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Marijuana Use and Risk of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Blowmonkey

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Marijuana Use and Risk of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Previous laboratory investigations, case reports, and a hospital-based case-control study have suggested that marijuana use may be a risk factor for squamous cell head and neck cancer. We conducted a population-based case-control study to determine whether marijuana use is associated with the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Case subjects (n = 407) were 18–65-year-old residents of three counties in western Washington State who were newly diagnosed with OSCC from 1985 through 1995. Control subjects (n = 615), who were similar to the cases with respect to age and sex, were selected from the general population using random-digit telephone dialing. Lifetime histories of marijuana use and exposure to known OSCC risk factors were ascertained using a structured questionnaire. Information on genetic polymorphisms in glutathione S-transferase enzymes was obtained from assays on participant DNA. Odds ratios for associations with features of marijuana use were adjusted for sex, education, birth year, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. A similar proportion of case subjects (25.6%) and control subjects (24.4%) reported ever use of marijuana (adjusted odds ratio, 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.6–1.3). There were no trends in risk observed with increasing duration or average frequency of use or time since first or last use. No subgroup defined by known or suspected OSCC risk factors (age, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and genetic polymorphisms) showed an increased risk. Marijuana use was not associated with OSCC risk in this large, population-based study.

Karin A. Rosenblatt1, Janet R. Daling2,3, Chu Chen2,3, Karen J. Sherman4 and Stephen M. Schwartz2,3

1 Department of Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois; 2 Program in Epidemiology, Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington; 3 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and 4 Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/64/11/4049
 
Okay, I just got off my lazy, sleep-deprived ass and found this: http://my.webmd.com/content/article/23/1728_57309

So, marijuana DOES NOT cause lung cancer, however:

"While this study suggests that marijuana has no link to head, neck, and lung cancer, a multicenter study released in March at an American Heart Association meeting linked marijuana use to increased risk of heart attacks. Murray A. Mittleman, MD, PhD, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital in Boston, told WebMD that marijuana smokers experience a 4.8-fold increase in the relative risk of heart attack during the first hour after smoking. The risk returns to normal after an hour, he said."

Very intersting and good to know. According to http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/marijuana.html
the increased risk in heart attacks may be due to "marijuana’s effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood." So, I assume, holding your breath for a minute would also increase yor chances or having a heart attack in the next hour.

The NIDA website goes into a lot of interesting reasons why weed is bad, and its all backed up by research. I came away from it with the idea that using weed on a regular or even semi-regular basis is undeniably bad for you, but using it infrequently is not (besides the heart attack thing and other obvious side effects like coughing, which NIDA lists as a 'danger').

What do you guys think of the heart attack thing ie what are your personal interpretations.
 
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I just realized I got a little excited in my reply and hijacked your thread. I this bothers you I'll make a new thread for it.
 
hyperborea13 said:
The NIDA website goes into a lot of interesting reasons why weed is bad, and its all backed up by research.

Yes it does, but it doesn't go into detail about the benefits that Cannabis has, the benefits FAR outweigh the possible risks.. Btw, look at the date of that WebMD article you provided; "May 8, 2000", this study is from June this year.
 
Explain to me what benefits outweigh the bad effects?
I personally don't think it' very good for people.
 
Are you fucking kidding me..? Read up on it man, or start a thread about it in Cannabis Discussion or something.. In the meanwhile, compare the side-effects of SSRI's to the side-effects of pot, then look at the benefits (of both) again.
 
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