Medical Marijuana and Cancer
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Dr. Donald Tashkin, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been studying the effects of marijuana smoke since the 1970’s. He was the lead investigator on the initial studies that identified the toxic components in marijuana smoke. He also reported the the studies that showed that there is damage from the smoke to the cells that line the upper airways of the lungs. His findings have also found that marijuana smokers are more likely than non-smokers to have cough, sputum production, and wheezing.
The Obama administration has decided not to prosecute medical marijuana users, in addition to medical marijuana dealers. Some political pundits believe that this is a move towards legalizing marijuana, however given the serious impact that the tobacco industry has had on the health of people in this country, what would the legalization of marijuana mean for Americans?
Specifically, what are the health effects of smoking marijuana?
While the media often portrays marijuana as a “soft drug”, marijuana can have devastating health effects on the casual user, despite legitimate medicinal uses of marijuana, such as for cancer and AIDS patients who have lost their appetite. Marijuana can have powerful psychoactive effects, due to the presence of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive compound. The psychoactive effects of marijuana which include changes in perception, in addition to impairment in psychomotor coordination, can lead to motor vehicle accidents.
The long-term effects of marijuana may be devastating in a habitual user. While some studies have shown an increased rate of lung cancer among marijuana users who vaporize their marijuana, perhaps as high as 5.7 times the risk of lung cancer compared to people who do not smoke marijuana, other studies have not found an association. Surprisingly, marijuana contains some of the cancer causing compounds containing tobacco. Given the serious concerns, more studies need to evaluate the effect of marijuana on the human lung, and whether marijuana it increases the incidence of cancer.
However, the inhalation of any vaporized organic material over a long period of time made likely lead to significant lung disease, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and a higher number of chest colds. Some studies showed that chronic marijuana users have higher rates of respiratory illness.
Marijuana use has been found to be associated with anxiety, psychosis, and depression. However, it is still controversy over whether marijuana leads to the psychological disorders, or whether marijuana users are attempting to self medicate themselves for these disorders which developed before they began using marijuana. Because marijuana is a psychoactive substance, the long-term effects of marijuana on the brain could alter a person's ability to think. Clearly, more studies are needed on a long-term effects of marijuana on both a person's physical and mental health, given the possibility that marijuana use may be decriminalized in the United States.
Sources:
Legalized marijuana? We may already be on the way
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/legalized-marijuana/story?id=8912772
Cannabis (drug)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_%28drug%29
What Are The Long-term Effects Of Marijuana?
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/pot/f/mjp_faq14.htm
