Dilbert Author on Marijuana Fact Sheets

[dalebert]

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/11/what-if.html

What If?

On the local news last night there was a report on some research with marijuana and cancer. It turns out that the active ingredient in marijuana might stop cancer. The story seems to be an update to this one:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm

Add that information to a 2006 report that showed no connection between heavy marijuana smoking and lung cancer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html

Before I continue, let's join hands and repeat "Medical stories in the media are always wrong...medical stories in the media are always wrong." So this blog post is more of a "what if" sort of thing.

What if it turns out that smoking marijuana doesn't cause cancer, and actually inhibits it better than anything you can buy in a baggie from a guy who has a suspicious rash?

I know, I know, the cancer-fighting component of marijuana probably needs to be administered in some concentrated form to be effective against cancer. So smoking marijuana, or eating it, probably wouldn't work. But this is a "what if" post.

Now take a look at the "Fact Sheet" produced by a division of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse folks.

http://www.well.com/user/woa/fspot.htm

If the science around marijuana curing cancer were to become indisputable, and if smoking marijuana delivered the medicine, would they ever mention that in the fact sheet?

In other words, might the "fact sheet" ever be balanced for both the good and the bad?

Updated Marijuana Fact Sheet

1. Marijuana cures cancer.
2. Marijuana reduces stress.
3. Marijuana helps digestion.
4. Marijuana improves your sex life.
5. Marijuana is expensive, thanks to your government.
6. Marijuana is illegal, thanks to your government.
7. Marijuana will make kids lazier and stupider than usual.
8. Marijuana causes psychological dependence, similar to jogging.
9. Marijuana is expensive, similar to an iPhone.
10. Marijuana reduces the number of highway accidents.

That last one is just a guess based on the weasel-wording used by government groups to describe marijuana use and driving. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of an accident caused by marijuana use alone. But I've heard of several accidents caused by people who WEREN'T gripping the steering wheel with both hands, focusing intently on the road, and driving 5 miles per hour under the speed limit.

NOTE TO KIDS: Don't use marijuana. There are good reasons you aren't allowed to do adult things such as vote, fornicate, or sign legal documents. Your brain isn't developed enough to understand those reasons.

If science someday proves marijuana promotes good health and safety, would the government ever recommend it for adults?

[RattyDog]

Dale...

I think, that when somebody figures out a way that the gov't can make as much money selling/taxing/regulating MJ as they are making prohibiting it....there may be a gradual shift in attitude. But for the most part it fits in well with this moral-pushing, "Jesus is my savior and he wantsto save you too, why can't you just let him?" thing we've got going on. You know? "We must stop drugs from seeping into the brains of our children and turning them into lazy gay people" - gets people pumped and falling into line left and right. It's an easy banner to march under. "Drugs aren't as harmful as we used to think them to be" - would be a fucking awesome banner to see, but it's not "For the children!!" so nobody is going to show up to march, you know? The profitable War on Drugs happens also to be a great tool for keeping the masses in line and keeping those who may not care to "keep in line" out of the system entirely by lockingthem up in jail...which also pays money. So. Yuck.

A nice what if post...I like this what if.   

Oh, and MJ *does* reduce the amount of highway accidents.

"Dude, I would kill for a pizzzzza, let's go get it right now."

"Man, that is so fucking faaaar...let's just phone it in?"

"Hells yeah, tell them to bring breadsticks, too!"

No accidents there! 

[erisian]

Now take a look at the "Fact Sheet" produced by a division of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse folks.

That Fact Sheet is right up to date, not: "Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1984."

[Little Owl]

Proponents would have to meet some serious burden of proof before I'd accept that smoking marijuana doesn't contribute to lung cancer.  I know some of the other "dangers" are exaggerated (or outright lies), but that particular warning seems very credible.  No filtering, and all that crap straight into the lungs.

[firecracker joe]

would you rather have a hemp store at the bottom of your hill or an asbetos factory at the bottom of the hill like iwe had growing up with, in meredith NH. now to get within 100 ft of asbestos you need a chemical suit ,makes me feel i can really trust what this government says .even if pot gives me lung cancer
LEGALIZE IT

[Tom Sawyer]

Proponents would have to meet some serious burden of proof before I'd accept that smoking marijuana doesn't contribute to lung cancer.  I know some of the other "dangers" are exaggerated (or outright lies), but that particular warning seems very credible.  No filtering, and all that crap straight into the lungs.

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
Washington Post May 26, 2006

Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors
WebMD April 17, 2007

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows
ScienceDaily Apr. 17, 2007

[Rochelle]

Pass the joint.....so that none of us will die of cancer!

[Dreepa]

Pass the joint.....so that none of us will die of cancer!

After all it is for the children.

[Little Owl]

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
Washington Post May 26, 2006

Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors
WebMD April 17, 2007

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows
ScienceDaily Apr. 17, 2007

Interesting but insufficient.  It wouldn't be too hard for me to find similar articles regarding the health "benefits" of cigarettes.

[Little Owl]

There may be valuable drugs in the marijuana plant, but that doesn't mean smoking it won't cause lung cancer.  The WebMD article starts with "Cannabis may be bad for the lungs".

[Tom Sawyer]

Smoking is not good for the lungs. The trends in places that tolerate marijuana usage is moving toward vaporizers, which don't burn the material only vaporize the active oils. There is even a sublingual spray being marketed in England.

Things that are not addressed by the government's comparison between marijuana and tobacco smoke. I think these might explain why there doesn't appear to be more problems with marijuana smoke.

Tobacco is a vascular restrictor, marijuana is a vascular dilator. What this means is that tobacco smoke tends to constrict the lungs whereas marijuana smoke opens the airways up. Heavy marijuana smokers can have bronchitis and a bad morning cough, but the cough tends to be productive and helps bring up the junk in the lungs. Tobacco smokers tend to have a dry non-productive cough.

The figures that the government produced regarding tars and other nasties in marijuana smoke compared to tobacco smoke... Not many marijuana users come even close to the amount of plant material that the average tobacco smoker consumes. Let's say that a tobacco smoker smokes twenty cigarettes a day. With the high potency marijuana that is available, most marijuana users smoke less than the equivalent of one cigarette a day.

In addition the anti-tumor properties of the cannabiniods (active drugs in cannabis) are now being recognized.

Here is a good/honest rebuttal to the governments argument regarding the "dangers" of marijuana.

Rebuttal to DEA's "Exposing the Myth of Medical Marijuana"

[RangerProbst]

Tom, +1.

[EJinCT]

Updated Marijuana Fact Sheet

1. Marijuana cures cancer.
2. Marijuana reduces stress.
3. Marijuana helps digestion.
4. Marijuana improves your sex life.
5. Marijuana is expensive, thanks to your government.
6. Marijuana is illegal, thanks to your government.
7. Marijuana will make kids lazier and stupider than usual.
8. Marijuana causes psychological dependence, similar to jogging.
9. Marijuana is expensive, similar to an iPhone.
10. Marijuana reduces the number of highway accidents.

IMO, updated list should be amended further to reflect the distinction that all body chemistries are unique.

1. Marijuana (can) cure cancer.
2. Marijuana (can) reduces stress.
3. Marijuana (can) help digestion.
4. Marijuana (may) improve your sex life.  ( Still waiting on confirmation of this one.   )
5. Marijuana is expensive, thanks to your government. ( Not if one grows their own.  )
7. Marijuana (may) make kids lazier and stupider than usual.
8. Marijuana (may) cause psychological dependence, similar to jogging.
9. Marijuana is expensive, similar to an iPhone. ( IME, it is typically the markup that causes the costs to be so inflated. I have known growers and many suppliers, at all levels of the infrastructure; and more often than not, the price is increased 100%+ from the time it leaves the grower, till it hits the hands of the buyer. Greed is a major factor; but I suppose that is to be expected if one is only a supplier for profit.
10. Marijuana reduces the number of highway accidents. ( hmmmm, that would be hard to qualify. I have never been in an accident and I have no citations; but I do know people who should not operate dangerous machinery when under the influence; so once again, individual dependant.)

[Rocketman]

Tell it, Sawyer.  +1

[EJinCT]

Proponents would have to meet some serious burden of proof before I'd accept that smoking marijuana doesn't contribute to lung cancer.  I know some of the other "dangers" are exaggerated (or outright lies), but that particular warning seems very credible.  No filtering, and all that crap straight into the lungs.

There are several ways of smoking cannabis; some of them do utilize filtration.

What "crap" are you refering to?

What studies are being refered to that give credence to cannabis use and its supposed relation to causing cancer?

Yeah, I guess if you put a monkey in a small air-tight enclosure and pump in 300X times the normal users dosage, adverse effects could be credited.