Cannibusiness

Eight days ago I posted an admittedly rudimentary dissertation on the supposed “perils” of marijuana.  Very shortly thereafter, I ran verbally into a thorny little man, who had this to say:

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Enlighten me, please. What are these harmful effects on the body?

In a government-funded study early last summer, which isn’t hard to find (type in ‘marijuana lung study’ in a search engine), cannabis smokers were found to have no elevated risks of lung, head, or neck cancers. The same study also found that tobacco smokers had a twenty-fold increase for lung cancer. Keep in mind, this was the largest study of its kind.

Cannabis had been used as a medicine for presumably thousands of years before its criminalization, and has been used by humans in other ways thousands of years before then. Most recent studies are showing that cannabis smokers are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s.

I can’t understand how, from a SCIENTIFIC view, cannabis has harmful effects on the body – unless you consider euphoric, introspective intoxication a bad thing.

I sure as hell don’t. Also, no one has EVER died from smoking cannabis. A human dying from cannabis, in fact, is an entirely theoretical situation – because it has NEVER, EVER happened.

Please, do not ever speak of cannabis and tobacco in the same light. Cannabis saves lives. Tobacco kills lives. Cannabis is not tobacco. Tobacco is not cannabis.

Do. More. Research.

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To which I replied:

It is truly interesting that someone with such a similar opinion would ignore the larger issue in favor of semantics. So that I might clarify this discrepancy for you, I will say this: The only mention in this article of cancer was that cannabis may provide RELIEF from certain ailments.

The term “harmful effects” is used in far lesser capacity, it’s purpose twofold:

1. To acknowledge that marijuana DOES contain tar (moreso than cigarettes; there’s your connection), and though its chemicals may not be linked to certain types of cancers, it HAS BEEN FOUND to impair air flow to and from the lungs. (Look it up. It’s in those very reports of which you so avidly support. And so do I, for that matter.)

2. These so-called effects are hardly the issue. In fact, much of the article exists in direct refutation of the common ‘facts’ about marijuana.

Indeed I would be willing to wager money on the assertion that you and I typically preach the same gospel. I find it odd that you chose instead to get hung up and squabble over meaningless trivialities and minor imperfections in language. How very counterproductive! Perhaps you should spend less of your time arguing, and more in pursuit of knowledge. Remember champ: We’re on the same team.

Learn. To. Read. Carefully. And. Stay. Focused.