Can smoking cannabis cause cancer?

[olivianewtonjohn]

@Chill Dude I felt the same way and I am still open to the idea of MJ being beneficial for some cancers, but I dont put much weight in those studies anymore. If you have a chance check out that article I posted a few times. It looks at the scientific research and makes a strong case that it is hype.

Here is a sample:

"In one study, the researchers determined that it would take a concentration of cannabinoids of approximately 10 µmol/L to cause the death breast cancer cells in cell culture. This converts to around 3.14mg/L of THC. So, you’d have to assume that to kill any breast cancer cells, you’d need at least a blood level of 3.14 mg/L to achieve breast cancer cell death. So how close to that 3.14 mg/L can we get by just smoking a joint or two? According to research, smoking one joint will give you a blood level of THC of around 1.3-6.4 ng/mL serum, or about .00013-.00064 mg/L. In other words, to get an anti-cancer effect, you need to light up around 1000 joints per day."

 

[Enchantre]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html

Old study, old article, still a study....

 

[MrStrickland]

my understanding was cancer patients use the cannabis to alleviate the effects of chemo and other harsh drugs they're taking for their treatment? Not so much that it "cures" cancer.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

my understanding was cancer patients use the cannabis to alleviate the effects of chemo and other harsh drugs they're taking for their treatment? Not so much that it "cures" cancer itself.

Using it for symptoms is well documented (and many of the major cancer websites mention it). But if you search cannabis cancer cure, tons of stuff pop up. But the internet is like the wild west. I can also search autism vaccine connection and get tons of "stuff" or if you will.

 

[syrupy]

Yeah this is what made me ask the question. Is there something in cannabis itself that helps suppress the onset of cancer when smoked ?

I'm going to say no because you said "when smoked". People who have treated with cannabis through edibles gain no less benefit than smokers. Why would you think smoking or vaping is a better method for fighting cancer? I don't get that.

 

[t-dub]

Since we are talking fighting cancer, Rick Simpson (http://phoenixtears.ca/) would be a leader in that area. He is pretty specific on the methods, dosages, and modalities required for treatment. Here is a recent interview he did on the Caravan To Midnight.

 

[Chill Dude]

@Chill Dude I felt the same way and I am still open to the idea of MJ being beneficial for some cancers, but I dont put much weight in those studies anymore. If you have a chance check out that article I posted a few times. It looks at the scientific research and makes a strong case that it is hype.

Here is a sample:

"In one study, the researchers determined that it would take a concentration of cannabinoids of approximately 10 µmol/L to cause the death breast cancer cells in cell culture. This converts to around 3.14mg/L of THC. So, you’d have to assume that to kill any breast cancer cells, you’d need at least a blood level of 3.14 mg/L to achieve breast cancer cell death. So how close to that 3.14 mg/L can we get by just smoking a joint or two? According to research, smoking one joint will give you a blood level of THC of around 1.3-6.4 ng/mL serum, or about .00013-.00064 mg/L. In other words, to get an anti-cancer effect, you need to light up around 1000 joints per day."

Yeah, great article you posted and from a well respected Oncologist too. It's clear that the cancer fighting properties of cannabis are only beneficial with extremely high doses of various cannabinoids. The amount of cancer fighting cannabinoids you get from smoking or vaping weed will not have any affect on shrinking cancerous tumors and such.

The pro legalization people I think go too far in referring to cannabis as a panacea for all health problems. That's simply not the case...

So does smoking weed have the potential to cause cancer? Sure.. However, numerous studies have shown no link between smoking cannabis only and cancer. Some studies have actually found that those that smoke weed have a slightly lower incidence of cancer... That's why I think that People should be more concerned about COPD and lung function issues when it comes to weed. There is a link between long term heavy cannabis use and lung disease other than cancer. That said, people who smoke cigarettes are way more likely to suffer from these ailments than weed smokers...

Like I said previously, I still smoke weed occasionally and am not worried at all about negative health outcomes..

 

[Eschient]

Using it for symptoms is well documented (and many of the major cancer websites mention it). But if you search cannabis cancer cure, tons of stuff pop up. But the internet is like the wild west. I can also search autism vaccine connection and get tons of "stuff" or if you will.

Yup. You can find studies claiming everything from Apple Cider Vinegar to Zinc is a cure for cancer, or obesity, or H.I.V or baldness, etc. Well, more often than not you find sites citing vague parts of "studies" found in pay-to-publish "science journals" that don't peer review. With enough digging, you might even find the people connected to the 1st site are exactly the same people who funded the study and paid to have it published. They're probably trying to get you to buy something.

Then there's the more legit, but only half-truth ones that take a little tiny, honest, peer-reviewed bit of information and make absurd leaps and connections or ignore inconvenient issues. They're also probably trying to sell you on something, but are less obvious about it.

Seek and ye shall find. A lot of people count on there being just too damned much information to sort through, especially with our atrophying attention spans, so I like to have a very healthy cynicism when it comes to amazing, yet little known facts. Especially when it comes to "big ticket" things like someone else's health. I'd rather have the seed of truth than a random fruit that sprouts from it.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

@t-dub

Over the weekend I will dive into some of my old lecture notes/hw from advanced molecular biology and explain why I dont think his claims are possible. It will take some time on my part but I hope it will be beneficial

Plus its sciency and everyone on this forum seems to like science. Whether you agree or not, I hope it will at least be entertaining

 

[t-dub]

@t-dub

Over the weekend I will dive into some of my old lecture notes/hw from advanced molecular biology and explain why I dont think his claims are possible. It will take some time on my part but I hope it will be beneficial

Plus its sciency and everyone on this forum seems to like science. Whether you agree or not, I hope it will at least be entertaining

Oh you are correct, Rick Simpson is the king of anecdotal evidence, but he is also a pioneer in a way. I really don't think everyone is fibbing about the effects of RSO, I just think they are not fully understood.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

Amazing new cancer treatments may have cancer on the ropes.

Slow poke! Not going to say I beat you to it but, ok Nvm I beat you to it

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/vice-special-report-killing-cancer-full-episode-hbo.17547/

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

Sweet my friend. Amazing stuff! Thank you so much.

I love to go through your posts because you share so much great info — if you go through it.

You as well my friend, that last thread was very informative! Countless others on this forum as well. So much useful info on this site.

Few things I noticed in that video, one of the treatments had a 3/~23 success rate (cant remember exact number was in the twenties). While another treatment they said was 90% success rate (but dont think they said out of how many people. Either way very promising, we need to make microbes our BITCH put those bastards to good use.

 

[NorVape]

It is easy to forget, but outside of the Americas and a few other places, smoking cannabis means smoking tobacco as well.

 

[rakka]

It is easy to forget, but outside of the Americas and a few other places, smoking cannabis means smoking tobacco as well.

Yep, that's definitely the case here in Australia. I can't help but shake my head lol. Every single combuster I've ever come across just assumes that's the way you're supposed to smoke weed. And nearly always through a homemade bong

 

[fubar]

Yep, that's definitely the case here in Australia. I can't help but shake my head lol. Every single combuster I've ever come across just assumes that's the way you're supposed to smoke weed.

Yep. The fact that the two exposures are often combined leads to a technical epidemiological problem called confounding and makes it almost impossible to design a reliable population study to determine whether combusting cannabis alone increases the risk of lung or any other kind of cancer (bladder, throat, lip, tongue, ovary, pancreas,stomach...etc) known to be associated with smoking tobacco. As a result, I don't think we will ever see anything convincing on that specific score - but frankly, I don't really care that much. There is plenty of compelling evidence that burning plant materials produces nasty PAH's and other carcinogens, so I won't combust my herbs since there's a very efficient alternative delivery mechanism in vaporising.

Will I live longer as a result?

Dunno, but IMHO it seems foolish to deliberately inhale more nasty shit than I already do living in a city - and I get the additional benefit of needing about half as much herb as I used to combust - that's a bonus for us Australians since it's not legal here.

YMMV

 

[Chill Dude]

I'm aware that it's commonplace to combine tobacco and cannabis as a consumption practice outside the United States, but I never understood why. Is it that the stimulating effect of the nicotine enhances the cannabis high? IMO, Tobacco would absolutely ruin the taste of cannabis as well. Can someone enlighten me as to why mixing these two substances is so common outside the United States?

 

[Stu]

I'm aware that it's commonplace to combine tobacco and cannabis as a consumption practice outside the United States, but I never understood why. Is it that the stimulating effect of the nicotine enhances the cannabis high? IMO, Tobacco would absolutely ruin the taste of cannabis as well. Can someone enlighten me as to why mixing these two substances is so common outside the United States?

One of my in laws was visiting from England, and she asked me if I'd like to get high. "Yes.... yes I would" was the only logical reply, so she proceeded to rip off a roll of smoking paper (yeah, it came in a roll so you could make the j as big as you wanted) and rolled a huge cone and filled it with tobacco from a cigarette. I was dumbfounded at this point and had no idea what she was up to.

She then pulled out a big piece of hash about the size of a stick of gum, burned off a bunch of small crumbs with her lighter and then spread the hash crumbs in the joint. She explained to me that it was much easier to get hash where she lives than herb, and that's why she always made her joints with tobacco. She looked at me funny like everyone knows this, so I guess it's pretty common in Europe to do mix tobacco with hash.

I have no idea why someone would do it with fresh herb, but it seems to be a cultural thing.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

One of my in laws was visiting from England, and she asked me if I'd like to get high. "Yes.... yes I would" was the only logical reply, so she proceeded to rip off a roll of smoking paper (yeah, it came in a roll so you could make the j as big as you wanted) and rolled a huge cone and filled it with tobacco from a cigarette. I was dumbfounded at this point and had no idea what she was up to.

She then pulled out a big piece of hash about the size of a stick of gum, burned off a bunch of small crumbs with her lighter and then spread the hash crumbs in the joint. She explained to me that it was much easier to get hash where she lives than herb, and that's why she always made her joints with tobacco. She looked at me funny like everyone knows this, so I guess it's pretty common in Europe to do mix tobacco with hash.

I have no idea why someone would do it with fresh herb, but it seems to be a cultural thing.

Related to your info about hash. European countries get alot of hash from India and neighboring countries. In the video its kind of crazy, the Indian army goes around destroying plants because of politics (Europe doesnt want hash); but most of the troops smoke hash themselves . Its basically pointless because there is so much growth they dont even make a dent.

 

[rakka]

In Australia at least, I think it's a combination of:

1. conserving bud (like everything else, it's more expensive down under... and low quality for the most part lol)
2. some tell me it's too strong without 'spin' (tobacco)
3. most tokers are smokers as well I guess? perhaps a 'why not both' mentality

if ppl want to save money, quitting cigarettes/tobacco will do the same damn thing. and/or just get a vape?

Just one of the countless reasons I want to relocate to the US someday.

I just don't fit in haha, even when I used to combust I got funny looks when I refused tobacco in my weed. Uh, I like to get high guys, not cancer

Oh and simply having/using a grinder gets me confused looks more often than not as well. Most still think scissors are the best tool for that..

 

[NorVape]

The hash explanation is true for Europe.

 

[Skyscraper]

A grinder will get you strange looks in some circles in America as well... Cocaine was once a very popular drug and people would powder their rock with grinders.

 

[spacedog]

My buddy smoked weed for decades , not cigarettes. He died of lung cancer a couple of years ago.

not proof, but it may well have been the weed, daily for decades.

 

[sz1a]

My buddy smoked weed for decades , not cigarettes. He died of lung cancer a couple of years ago.

not proof, but it may well have been the weed, daily for decades.

Did he mix it with tobacco and how did he smoke it? I thought weed didn't have carcinogens.

 

[His_Highness]

When I was in Alexandria Egypt I went into a small, public, hash den on a side street. I paid a small fee for a coke and a hookah service. A gentleman filled the bottom of the hookah with a layer of tobacco that was in chunks...half penny sized and solid, and on top of that he placed a bunch of some sweet, gooey chunks of hash and on top of that was placed another smaller series of the tobacco chunks. We named the hash 'camel shit' because of the look of it (color and texture). Back then I smoked cigarettes so I wasn't so taken aback. The entire mix was smooth and the combination of the smooth tobacco and the sweet hash was really enjoyable. Even those who didn't smoke tobacco were not coughing or hating the taste. The tobacco kept the heat up...almost like charcoal coals on a BBQ so that the person tending the hookah didn't have to run around constantly lighting everyones bowl because the tobacco was still glowing with heat.

The obvious benefit was the tobacco was a smooth way to keep the bowl and the hash going without someone tending to it every few hits.

 

[sticky555]

While this is probably irrelevant i was wondering about tar and vaping. After reading about it the main carcinogen in cigarette smoke and cannabis smoke is benzopyrene (maybe not main carcinogen but i think is what produces the tar in your lungs). So assuming that a flame burns at the temperature of about 1000-1500 degrees Fahrenheit and the boiling point of benzopyrene is 923°F so it will turn into vapor at this point, that being said the melting point of it is 354 degrees Fahrenheit (or the temp at which it turns into a liquid). Assuming your vaping at 390 why cant you see the liquid tar or whatever are the particles small and will it go into your lungs or can you feel it in your throat?