Does MJ smoke cause lung cancer or emphisema?

[Blowmonkey]

Yes, supposedly because it contains aspartame (sweetener) which has been linked to being carcinogenic.

 

[Sprinklervibes]

Relativating things like cancer with the idea that everything gives cancer is so.. Silly.

 

[BilZ0r]

Well, THC will at least in part make up tar. Tar is just particulate matter, so anything that has a boiling point less that room temperature is tar. Though because of the way tar is measured, it usually needs to be hotter than 100 degrees.

 

[GanjaCzar]

after a lot of reading I've come to a conclusion that the cannabinoids bind to your lungs and actually protect it a little bit.

rofl

Read some more please.

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_health1.shtml

Also, Blowmonkey. What's your opinion?

 

[uacvax]

smoking weed actually protects your lungs against cancer. i forget why read it somewhere but if you smoke weed and cigarettes then the cigarettes overpower protective effects of weed.... that doesn't mean you can't get cancer from smoking weed it contains more carcinogens than cigarette smoke

 

[Blowmonkey]

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_health1.shtml

Also, Blowmonkey. What's your opinion?

Gotta say that's an interesting article, from quickly glancing over it. But it's a world of a difference from "cannabinoids binding to your lungs", that sentence just struck me as odd.

Tar is just particulate matter, so anything that has a boiling point less that room temperature is tar. Though because of the way tar is measured, it usually needs to be hotter than 100 degrees.

Can you explain this a bit further, I don't really get it. I just assumed tars formed residues, and since THC get's fully absorbed by the lungs, it doesn't form a residue and thus isn't a tar.

 

[GanjaCzar]

Haha, yeah I can see how you might suspect that as BS, maybe it is who knows, but I believe it.

 

[BilZ0r]

Well THC gets absorbed by the lungs, but so do some tars.

Essentially, a tar anything that isn't a gas (at room temperature) that comes from smoke. In practice, the cigarette smoking machines have submicron filters, that the smoke is pulled through. What is left on them, minus water and nicoteine, is what is considered tar.

 

[Blue_Phlame]

just look at the inside of your pipe!

Your lungs are coated in black shit due to smoking. It may not cause any immediate problems, but in the long run, i'm 100% sure that it will cause some complications. Alot of the time, when you exhibit symptoms of a health problem, chances are it's already far worse than you think it is.

And I based that on absolutly nothing except logic.

 

[dopefiend]

^^^When you hack and cough from being a smoker (or while smoking) some of what "coats" your lungs is expelled. I believe your body also has other ways of dissolving and expelling the tars etc. that come into them. In short, just like your pipe, your lungs are being cleaned of the resin.

 

[Blue_Phlame]

It is said that the human body regenerates brand new cells every 7 years. after those seven years you should be cured of what ailed you 7 years ago? That isn't always the case. Sometimes the damage is done, and will never be back to 100% health again.

 

[hedgewitch]

from wikipedia

"Tar is the common name for the resinous partially combusted particulate matter produced by the burning of tobacco, cannabis, and other plant material in the act of smoking. "

THC is a hydrocarbonate (i believe, being made of C, H and O purely) and hence is non water soluble, its a fat, so i think it can be classed as tar if it cools before it reaches your lungs, as it is non water soluble and solid at room temperature

i still could be wrong

 

[Cannabliss]

Come on, lets stop bullshitting ourselves. We all know deep down inside that we're gonna get some kind of respiratory illness. We won't stop smoking grass because it makes life more interesting, even though it may cut it short.

 

[BilZ0r]

"Tar is the common name for the resinous partially combusted particulate matter produced by the burning of tobacco, cannabis, and other plant material in the act of smoking. "

THC is a hydrocarbonate (i believe, being made of C, H and O purely) and hence is non water soluble, its a fat, so i think it can be classed as tar if it cools before it reaches your lungs, as it is non water soluble and solid at room temperature

i still could be wrong

While your conclusion is sound (i.e. THC makes up tar) your logic is pretty horrible, i.e.

THC is not a hydrocarbonate. (A hydrocarbonate is either a hydrocarbon (in archaic chemistry speak, why is a soley carbon and hydrogen compound) or a hydrous carbonate, which THC isn't).

Just because something is made of just Cs, Os and Hs, doesn't mean that it isn't water soluble (e.g. ethanol, methanol, acetone).

THC is not a fat, (fats are three fatty acids bound to a glycerol)

 

[Blue_Phlame]

I look up to BilZ0r

so wise.

 

[IAmJacksUserName]

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/23/1728_57309.htm

 

[dablah]

weed smoke dialates, tobacco smoke constricts(blood vessels and stuff in your lungs, i read).and im GUESSING that constricted blood vessel turn cancerous alot easier than dialated(im sure there is alot more to it then that)..it hits your lungs differently..thats my simple point of view on this..plus i say the test of time is enough research for me, you dont see 60 year old hippies(that still toke) dying from lung cancer and emphisema in large numbers like tobacco smokers...thats just an observation though..ill look for a link or something when i get some free time..

 

[BilZ0r]

^ Yeah, I remember when the guy on OverGrow came up with that theory, it might not be wrong per sae, but at the very least it is misleading..

Acutely, tobacco causes a mild bronchoconstrictor effect[1, 2]. Cannabis causes a mild bronchodilator effect[3].

Ultimately however, cannabis use does lead to a lowering in lung function, that is similar, though lower in magnitude, to tobacco smoking [4]

 

[BilZ0r]

^ Yeah, I really doubt that study was ever done. If you can find it, please educate BlueLight with it.

 

[Blowmonkey]

You need authorization for that article.

In view of the adverse effects of tobacco smoking, the similarity between tobacco and cannabis smoke, and the evidence that cannabis smoking produces histopathological changes that precede lung cancer,17 long-term cannabis smoking may also increase the risks of respiratory cancer.20 There have been reports of cancers in the aerodigestive tract in young adults with a history of heavy cannabis use.21 and 22

The numbers refer to other studies. Care to post what they are since I can't check it myself?

There is nothing in that article which concludes that smoking cannabis increases your chances on getting cancer 8-fold though. That's just a random, made up number.