Posted March 6, 2008
Analysis by Richard Cowan

Pot Use Not Associated With Increased Risk Of Head Or Neck Cancer, Study Says
March 6, 2008 - Wellington, New Zealand
(MarijuanaNews note: As the last link – from 2000 – in the group below demonstrates, this report should not be news to anyone except those in the news business, but they will still breathlessly report the “latest research” without any thing like actual fact-checking, as shown in the first link.)
See
Annotated NORML Weekly News for February 7, 2008; NORML Responds to “Latest Research”. Cannabinoids Kill Cancer. Noting Obama’s Retreat.
and
If Cannabis Didn’t Cause Lung Cancer, They Would Tell Us Right? And If It Might Prevent It??? Or Cure It?? The Sound of Silence.
and
If Cannabis Didn’t Cause Cancer, They Would Tell Us, Right? No, It Would Undermine Cannabis Prohibition. Hiding the Truth In Plain Sight. Another One We Could Not Make Up!
and
If Cannabis Could Cure Cancer, They Would Tell Us, Right? No. Very Simply, It Would Undermine Cannabis Prohibition. Steve Kubby Is The Living Proof.
and from 2000, see
Johns Hopkins Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use and Head, Neck, or Lung Cancer. There Was Also No Link Between This Study and Media Coverage.

Wellington, New Zealand: Smoking cannabis, even long-term, is not associated with an increased risk of developing cancers of the head or neck, according to the results of a case control population-based study published in the March issue of the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Investigators at the Medical Research Institute in Wellington assessed the relative risk of head and neck cancer associated with marijuana smoking in 75 cases (16 of which reported having used cannabis) and 319 controls. Researchers reported that marijuana use – including chronic use of the drug – was not associated with any increased cancer risk compared to non-using controls.

“This population-based study did not find a statistically significant increase in the risk of head and neck cancer in adults [under age 55] from cannabis,” authors concluded. “[Even] the risk associated with the highest tertile of cannabis use (defined as one joint a day for more than eight years) was not statistically significant after adjustment for cofounding variables including tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and level of income.”

By contrast, investigators reported that heavy alcohol use was associated with a nearly six-fold increased cancer risk compared to controls.

In February, a parallel study published by the same investigative team reported that subjects who had “ever used” cannabis experienced, on average, no statistically increased risk of lung cancer compared to non-users.

A prior case-control study sponsored by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse of 164 oral cancer patients and 526 controls determined, “The balance of the evidence … does not favor the idea that marijuana as commonly used in the community is a causal factor for head, neck or lung cancer in adults.”

More recently, a 2004 clinical trial performed by investigators at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported “no association” between marijuana use and the incidence of oral carcinoma, “regardless of how long, how much or how often a person has used marijuana.”

Most recently, a UCLA study of more than 2,200 subjects (1,212 cases and 1,040 controls) reported that marijuana smoking was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or upper aerodigestive tract – even among individuals who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints during their lifetime.

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that the Wellington team’s findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that smoking cannabis poses a surprisingly low cancer risk compared to the use of tobacco or alcohol. He said: “While studies purporting to uncover alleged harms due to cannabis use receive wide dissemination by the mainstream press, research that fails to find such harms often gets ignored. It will be telling to see if this latest study is the exception or the rule.”

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Cannabis use and cancer of the head and neck: Case-control study,” appears in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Additional information on cannabis and cancer risk is available in the online report, “Cannabis Smoke and Cancer: Assessing the Risk,” at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6891.

Michigan Medical Marijuana Initiative Certified For November Ballot

(MarijuanaNews note: As the link below illustrates, this initiative is badly needed. It will be interesting to see how the state’s establishment reacts. Most of the medical marijuana referenda have passed despite overwhelming opposition from everyone except the people. If there is a “do-over in the Michigan Democratic primary Clinton and Obama may have to make a clearer stand on the issue.)
See
Judicial Murder: Quadriplegic Dies In DC Jail. Compassionate Conservatism At Work? Michigan MS Patient May Get Mercy, If It Does Not Threaten Drug War. Three Stories. Infinite Insanity.
and
A Medical Marijuana Patient’s Open Letter to the Presidential Candidates: “Patients should have the freedom, to choose life over death.”

March 6, 2008 - Lansing, MI, USA
Lansing, MI: State election officials this week approved a measure for the November 2008 electoral ballot that seeks to legalize the possession and use of cannabis for qualified patients.

Sponsored by the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act would amend state law to allow authorized patients to use cannabis therapeutically under a doctor’s supervision. Backers of the plan gathered over 300,000 signatures from Michigan voters to place the measure on the upcoming ballot.

Under Michigan law, state lawmakers may preemptively enact the measure, but are unlikely to do so.

Since 2004, five Michigan cities – Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint, and Traverse City – have each enacted municipal initiatives endorsing the medical use of marijuana.

If enacted by the voters, Michigan will become the thirteenth state since 1996 to authorize the legal use of medical cannabis, and the ninth state to do so by voter initiative.

For more information, please visit the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care at: http://stoparrestingpatients.org.

Jamaica: Parliament Once Again Considering Liberalizing Ganja Laws

(MarijuanaNews note: As you can see from the links below, Jamaica has been struggling with this issue for sometime. Of course, the US interferes in the internal affairs of any country that that challenges any part of the US state ideology and makes threats that can intimidate small, vulnerable countries. Although the last link below shows that some members of the Jamaica clergy are more enlightened, they also have a problem with ignorant fundamentalist bigots similar to that which plagues Christians in the US.)

See
Program Notes for the MarijuanaNews World Report for May 19, 2005 Top UK Cop Opposes Change As “Experts” Review. Jamaican Decrim?  Marinol Shows Need for Medical Cannabis. Interview with Steve Kubby.
and
Program Notes for the MarijuanaNews World Report for April 28, 2005 Dutch Mayors And People Favor Legalization. Czar’s Helper Lies To Jamaicans. Alaska Governor Dumps Public Defender. ACLU Sues DEA.
and from 2003
305. Jamaican Attorney General Wants Debate On Implementing “Decriminalization” – So Does The Canadian Justice Minister. Why Isn’t There An International Debate? Analysis by Richard Cowan
and also from 2003
Will Jamaican Decrim Influence The UK? “Private Use” To Be Legal Soon? Island Racked By Trafficking in Cocaine Bound For UK and DEAland. Victims of Drug War Beginning to Stand Up For Their Rights.
and
We Are Winning: Jamaica To Establish National Commission On Ganja; Dutch, Germans and Swiss to Hold Conference in the Spring.
and from 2000
Remarkable Statement By Jamaican Clergy Calling For Legalization of Ganja.

March 6, 2008 - Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica: A government commission is expected to once again recommend that Parliament remove criminal penalties outlawing the possession of small amounts of cannabis, according to an Associated Press (AP) report published this week.

The report warns that any liberalization of Jamaican pot policies would likely yield harsh criticism from US officials, and could jeopardize the island’s ‘anti-drug certification.’

In 2001, the Jamaican National Commission on Ganja recommended that Parliament decriminalize the private, personal use of cannabis for adults – determining that the “criminalization of thousands of people for simple possession for consumption [of cannabis] does more harm to the society than could be done by the use of ganja itself.”

In 2003, Parliament held a series of legislative hearings debating the Commission’s recommendations, but failed to enact them.

For more in formation, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

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