Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study

Abstract from the American Thoracic Society International Conference 2006.

D.P. Tashkin, M.D., Z.-F. Zhang, M.D., Ph, S. Greenland, Dr.P.H., W. Cozen, D.O., T.M. Mack, M.D., H. Morgenstern, Ph.D., Los Angeles, CA, Ann Arbor, MI

UKCIA has a copy of the conference abstract here.

Taken from abstract:

Methods: We therefore assessed possible associations between MJ use - including heavy long-term use - and the risk of lung cancer (ca) in middle-aged adults living in Los Angeles County (LAC). A population-based case-control study was conducted by identifying ca cases, ages 18-59, through rapid ascertainment by the LAC Cancer Surveillance Program. Controls were matched to cases on age, gender & neighborhood. Personal interviews were completed in 611 lung ca cases & 1040 controls. Data were collected on lifetime use of MJ (measured in joint-yrs [j-yrs]; 1 j-yr=365 joints), tobacco (tob), alcohol & other drugs, SES, diet, occupation & family hx of ca. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of MJ use on lung ca risk, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education & cumulative tob smoking & alcohol use.

Conclusion: We did not observe a positive association of MJ use- even heavy long-term use - with lung ca, controlling for tob smoking and other potential confounders.

Related articles:

Media articles:

Large Study Finds No Link between Marijuana and Lung Cancer

Cannabis 'not linked to lung cancer'

----------------------------------------
Adam Medcalf
[www.ukcia.org]
UK Cannabis Internet Activists
----------------------------------------

There is a lot of reference to this one now Adam, and will be in the future, yet lets hope that with this more possitive report, then the wisdom weed will glow on I hope ...
I've given up cigarettes just over 2 years and still take neat marijuana, in vapes and bongs, because of stopping taking cafeine ( a couple of slip ups,but doing well) and alcohol( nearly 5 years now), then the cannabis seems even better more effective on my health and my lungs feel cleaner.

It would be good to get Data on just cannabis users alone, without the other variable drugs in the equation.if this was ever possible...


winnie

ps I talked to a person who got lung problems from smoking street heroin

winstone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> It would be good to get Data on just cannabis
> users alone, without the other variable drugs in
> the equation.if this was ever possible...

That would indeed be great; it's surely so hard to do definitive science when you have no groups that have only used the specific substance you're investigating.

Unfortunately it's a bit of a tall order for any longish term study, hence hampering investigation into this field. Maybe you can keep people in lab conditions for a few days hence keeping track of what they use, but due to the very much "normal" progression of drug use (things like caffeine -> things like alcohol/tobacco or cannabis these days -> other things) most people who use cannabis have already used other things in the past. Maybe the best we can hope for is people that have only used cannabis in recent times; although even with that things like caffeine are rather hard to cut out from the diet in today's society unless you're really trying - if that is a possible confounder for whatever you're investigating.

The alternative would be a properly controlled experiment where a child was selected at birth, and only ever exposed to cannabis during their lifetime. I think even the broadest minded ethics committee might have problems with that :-)

Cheers,

Adam

----------------------------------------
Adam Medcalf
[www.ukcia.org]
UK Cannabis Internet Activists
----------------------------------------

Good points Adam, must get reincarnated in my next life time to be that child, lol.

Yet because the use of our dietry drugs such as caffeine, then, the results are invalid, not till we allow all drugs to be used without persecution on the individual, will be get any near to this data, is what I am trying to say, that would be in an model world of course.

Hence is why I attack anti cannabis lit such as:



"New strains of highly potent cannabis are as dangerous as heroin and cocaine and the drug can no longer be dismissed as "soft and relatively harmless", the United Nations said yesterday"


[www.telegraph.co.uk]

a touch of topic, however tis connected with the analysis of data, which is where I started.

winnie

Quote:

winstone
Hence is why I attack anti cannabis lit such as:



"New strains of highly potent cannabis are as dangerous as heroin and cocaine and the drug can no longer be dismissed as "soft and relatively harmless", the United Nations said yesterday"


[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, i read the artical and the person they quote speaks complete bullshit. It is incredible people can be this arrogant. So what if the THC concentration is getting higher. Hash is practically 100% THC and has been around since the time of hippies but they use fact that skunk is high in THC to scare people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2011 06:58PM by CheeseLord.

Over the last year or two the air may have gone out of this canard about high THC dangers, because writers have pointed out that a user can take a pass on hot burning overdose joints and spliffs and use a single toke utensil (see Wikipedia: "One hitter (smoking)") to calibrate downward in dosage size as warranted (25-mg. instead of 500-mg. every time you want "a smoke").

The problem is that Big 2WackGo has such a stake in making sure everyone on the planet thinks "smoking" means a big rolled-up paper torch with a half gram or more of herb inside-- among tobacco smokers one source said 94% are
$igarette smokers (inhale), 5% cigar (don't inhale), 1% pipe (don't inhale-- this last includes Lord Russell who lived to age 98, etc.). Cannabis smokers (until now mainly because of how expensive it is) are much more likely to use a miniature pipe. I haven't found, and wish there were (but who'd dare admit to any personal information about it) how many cannabis users actually use a pipe instead of rolling up hotburners (which actually destroy most of the THC anyway). This is one fact the BMCR might actually be useful for finding out.

Point is, the tobacckgo (i.e. $igarette) "Industry" funds politicians and organizations worldwide to resist cannabis legalization BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT THIS (cannabis-inspired) DOWNDOSAGE REVOLUTION TO PROCEED, busting their hot burning overdose profit margin.

For which reason, please consider combining all your pro-cannabis-legalization efforts with a huge attack on the genocidal $igarette marketing format (5.4 million deaths a year,#1 public health disaster in history of the human race). Look at it this way-- if all the tobacco smokers (imitating us) switched to pipe, cigar, one-hitter, E-CIGARETTE or vapouriser, those a$$holes in that "Industry" would have NO MORE MONEY to contribute to anti-cannabis political parties!!