other words, not knowing who grew it, what pesticides they did or did not use, what sort of diseases or bugs may be hiding in the weed........you get the idea. Unless it's grown and regulated in a way to make sure it's SAFE for immune compromised people......he votes no.

I would guess that your doctor probably doesn't know what he's talking about. Not to bash him but it seems like typical sheeple-like thinking to me that cannabis will only become effective when the 'authorities' say it's okay. It's the same plant whether legal or not. From what I've seen from the testimonials from people in that Run From the Cure movie & in many scientific studies it seems that cannabis definately does have cancer fighting properties. I would stick with it, & possibly try the 'hemp' aka hash oil if you can. Check that movie out if you haven't yet.