Free Mary Jane: Dangerous?

Some critics do not deny the "pain killing" properties of Marijuana use, instead they argue against the claim that is safe. They focus on the fact that Marijuana is introduced into the body by way of smoke inhalation, bringing up arguments that it may have negative effects similar to those caused by smoking cigarettes. Aside from the obvious defense that cigarettes, although proven to cause cancer, are still legal let's consider a study published by UCLA. The study was conducted by Donald Tashkin, a pulmonologist who has studied Marijuana for over 30 years. The study was to prove that heavy use of Marijuana would lead to increased risk of lung cancer. In fact, he found evidence that the chemical in pot that gets you "intoxicated," actually has a very beneficial side effect. When introduced to the body, THC targets and kills aging cells and in turn prevents them from becoming cancerous.

This was the largest controlled study ever conducted, with subjects ranging from moderate users to very heavy users. The effects were compared to heavy cigarette smokers and results showed that cigarette smokers were 20 times more likely to be at risk of lung cancer."We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect.