I just wrote this up, thought maybe someone could use it to their benefit. The references use some research papers that have free full text access.

Scientific Evidence for the Safety and Classification of Marijuana

The United States Drug Scheduling list states that Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is a Schedule I drug, and therefore implies that it is potentially more harmful than Cocaine (including Crack), Opium, Oxycodone, Morphine, Lysergenic Acid, Dronobinol (Marinol, synthetic THC), and a multitude of other substances (1). THC is the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. The other components of cannabis, such as CBN and CBD are present in smaller quantities and are not believed to make a significant contribution to the total effect of marijuana on behavior or perception (2). Cannabis smoke has not been causally linked with cancers such as lung, colon or rectal cancers. Compounds found in cannabis have been shown to kill numerous cancer types including: lung cancer, breast and prostate, leukemia and lymphoma, glioma, skin cancer, and pheochromocytoma. Low doses of THC may stimulate the growth of lung cancer cells in vitro (3). Synthetic THC is a Schedule III substance (1). Acute toxicity studies show that it is virtually impossible to die from acute administration of marijuana or THC (4). This evidence indicates that Cannabis sativa (Marijuana) is improperly classified as a Schedule I substance.

References:

1. http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/scheduling.html

2. McGilveray IJ. Pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids. Pain Res Manage 2005;10(Suppl A):15A-22A.

3. Melamede R. Cannabis and tobacco smoke are not equally carcinogenic. Harm Reduct J 2005;2:21.

4. Beaulieu P. Toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: Animal data. Pain Res Manage 2005;10(Suppl A):23A-26A.
phytokind Reviewed by phytokind on . This may be helpful I just wrote this up, thought maybe someone could use it to their benefit. The references use some research papers that have free full text access. Scientific Evidence for the Safety and Classification of Marijuana The United States Drug Scheduling list states that Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is a Schedule I drug, and therefore implies that it is potentially more harmful than Cocaine (including Crack), Opium, Oxycodone, Morphine, Lysergenic Acid, Dronobinol (Marinol, synthetic THC), and a Rating: 5