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Cannabis Is Good For You

Thanks for the correction on Hicks. My bad. My other example was going to be Frank Zappa. That was prostate, right? Can someone with the correct knowledge confirm or deny that being lifestyle-related?
Also, I should apologise. I'm aware it's a touchy subject, and one in which arguing from the 'pro' side means taking an emotive rather than rational point of view. I'm not usually keen on that. I worry I look like an ass.
:sad: :smokin:
 
Nobody here needs apologise to anyone else- we're all entitled to our opinions and if feelings sometimes run high then that shows how important certain things are to us.

People are entitled to make their own choices in life even if they later prove disastrous. I wish that 2 of my own children hadn't taken up smoking, but I understand that there is nothing I can do about it- if there were, they would never have started it.:(

Nobody really understands addictions. Especially the medical profession.
 
Whatever the painkilling or other physical benefits for those few cannabis smokers with serious medical conditions, a far greater number of cannabis users will end up creating or exacerbating mental health problems through long-term use.
 
Dashwood said:
Whatever the painkilling or other physical benefits for those few cannabis smokers with serious medical conditions, a far greater number of cannabis users will end up creating or exacerbating mental health problems through long-term use.

And as an ex-smoker, I couldn't agree more. Purely from a personal perspective you understand. I'm a hell of lot more tuned in since stopping. Thing is, friends and colleagues who continue to smoke find it really weird. I mean, I WAS the guy who always had stuff but now I don't!
 
Is there really any evidence that smoking dope can actually create mental health problems?

I've heard some people say that they find it helps with depression.

Marie
 
Well, it definitely causes short term mental problems. Long gone are the days when I'd be sitting in a lecture and forget what it was about because of a hety session the night before. I also recall that unexplainable depressions would come on for a day or two after we'd been tarring our lungs. As for long term.. who knows? Most of my compadres and I from those times of yore are all quite well adjusted nowadays, but then I do know some individuals who have spent the 6-7 years since growing outrageous beards and spending lots of time licking windows.

It all comes down to the individual really. I'm sure there are chronic pot heads out there who have absolutely nothing apparently unusual about themselves at all.

(Just reading back on your post...) =
I can imagine why it could be perceived as good for depression, as smoking lots does bring forth waves of utter apathy, but like all 'treatments' it only masks it, and doesn't address the root cause.
 
I've known a lot of people who smoked pot and only one who ever claimed it caused her mental health problems, though that probably had more to do with the fact that she was up 'till 4am every day drinking heavily and smoking, then she wondered why she had problems getting into work for 9.30(!)

The woman I worked with in my last job smoked pot every day without apparent problems, though she also drank heavily and had what I would consider an addiction to Paroxetine.

Whenever I've smoked it I almost always feel quite elated the next morning, it definitely isn't good for me to smoke several days repeatedly though as I find it seems to accumulate and make me spacy. Like many things, it's probably fairly harmless in moderation.

Marie
 
NHS patients to be given cannabis
NHS patients are to be given cannabis as part of a government-funded trial.
The study, which is being run by the Medical Research Council, aims to find out if the drug really can help to relieve pain.

Scientists will randomly select 400 patients from 36 hospitals across England to take part in the study.

They will be given one of four pills after undergoing surgery, two of which will be a form of cannabis.

Controlled study

They will receive a capsule containing standardised cannabis extract or a capsule containing tetrahydrocannabinol - the active ingredient in cannabis.

The remaining patients will receive either a standard pain-relieving drug or a dummy pill.

Researchers will ask the patients about their pain and general well-being at least once every hour while they are awake, over a six hour-period. The patients will be able to request additional pain relief at any time.

The researchers will then be able to compare the experiences of patients in each of the four groups and, hopefully, determine whether the cannabis-based treatments are effective.

The £500,000 trial is being headed by scientists at Imperial College London.

"Many patients and clinicians want an answer to the question of whether cannabis is effective at relieving pain," said Dr Anita Holdcroft, who will lead the study.

"We need to assess the scientific merits of some of the anecdotal evidence and we need to do this in the same way as any other experimental pain treatment.

"This is a proper study in a clinical setting where patients can be routinely monitored, using an oral capsule containing a prescribed dose."

Medical claims

Studies have suggested that cannabis and cannabis-based medicines can help to relieve pain.

Last year, a small trial involving 34 British patients with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other conditions causing severe pain, found that using cannabis-based treatments reduced their pain and helped them to sleep more soundly.

Researchers have also found evidence to suggest it can help to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment given to cancer patients.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral use of dronabinol, a cannabis derivative, for people with Aids.

There is evidence that cannabis may stimulate the appetites of Aids patients with wasting disease.

It may also help relieve the pain of menstrual cramps and childbirth.

Claims have also been made for its use in treating asthma, strokes, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, alcoholism and insomnia.

However, opponents of the use of cannabis point to the fact that it damages the ability to concentrate and, if smoked, may increase the risks of developing lung cancer.

The British Medical Association has said that only cannabinoids - part of the cannabis plant - should be used in medicine.
 
"Extracts of Cannabis Sativa have been used since ancient times as painkillers and medication for exhaustion, asthma, cough attacks, rheumatism, migraine, cramps and other symptoms. John F. Kennedy, for example, regularly smoked joints to relieve his chronic back pains and Queen Victoria used marijuana seeds for monthly period cramps. "

http://www.drugtext.org/library/books/raterisks/3.4.htm

I'd heard the one about Queen Victoria before, but I'm not too convinced about JFK!

Marie
 
stu neville said:
How would a patriot such as yourself rate George Washington and Thomas Jefferson?

Just to clarify matters, the hemp that Washinton and Jefferson grew as a cash crop was not smokable hemp. It was "industrial hemp" which has a negligible amount of THC. Rope, paper and a type of (primitive) cardboard was made from industrial hemp, and it was a crop requiring minimal work, but one that would actually "rejuvenate" fields with depleted soils. Smokable hemp or cannabis (and generally referred to as cannabis to disitinguish it from industrial quality hemp) was a kitchen-garden crop at that time, and yeilded a product not nearly as powerful as the hybridized ganja smoked today.
 
Food for thought: the Canadian senate recently examined all known medical information on pot, to determine what it's status should be.

Based on all REAL (not the John Walters BS stuff) studies, this was their recommendation:

-Pot should be legalized

-It should be sold much like alcohol

-It should be buyable by anyone over the age of 16

-The long term health affects, including mental damage, were far less severe then alcohol or tobacco

Now, basically, they were saying that the genuine medical data suggested pot was less harmful then either booze or pot, and that is reflected in the age at which they recommend being able to buy it (16 as opposed to the latter, which is 19).

So why the continued demonization of pot, especially in the US?
 
Ath : Ever seen the Roy Mann documentary 'Grass' narrated by Woody Harrelson? It's a superb look at attitudes to marijuana through the years, why it was so demonised in the US (to control the immigrant Mexican workers, political gains etc) to the amoounts of money the US has spent on the continuing criminalisation - it's a fantastic documentary, one of the best I've ever seen, and it's available from your local Fopp at a price of £5 on DVD.
 
Never dismiss anything herbal out of hand...

This really isn't an excuse to start or carry on smoking, but it demonstrates that when it comes to finding potentially useful chemicals, there's still a huge amount about naturally occurring substances that we don't know.

At:http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99996283
Cannabis extract shrinks brain tumours

05:00 15 August 04

NewScientist.com news service


Cannabis extracts may shrink brain tumours and other cancers by blocking the growth of the blood vessels which feed them, suggests a new study.

An active component of the street drug has previously been shown to improve brain tumours in rats. But now Manuel Guzmán at Complutense University, Spain, and colleagues have demonstrated how the cannabis extracts block a key chemical needed for tumours to sprout blood vessels – a process called angiogenesis.

And for the first time, the team has shown the cannabinoids impede this chemical in people with the most aggressive form of brain cancer - glioblastoma multiforme.

Cristina Blázquez at Complutense University, and one of the team, stresses the results are preliminary. “But it’s a good point to start and continue,” she told New Scientist.

“The cannabinoid inhibits the angiogenesis response - if a tumour doesn’t do angiogenesis, it doesn’t grow,” she explains. “So if you can improve angiogenesis on one side and kill the tumour cells on the other side, you can try for a therapy for cancer.”

"This research provides an important new lead compound for anti-cancer drugs targeting cancer's blood supply,” says Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes, at Cancer Research UK.

The team tested the effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in 30 mice. They found the marijuana extract inhibited the expression of several genes related to the production of a chemical called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

VEGF is critical for angiogenesis, which allows tumours to grow a network of blood vessels to supply their growth. The cannabinoid significantly lowered the activity of VEGF in the mice and two human brain cancer patients, the study showed.

The drug did this by increasing the activity of a fat molecule called ceramide, suggests the study, as adding a ceramide inhibitor stifled the ability of the cannabinoid to block VEGF.

“We saw that the tumours [in mice] were smaller and a bit pallid,” adds Blázquez. The paleness of the cancer reflected its lack of blood supply as a result of the treatment. In the human patients, she says: "It seems that it works, but it's very early."

Sullivan points out: “Although this work is at an early stage of development other research has already demonstrated that VEGF is an important drug target for a range of cancers.”

He emphasises the need for further work on cannabinoid combinations. “Cannabinoids would need to generate very strong data in the future as there are already a number of VEGF inhibitors in clinical development,” he says.

The two patients in the ongoing study are among 14 in a clinical trial of the drug. The patients are given one cycle of treatment, lasting a few days, and their survival and general health are being studied.

Journal reference: Cancer Research (vol 64, p 5617)

Shaoni Bhattacharya
 
How were the patients given the cannabis though?
I bet they didn't sit around in an untidy room with the blinds down, passing round a joint and alternately bickering and giggling. :D

Cannabis should be tested properly like any other potentially helpful drug, but it'd be no use to me in 'smoking' form.
 
escargot said:
Cannabis should be tested properly like any other potentially helpful drug, but it'd be no use to me in 'smoking' form.

you coudl have it as a tea or in cake.
 
Yup, that was entirely my point- that the stuff might be helpful taken in different ways.

Most doctors would find themselves in an ethical dilemma if they could only recommend smoking it.
 
It's given as an extract, of whichever active compound is being tested.
 
Toffeenose said:
you coudl have it as a tea or in cake.

i must have put too much in my brownies. i couldn't figure out what i was doing or going for 3 days. absolutely true. 3 days. and it wasn't a fun high. completely different from smoking it. i was supposed to be taking care of a friend's dogs, and i couldn't figure out how to do it. (this was almost 24 hours after eating the brownies.) how to get them on the leash and out the door. couldn't remember if i'd fed them. couldn't remember if i'd taken them out or not, so better take them out again. one at a time. here you go. get tangled up. how long have we been out? 2 seconds? 2 hours? oh-oh. one got loose. put this one back. go after that one. where was i going? home? dogs? what? it was like being really old and dumb. :D
 
reminds me of the other weekend at a party when only a few of us enjoy a 'smoke'. i wandered back itnto the living room to see how the other bods were.

i forgot how horrible it is to be the only stoned person in a room. am i smiling too much? am i looking at people for too long? what was just said? i am taling more nonsense than usual? arrrg! am i thinking or saying this out loud?????

thankfully i was joined by the other stoners so we could sit and giggle inanely at things together.
 
Toffeenose said:
reminds me of the other weekend at a party when only a few of us enjoy a 'smoke'. i wandered back itnto the living room to see how the other bods were.

i forgot how horrible it is to be the only stoned person in a room. am i smiling too much? am i looking at people for too long? what was just said? i am taling more nonsense than usual? arrrg! am i thinking or saying this out loud?????

i know what you mean.
here is my thought process:
i feel alienated most of the time when i'm straight. now i'm going to smoke/eat this stuff that will make me feel even MORE alienated. makes perfect sense.
:D
 
God, looking back, I really should have proof read my posts.

The typos/errors in those posts are actually pretty embarrassing.
 
news update:

all the usual caveats apply!

----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3655586.stm
Cannabis may help combat cancer


Cannabis has several medical applications
The chemical in cannabis that produces a high may help to combat the
spread of cancer, research suggests.
Scientists have discovered the active ingredient,
delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol can block the spread of gamma herpes viruses.

The viruses are linked to an increased risk of the cancers Kaposis
sarcoma, Burkitts lymphoma and Hodgkins disease.

The research, by the University of South Florida, is published in the
online journal BMC Medicine.

Gamma herpes viruses are different from the herpes simplex viruses
responsible for cold sores and genital herpes.

Among those that have been associated with an increased risk of cancer is
Kaposis Sarcoma Associated Herpes Virus.

Once infected, it is almost impossible to get rid of the virus as it lies
dormant for long periods within white blood cells.

However, the virus can snap back into action, and suddenly begin to
replicate itself, bursting out of the cells to infect others. Once a cell has
been infected the chances that it will become cancerous are increased.

The South Florida team found that this sudden reactivation was prevented
if infected cells were grown in the presence of THC.

Spread blocked

Cells infected with a mouse gamma herpes virus normally died when the
virus reactivated. But they survived when cultured with the cannabinoid
compound, and thus the spread of the virus - and the potential spread of
cancer - was blocked.

The researchers were able to show that THC specifically blocked the gamma
herpes viruses - it had no impact at all on the cold sore virus herpes
simplex-1.

They hope their findings will lead to the development of new drugs to
neutralise the threat of the viruses.

However, lead researcher Dr Peter Medveczky said more work was needed, and
stressed that it would not be sensible for people with cancers associated with
gamma herpes viruses to start smoking cannabis.

He said THC was known to suppress the immune system - which could do more
harm than good to patients whose immune system was often already weakened.

Dr Medveczky believes THC blocks replication of the gamma herpes viruses
by targeting a gene they all carry called ORF50.

A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK warned that the results should be
treated with caution.

"These are very preliminary results and it is far too early to say whether
the findings will lead to practical strategies for preventing and treating
cancer."

---
 
brown speckled phelgm

Is this just oil from the grass thats in the phelgm from the throat after a nite on the hubbly? Or is this a worrying sign?
 
brown speckled phelgm
Isn't that a beer? ;)

Probably tar. I used to get this when I smoked tobacco. Come to think of it I don't spend half so much time hacking up and examining phlegm since I stopped.
 
Thanks Lizard 23,
Does one need to worry about though-or just stick my head deeper in the sand!!
 
The latter has always been my policy. I've not died of respiritory failure yet, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I've coughed blood a couple of times, that's scary. I think it was from damage from coughing so much more than anything.
 
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