cannabisnews.com: Health Risks of Cannabis 'Probably Overstated'





Health Risks of Cannabis 'Probably Overstated'
Posted by CN Staff on September 18, 2003 at 17:21:18 PT
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Source: Independent UK
Cannabis may be safer than was thought - but only if it remains illegal, a report by a health expert suggests.Recent estimates that cannabis causes up to 30,000 deaths a year - a quarter of the number caused by smoking tobacco - are likely to be exaggerated, Stephen Sidney, associate director of clinical research at the California health maintenance organisation Kaiser Permanente, said.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr Sidney said that two long-term studies of the drug, involving a total of more than 100,000 people in Sweden and the US, found no increase in deaths. Furthermore, unlike other drugs both legal and illegal, there has been no known lethal overdose from cannabis.The harmful effects of tobacco, with which cannabis is often compared, are long term. Smoking is known to contribute to heart disease, one of the Western world's biggest killers. Nicotine has a damaging impact on the heart but there is no nicotine in cannabis.Cannabis was also exonerated as a cause of heart disease by a study that showed no increase in calcium deposits in the coronary arteries of young adult users of the drug - an indicator of thickening of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks."Although the use of cannabis is not harmless, the current knowledge base does not support the assertion that it has any notable adverse public health impact in relation to mortality," Dr Sidney said.But he said the long-term effects of cannabis were not known because users had not been followed into middle and old age. Most give up the drug in their twenties and thirties and this is likely to minimise harmful effects. But if the drug were legalised it is possible that more people would continue using it for longer. "We cannot assume that smoking cannabis would continue to have the same small impact on mortality ... if its use were to be decriminalised or legalised," Dr Sidney said.  Source: Independent (UK)Author:  Jeremy Laurance, Health EditorPublished: September 19, 2003Copyright: 2003 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.Contact: letters independent.co.ukWebsite: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Related Articles:Cannabis 'Could Kill 30,000 a Year' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16148.shtmlCannabis Smoking Could Cause 30,000 Deaths http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16142.shtmlCannabis May Become Aspirin of the 21st Century http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16007.shtml
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on September 19, 2003 at 18:42:33 PT
Virgil
I just wanted to say it's good to see you. I get concerned when people just go away even though it's ok. It's just my nature. I'm not doting (sp) I don't think.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 19, 2003 at 12:03:35 PT
Related BMJ Article
This article has so much more then I can post that I thought it would be best to post the link. Here it is!Comparing Cannabis With Tobacco—Again http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7416/635
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Comment #10 posted by E_Johnson on September 19, 2003 at 10:07:28 PT
One effect of long term cannabis use
You end up looking ten years younger than your friends who quit pot in their 20s.
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Comment #9 posted by E_Johnson on September 19, 2003 at 10:03:03 PT
Something missing in these stories, always
They always forget to remind people that prison represents a danger to the health.It was proven many years ago that you lose IQ point for every year you spend in prison.Prison is cognitively impairing. Prison causes cognitive impairment. It also causes rape, depression, suicide, rage disorders and it spreads HIV and Hep C.I would like to see one of these articles talk about the health effects of being in prison.I think that in Western society, we've finally reached a point where we really truly treat prisoners like they are not human, like they exist somewhere off the human map.
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Comment #8 posted by ron on September 19, 2003 at 09:03:53 PT
A kinder, gentler world
Pot has been illegal for the lifetime of all Canadians over eighty and all Americans under sixty five. I wonder how our culture will change after goverments stop allowing the forceful persecution of citizens who choose to use, or are addicted to, certain plants.Tobacco and alcohol addiction will certainly be lowered.The ritually binding, but unhealthy practice of passing joints around, will disappear.Old people in wheelchairs smoking pot will greatly help discourage young people - paradoxically, it could even lead to a rise in teenage alcohol consumption.There will probably be a long term decline in smoking it, or any other substance. Education has certainly been effective in curbing tobacco consumption. Vaporizer use will grow as it becomes better known, but other methods of ingestion will soon become the norm. I expect to see a renaissance of live music at cannabis cafes selling drinks or snacks (with THC content specified). Police will feel less pressure because they won't have to defend their insane position in a public forum (grade five classroom). They might even DARE to go into a high school. And they won't have to degrade themselves with nark morality - befriend and betray. If they are able to kick this drug warrior habit, they might even get invited to the neighbourhood barbeque.Peaceful people persecution has been going on far too long. 
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Comment #7 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on September 19, 2003 at 07:09:28 PT:
I'D BE DEAD BY NOW.
I would be dead by now if pot had a lethal dose. Mix it with other drugs and we would have a totally different story! It does cause me to incur phlegm, at most a cough.
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Comment #6 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on September 19, 2003 at 02:40:28 PT
The Netherlands is RIGHT OVER THERE!!
>>"We cannot assume that smoking cannabis would continue to have the same small impact on mortality ... if its use were to be decriminalised or legalised," Dr Sidney said.Please don't ASSUME anything - that's got us into WAY too much trouble already. But you've already got a perfect test site for all the "what-if-cannabis-were-legal" questions - it's called HOLLAND. Do some RESEARCH, please.
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Comment #5 posted by Virgil on September 19, 2003 at 02:39:50 PT
Ekim, you need a DVD burner
The Sony DVD burner is the one I would recommend and is still around $300. There was one on sale at Circuit City I beleive that has both formats for $150 after a $50 rebate. DVD is the way to go, although the blanks are $2 each.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 18, 2003 at 20:01:36 PT
Just a Note
Hi Everyone,I wanted to mention for those who have tried to register for the CNEWS e-mail list it isn't working right yet. We'll figure it out soon I'm sure. Thank you for your patience.
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on September 18, 2003 at 18:25:47 PT
Virgil -- trying to see if cd can be made of show
Ck out events near you 
http://www.leap.cc/events/events.php
Sep 22 03 Howard's Ride Across America on the Amos in the Evening Show 07:00 PM Howard Woodridge Kalamazoo Michigan USA Howard Wooldridge Public Access TV interview, remote from Oregon 
 
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on September 18, 2003 at 18:12:25 PT
What?
Cannabis may be safer than was thought - but only if it remains illegal, a report by a health expert suggests.What kind of goofy statement is this? It is safe if it is illegal and unsafe if legal. The article seems reasonable enough except for this total condensation of stupidity. It sounds like a prohibitionist saying we can no longer find a demonization method that works but we still want prohibition. We have no problem with laughing grass as long as it remains illegal.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 18, 2003 at 17:24:55 PT
Press Release from EurekAlert
Link Between Cannabis and Death Still Not EstablishedPublic Release Date: 18-Sep-2003Editorial: Comparing cannabis with tobacco - again BMJ Volume 327, pp 635-6.Although the use of cannabis is not harmless, its link with death is still not established, argues a senior researcher in this week's BMJ. Two large studies reported no increase in death associated with the use of cannabis. Even diseases that might be related to long term cannabis use are unlikely to have a sizeable public health impact because, unlike users of tobacco and alcohol, most people who try cannabis quit relatively early in their adult lives, writes the author. Exposure to smoke is generally much lower in cannabis than in tobacco cigarette smokers, even taking into account the larger exposure per puff. Existing studies do not support a link between the use of cannabis and heart disease, the leading cause of death in many Western countries, he adds. Furthermore, cannabis does not contain nicotine, a chemical contained in tobacco that is addicting and contributes to the risk of heart disease. However, two caveats must be noted regarding available data, warns the author. Firstly, the studies to date have not followed cannabis smokers into later adult life so it might be too early to detect an increase risk of chronic diseases that are potentially associated with the use of cannabis. Secondly, the low rate of regular cannabis use and the high rate of discontinuation during young adulthood may reflect the illegality and social disapproval of the use of cannabis. This means that we cannot assume that smoking cannabis would continue to have the same small impact on mortality if its use were to be decriminalised or legalised. While the use of cannabis is not harmless, our current knowledge does not support the assertion that it has an adverse impact on death rates, says the author. Common sense should dictate measures to minimise adverse effects. These include discouraging use by teenagers, not using when driving or operating heavy machinery, not using excessively, and cautioning people with known coronary heart disease.Contact: Emma Dickinsonedickinson bmj.com44-207-383-6529BMJ-British Medical Journal http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-09/bmj-lbc091803.php
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