Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer
via WebMD, Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer
People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests.
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Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.
The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.
“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.
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While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.
Here's where they try to speculate why.
So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancer risk?
The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke.
Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.
Of course the obvious seems to be neglected. Why do people enjoy pot? Because it relaxes them. It reduces stress and allows them to more easily cope with stressful lives. It helps them laugh. Lower stress = lower disease. Makes sense to me. 'course I don't know much about blood supplies and tumor cells.