Marijuana and Lung Cancer

The big debate over the link between marijuana and cancer has spread all over the medical world. In spite several reports about smoking marijuana and cancer development, no profound evidence of the link and an indisputable conclusion have been found.

The major problem of the unresolved issue on the link between marijuana and cancer is that most people with cancer who smoke marijuana have also been smoking tobacco at the same time. Tobacco has been known to be carcinogenic. More so, smokers of marijuana tend to hold the smoke in the lungs longer than tobacco smokers in order to attain the maximum effect from the smoke. Thus, this method of smoking marijuana puts its smokers or users at a greater risk to any pollutants contained in the smoke. On the other hand, there have been reports that medical marijuana was prescribed to Queen Victoria in order to relieve period pain.

In a recent report done by researchers of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, a single marijuana joint may cause damage to the lungs as much as five cigarettes can. This is another contrast to the favorable link between marijuana and cancer, which is advocated by those who support medical marijuana.

The research in New Zealand on marijuana and cancer had involved a group of 339 participants who were divided into four sub-groups based on several factors: whether they smoked marijuana only; whether they smoked tobacco only; whether they smoke both marijuana and tobacco; or whether they are non-smokers. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 70 years old. During the said research on marijuana and cancer, each participant were asked to complete lung function tests as well as x-ray scans of their chests in order to evaluate the level of damage in their airways and lungs.

On the other hand, in 2006, another study on marijuana and cancer contrary to the research in New Zealand had concluded that no link was found between marijuana and cancer. The University of California published this study. The study involved a total of 611 patients of lung cancer who resided in Los Angeles and 601 patients with other cancers such as head and neck cancers. These two groups were compared to a control group of 1,040 people without cancer. Each of the participants in this study was asked to disclose information on several factors including their use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. They were also asked about their use of other drugs, their family history of cancer, and their diets as well as their occupation.

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