Carcinogens in marijuana

Discussion in 'Fitness, Health & Nutrition' started by Marijuana User, May 26, 2012.

  1. We all know what carcinogens are. Any chemical or radioactive material that causes cancerous growth in cells are carcinogens. There's a list of them, and we know that there's a whole bunch of them in marijuana smoke.

    ...so why the fuck don't people get cancer from smoking pot?

    It's blatantly obvious that marijuana doesn't cause cancer. There hasn't been one recorded case of cancer linked back to marijuana, and there have been a significant amount of regular users for long enough for cancer to present itself. There are studies with findings that show no increased risk of cancer no matter how much pot anyone smokes, so what about all those carcinogens? Why aren't they causing cancer?

    It seems to be such a common anti-marijuana argument; "there are more carcinogens in marijuana smoke than in cigarette smoke!"... but nobody has yet to show a documented case of cancer shown to be caused solely by smoking marijuana

    What the fucking fuck? Am I missing something here?
     
  2. I'm just pulling this out of my ass here, but I'm pretty sure since marijuana smoke kills cancer cells or whatever the fuck it does, it pretty much neutralizes the carcinogens.
     
  3. I think there's a couple of things to this:
    -heavy marijuana smokers still smoke less than heavy tobacco smokers. I would never picture myself smoking over 20 joints in a day, been though I'm sure some rare people do.
    - there are more carcinogens in the plant (or so we are meant to believe), but they are mainly in the stems, and peolpe smoke the bud, in which there is about a third of the tar present in tobacco cigarettes.
    - thc and cannabidiol inhibit tumour growth by cutting off blood supply and causing cells to kill themselves off, which I guess would stop any mild cancer.
    I could be wrong but those are my theories... :smoke:
     
  4. I could go into the dozens of anti-cancer studies, and articles, including these released by these two doctors and scientists, one of whom was at one time responsible for releasing some of the most popular studies for the opposition, against cannabis, who later had a change of heart after studying further the effects of actual cannabis smoke itself on long-term users, only to find that, not only does it not harm the lungs, but more often than not it actually improves lung capacity for similar reasons that an athlete (breath control practiced by swimmers, in particular) show improved lung capacity...

    Or I could share some of this article from the National Cancer Institution (a .gov organization), confirming the studies which prove not only that there is no negative link between cancer and cannabis, in spite of what we know of the chemical make-up and carcinogenic components, but that cannabis users (even smokers!) often tend to have fewer instances of cancer, and that they have less likelihood to develop many of, what are considered to be 'smoke related diseases', than even non-smokers...


    But I think Storm Crow is about to lay down some knowledge, and she has all that information much more organized than anyone possibly could :p :)
     
  5. ^^^ In b4 granny!
    She has a ton of articles and links o.o
     
  6. #6 Storm Crow, May 26, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: May 26, 2012
    Let me explain it to you, hon. Get comfy, it takes a few paragraphs to condense the last 40 years worth of scientific studies. ;) Get familiar with the weird bolded words, you will be hearing them often in the future!

    It starts with the Endocannabinoid System, the ECS, which is made up of tiny chemical receptors (CB1s, CB2s, and GPRs) on and between your cells. The ECS is a messaging system- your body sends messages between the cells and the whole body. The chemical message a cell receives may cause a cell to grow, die, produce a hormone, cause pain, or end it, let a memory fade, or set of the nursing reflex in an infant. If your body does it, the ECS is involved somewhere along the line!

    The ECS is activated by 2-AG and anandamide. They are ENDOCANNABINOIDS, chemicals your body makes every moment of your life! They lift depression, keep your digestive system working properly, reduce inflammation, deaden pain, and kill cancer cells by apoptosis and autophagy, and stop the growth of feeder blood vessels to cancer which can starve it (anti-angiogenesis).

    Now to our bodies, THC and CBD "look" like Ananandamide and 2-AG. Think of keys- you can have two very different looking key heads, but if the notched parts match, the key fits! That is kind of like what we have going on here- the working parts of the endocannabinoids and the phytocannabinoids like THC and CBD can fit into the same types of CB receptor's "keyholes" and can start the needed action just like the endocannabinoids do.

    Since you are asking about cancer, I'll get into what happens with cancer and the ECS.

    Now when a cell "goes crazy and greedy" it becomes a cancer cell. It "forgets" that it has a certain life span and is supposed to die by a normal process called apoptosis. Now that alone isn't too bad, but the cell also starts reproducing at a faster rate, so it (chemically) demands more blood vessels to be made to feed it's rapid reproduction rate. As more of these cells appear, the call for more food gets "louder" to the body, so new blood vessels ARE made and the "insane" colony becomes a tumor. :(

    Now normally, the body would notice that the cell has "gone crazy" and would send it an Anadamide message that triggers a built-in message that the cell has "forgotten"- "If you are cancerous, commit apoptosis NOW! :mad: ", but anandamide is fragile and is easily broken down.

    Anandamide is a tiny fragile chemical message that has to float around and hit a very small target (the CB receptor) to get the message to the bad cell. It is amazing that the ECS works as well as it does, relying on fragile messaging chemicals!

    Now here's where THC (a tougher molecule) comes in! :smoke: Because it can activate the same receptors as Anandamide, THC can set off the same effects as anandamide! The CB receptor activated by THC will set off the "If you are cancerous, commit apoptosis NOW! [​IMG] " message, just like Anandamide. :yay:

    THC and CBD mimic the chemicals in our body's own healing system! This is why cannabis does not cause cancer, but instead, heals it!

    But guys, we do have one HUGE
    problem!!! The ECS is under attack! :eek: This wonderful healing and regulating system is being damaged by many things! (This also cuts into your ability to get high! :( The ECS is in charge of getting you stoned, as well as fighting cancer!)

    So what is it that is interfering with your ECS and its ability to fight cancer (and get you stoned)?

    PHTHALATES - these are softeners in plastics. You know that tacky film that slowly oozes out of your car dashboard and steering wheel? That's phthalates.

    The G protein-coupled cannabinoid-1 (CB(1)) receptor of mammalian brain: Inhibition by phthalate esters in vitro. (abst - 2011) The G protein-coupled cannabinoid-1 (CB1) rece... [Neurochem Int. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI


    Translation- Phthalates mess up the CB1 receptors in your brain! Messed up receptors will not work and this can cause mental (and physical) problems! :eek:

    Further reading - Phthalate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    LACK of OMEGA 3- To put it simply, Omega 3 acts like a glue to stick down a tiny but important part of a CB receptor.

    Cannabinoid Receptor Function is Altered by Nutritionally Deficient Diet (news – 2012)
    Cannabinoid Receptor Function is Altered by Nutrionally Deficient Diet - Philadelphia medical marijuana | Examiner.com


    It's like having a loose wire in a speaker- the message doesn't get through! :( The cancer cell may not get the "If you are cancerous, commit apoptosis NOW! [​IMG] " message and goes on to grow!

    Keeping your ECS healthy and functioning at its best is essential! Look at what happens when they are not functioning! :eek:

    [FONT=&quot] Turned-Off Cannabinoid Receptor Turns On Colorectal Tumor Growth (news - 2008) Turned-off Cannabinoid Receptor Turns On Colorectal Tumor Growth[/FONT]

    Widespread Decrease of Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor Availability in Huntington Disease In Vivo (full – 2010) Widespread Decrease of Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor Availability in Huntington Disease In Vivo

    (FYI- "knock-out mice" have been bred to lack certain CB receptors- they die easily, and are sickly.)


    Increased Severity of Stroke in CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Knock-Out Mice (full - 2002)Increased Severity of Stroke in CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Knock-Out Mice

    Early onset of aging-like changes is restricted to cognitive abilities and skin structure in Cnr1(-/-) mice. (abst – 2011) Early onset of aging-like changes is restric... [Neurobiol Aging. 2012] - PubMed - NCBI

    Milk intake and survival in newborn cannabinoid CB1 receptor knockout mice: evidence for a "CB3" receptor. (abst – 2003) Milk intake and survival in newborn cannabin... [Eur J Pharmacol. 2003] - PubMed - NCBI
    Loss of Cannabinoid Receptor CB1 Induces Preterm Birth (full - 2008) Loss of Cannabinoid Receptor CB1 Induces Preterm Birth

    Deficiency of type 1 cannabinoid receptors worsens acute heart failure induced by pressure overload in mice. (abst – 2011) Deficiency of type 1 cannabinoid receptors worse... [Eur Heart J. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

    You let yourself open to all that and more if your ECS is damaged! Take your Omega 3, eat a healthy diet, and avoid plastic (or at least wipe it clean now and then).

    And I think that covers it! :D


    Granny :wave:
     
  7. It's because THC, and CBD...and probably a number of other canibinoids inhibit or outright destroy cancer cells... Blaze on...
     

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