I was listening to Colorado Public Radio yesterday, and they were singing the praises of Big Tobacco for preparing high volume Marijuana distribution in Colorado.
Perhaps a warming climate and increased CO2 would make their weed grow faster, extend the growing season, and increase its potency.
I wonder if the potential for carcinogenesis would be much worse given the fact that this product is consumed unfiltered?
Oh it is Will. People who have studied it say one joint is the equivalent of an entire pack of cigarettes. This will be interesting. How will the hypocrites handle second hand stoning? Should this be allowed around children? And of course Pravda will conceal all the health problems.
When you think about it, Big Tobacco has had a partnership with government for more than a decade now. The product they sell is priced to cover a lawsuit they lost back in the late 90’s so half the price of the product is directed to payments to the states. Then throw in special tobacco taxes in some states, so for every $1.00 spent on cigarettes, the government gets 75 cents and the tobacco company 25 cents (from which it must deduct production and distribution costs). Doesn’t it make perfect sense to expand a relationship like this into new vices?
Actually, savebyj, people who have studied this have failed to find any convincing evidence of marijuana being anything other than benign. It remains a fact that marijuana is the only drug known to have never killed anyone, ever.
In particular, I refer you to the 2005 study by Dr Donald Tashkin of UCLA, who discovered that marijuana users were actually LESS likely than non smokers to contract lung or esophageal cancer. This is particularly convincing, as it was Tashkin himself who was initially responsible for the “one joint equals a whole packet” meme you regurgitate. It i true that there are many of the same carcinigens in MJ smoke, but there is also THC, which is proving to be a powerful anti cancer agent.
The thing is, unlike so many of those involved in the climate change industry, Dr Tashkin is a real scientist, and when the evidence proved he was wrong, he changed his views. We need more principled scientists of his kind, in all areas of research.
You sound every bit as objective as a global warmer.
And your dismissal of the scientific evidence would be worthy of the hockey team. Have a good look at the study linked by Will below (Dr Tashkin is a co author, I note) – most studies suggesting a link with disease are confounded by the (regrettable) fact that marijuana is mixed with tobacco in many parts of the world. A bit like mixing chardonnay with turps if you ask me.
Actually Steve, I’m sorry about the hockey team jibe, you’re nothing like THAT bad. And I don’t think its a good thing that the tobacco companies are trying to muscle in on MJ production either
Here is an epidemiologic review of marijuana use and cancer risk:
http://endprohibition.ca/sites/default/files/Hashibe%20Cannabis%20Cancer%20Risk%20Alcohol%202005.pdf
SO! they do not know enough to sat one way or the other but Pete wants to jump to conclusions that support the use of an illegal drug.
Pass the Joint, MAN! WOW! Groovey, MAN!
After 50+ years of research, with no good evidence of any harm beyond a mild cough, that is hardly leaping to conclusions. God knows they’ve been looking hard enough, if there were any harm to it we’d know by now. As the article says (in its own way), the expected epidemic of sick old stoners just hasn’t happened.
I’ll take that joint though:)
I think what they were actually pointing out is that relative to the entire population, there are relatively few heavy chronic marijuana smokers when compared with heavy chronic cigarette smokers. (They are also not so easy to identify given the fact that use is illicit.) Hence a study of health risks is an order of magnitude more difficult to conduct than is the case with cigarettes.
Does schizophrenia count as a health risk ? From memory I don’t think that tobacco smoking (horrible habit) causes schizophrenia but there is ample evidence that weed does … and the evidence is clearly demonstrated in the return of Obama to the presidency.
The legalization of marijuana makes it even more important to reduce CO2. A new study has found that if you don´t fertilze wheat, higher CO2 will lead to lower protein.
We cannot rule out that this is not true for THC in marijuana so we must immediately stop CO2-emissions, unless we want all the suffering people to have second grade marijuana.
Well, Steve… here is something you might agree with the United Nations on:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/11/21/1226581/un-agency-head-says-state-marijuana-laws-violate-treaties/
It appears that the UN also believes in no Marijuana for americans!
Thanks for the info Will. I imagine a lot of it has to do with usage. I smoke a cigar once a month or so, I seriously doubt I will get gum cancer. I smoke cigars because, if smoked properly which I do, you do not inhale the smoke. I still think its nuts to inhale smoke in the lungs, period.
However, having smoked my fair share of they funky weed between High School and College I will say that it never did much for me. Unfortunately I did see a lot of my friends go after harder stuff and suffer for it.
If you smoke five cigars a day you deserve the cancer you get and I would guess that goes along with marijuana. I wouldn’t be against it being legal but I wouldn’t want people driving under the influence of it (some people it does hit extremely hard, I’ve witnessed that first hand).
Whatever happened to do all things in moderation?
Yes my primary concern is driving under the influence. In my part of the world, most of the population can barely drive competently as it is, and I’m assuming most of them are drug free.
Amen to that.