It’s the classic case of art imitating life imitating art: more and more marijuana is being grown in the suburbs a la the Showtime show “Weeds.” It seems that this trend will only continue as the years go on which means that soon you might get a contact high just taking your dog for a walk.
Note to self: when driving around with tons of illegal drugs in the car – drive carefully! Check out the news article below from the good people at the AP (the reporters group, not the supermarket chain which utilizes an ampersand). In one word, it’s ridiculous!
Car with pot in trunk hits state trooper: 54-year-old caught with 43 pounds of marijuana after South Carolina crash
The Associated Press (Updated: 12:21 p.m. ET March 6, 2007)
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – It might have been one of the easiest drug busts in the history of the South Carolina Highway Patrol: A car with 43 pounds of marijuana crashed into a trooper’s cruiser, authorities said.
The easy bust happened after two patrolmen parked their cars in each lane of northbound Interstate 95 near Santee early Sunday morning following a series of wrecks that had tied up traffic, Highway Patrol Capt. Chris Williamson said. A Chevrolet Malibu going about 70 mph hit one of the cruisers, causing minor injuries to the trooper behind the wheel, Williamson said.
Officers found two large duffel bags in the trunk with 43 pounds of marijuana in plastic bags, worth more than $150,000, Orangeburg County deputy Warren Pendry said. They also found a few marijuana cigarettes and cocaine, Pendry said. The 54-year-old driver from Daytona Beach Shores, Fla., was charged with driving under the influence, possession of cocaine and trafficking marijuana, authorities said.
For all those potheads out there, WGTCTIP2 has some good news for you. To follow up on a post from a few months back about the long term effects of smoking marijuana, according to the findings of a new study at the University of California Los Angeles “that surprised even the researchers,” marijuana smoking does not increase a person’s risk of developing lung cancer. Smoking cigarettes however definitely does, so if you are currently smoking and you must smoke something, switch from the brown stuff to the green stuff immediately. Not only will your lungs be healthier, but your appetite will improve and marginally funny movies and television will become magically more amusing.
After the jump, feel free to read the Reuters report.
Via Phyl
Study finds no marijuana link to lung cancer
By Deena Beasley Tue May 23, 9:40 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marijuana smoking does not increase a person’s risk of developing lung cancer, according to the findings of a new study at the University of California Los Angeles that surprised even the researchers.
They had expected to find that a history of heavy marijuana use, like cigarette smoking, would increase the risk of cancer.
Instead, the study, which compared the lifestyles of 611 Los Angeles County lung cancer patients and 601 patients with head and neck cancers with those of 1,040 people without cancer, found no elevated cancer risk for even the heaviest pot smokers. It did find a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day.
The study results were presented in San Diego on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society.
The study was confined to people under age 60 since baby boomers were the most likely age group to have long-term exposure to marijuana, said Dr. Donald Tashkin, senior researcher and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine.
The results should not be taken as a blank check to smoke pot, which has been associated with problems like cognitive impairment and chronic bronchitis, said Dr. John Hansen-Flaschen, chief of pulmonary and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. He was not involved in the study.
Previous studies showed marijuana tar contained about 50 percent more of the chemicals linked to lung cancer, compared with tobacco tar, Tashkin said. In addition, smoking a marijuana joint deposits four times more tar in the lungs than smoking an equivalent amount of tobacco.
“Marijuana is packed more loosely than tobacco, so there’s less filtration through the rod of the cigarette, so more particles will be inhaled,” Tashkin said in a statement. “And marijuana smokers typically smoke differently than tobacco smokers — they hold their breath about four times longer, allowing more time for extra fine particles to deposit in the lung.”
He theorized that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a chemical in marijuana smoke that produces its psychotropic effect, may encourage aging, damaged cells to die off before they become cancerous.
Hansen-Flaschen also cautioned a cancer-marijuana link could emerge as baby boomers age and there may be smaller population groups, based on genetics or other factors, still at risk for marijuana-related cancers.
Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report. In the latest issue of Harm Reduction Journal, Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs says that the difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana.
After the jump, read the entire article which I grabbed in case it goes bye-bye. I know a few people who are going to be very excited to hear about this bit o’ news.
Via Phyll
Smoking pot not a major cancer risk: report
Reuters Health
October 26, 2005 09:04:12 AM PST
Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.
The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.
Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke, Melamede explained in an interview with Reuters Health.
“THC turns down the carcinogenic potential,” he said.
For example, lab research indicates that nicotine activates a body enzyme that converts certain chemicals in both tobacco and marijuana smoke into cancer-promoting form. In contrast, studies in mice suggest that THC blocks this enzyme activity.
Another key difference, Melamede said, is in the immune system effects of tobacco and marijuana. Smoke sends irritants into the respiratory system that trigger an immune-regulated inflammatory response, which involves the generation of potentially cell-damaging substances called free radicals. These particles are believed to contribute to a range of diseases, including cancer.
But cannabinoids — both those found in marijuana and the versions found naturally in the body — have been shown to dial down this inflammatory response, Melamede explained.
Another difference between tobacco and marijuana smoking, he said, has to do with cells that line the respiratory tract. While these cells have receptors that act as docks for nicotine, similar receptors for THC and other cannabinoids have not been found.
Nicotine, Melamede said, appears to keep these cells from committing “suicide” when they are genetically damaged, by smoking, for instance. When such cells do not kill themselves off, they are free to progress into tumors.
THC, however, does not appear to act this way in the respiratory tract — though, in the brain, where there are cannabinoid receptors, it may have the beneficial effect of protecting cells from death when they are damaged from an injury or stroke, according to Melamede.
All of this, he said, fits in with population studies that have failed to link marijuana smoking with a higher risk of lung cancer — though there is evidence that pot users have more respiratory problems, such as chronic cough and frequent respiratory infections.
If marijuana does not promote lung cancer, that could factor into the ongoing debate over so-called medical marijuana. Melamede said he believes “marijuana has loads of medicinal value,” for everything from multiple sclerosis, to the chronic pain of arthritis, to nausea caused by cancer treatment.
U.S. government officials, however, maintain that the evidence for medical marijuana is not there. Ten states allow people to use marijuana with a doctor’s prescription, but the Supreme Court has ruled that federal law trumps state law.
SOURCE: Harm Reduction Journal, October 18, 2005.
Local 6 News in Central Florida recently reported on a controversial pot-flavored candy found to be for sale to kids. The lollipops called “Chronic Candy” are marketed with the slogan “every lick is like taking a hit.” A recent taster said merely, “I think it’s a great product for bringing back memories. You’re not going to get a buzz, you are not going to get the munchies and you won’t get stoned.”
Even though they are meant for adults, there is no warning barring their sale to minors and the intrepid reporters were outraged that any child could just buy one. “This is just a gimmick for a 12-year-old wanna-be pothead to kind of get into,” warns counselor Lui Delgado said.
Capitalism at its best. I love it.
Thanks eNos