Another Marijuana Myth Debunked
The smoke from burning marijuana leaves contains several known carcinogens and the tar it creates contains 50 percent more of some of the chemicals linked to lung cancer than tobacco smoke. A marijuana cigarette also deposits four times as much of that tar as an equivalent tobacco one. Scientists were therefore surprised to learn that a study of more than 2,000 people found no increase in the risk of developing lung cancer for marijuana smokers.
"We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use--more than 500 to 1,000 uses--would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana," explains physician Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles, and lead researcher on the project. But looking at residents of Los Angeles County, the scientists found that even those who smoked more than 20,000 joints in their life did not have an increased risk of lung cancer.
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With the recent debunking of the marijuana kills brain cells myth, there is now no known health risks associated with marijuana. With the legalized status of alcohol, it is obvious that simply being an intoxicant is not sufficient to warrant prohibition. What is more, alcohol has many well known and verified health risks, is known to dramatically increase violence, and is physically addictive; all of which make it a much more dangerous substance. There is simply no good reason for marijuana to be illegal at this point.
The crazed war on drugs is what has lead to the outrageously high levels of incarceration in the United States. In the in the 1920's United States prohibition of alcohol did not stop people from drinking, but instead lead to organized gangs of criminals terrorizing the inner city streets of places such as Chicago and New York, as well as creating a countryside full of producers and smugglers. Sound familiar? History tends to repeat itself. It's time to legalize marijuana and start focusing on real threats that we face today.
"We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use--more than 500 to 1,000 uses--would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana," explains physician Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles, and lead researcher on the project. But looking at residents of Los Angeles County, the scientists found that even those who smoked more than 20,000 joints in their life did not have an increased risk of lung cancer.
full article
With the recent debunking of the marijuana kills brain cells myth, there is now no known health risks associated with marijuana. With the legalized status of alcohol, it is obvious that simply being an intoxicant is not sufficient to warrant prohibition. What is more, alcohol has many well known and verified health risks, is known to dramatically increase violence, and is physically addictive; all of which make it a much more dangerous substance. There is simply no good reason for marijuana to be illegal at this point.
The crazed war on drugs is what has lead to the outrageously high levels of incarceration in the United States. In the in the 1920's United States prohibition of alcohol did not stop people from drinking, but instead lead to organized gangs of criminals terrorizing the inner city streets of places such as Chicago and New York, as well as creating a countryside full of producers and smugglers. Sound familiar? History tends to repeat itself. It's time to legalize marijuana and start focusing on real threats that we face today.