There are many remnants of Reefer Madness that get used to campaign against marijuana legalization, from the debunked gateway theory to incorrect claims about mayhem on the highways. One such piece of propaganda, that marijuana is more deadly than cigarettes has been debunked once and for all as UCLA professor Donald Tashkin confirms that marijuana is safer than tobacco. Positive studies about cannabis usually don’t get as much publicity as negative ones, and Dr. Tashkin’s study that found no correlation between marijuana smoking and cancer was no different. If Tashkin’s results would have been the opposite, I guarantee that we would have heard a lot more about the study.
LA Weekly reports:
“The smoke content of marijuana is very similar to that of tobacco,” explains Tashkin. “There is a higher concentrate of cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana tar, and it reaches the lungs before any other organ, so there is this idea that they are related in causing the same health issues of the lungs.”
But, he says, “Through my studies, we failed to find any positive association.” Instead, “the association would be negative, between lung cancer and the use of marijuana. The likelihood is, that despite the fact that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, we don’t see the same heightened risks of cancers that we see in tobacco.”
Tashkin also discusses the fact that smoking marijuana, unlike smoking tobacco, does not cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “Reasoning for this may be that marijuana is a potent anti-inflammatory and suppressive,” he says. But “COPD is activated by tobacco smoke and other toxic substances.”
Dr. Tashkin expected to find that heavy marijuana use led to increased cancer rates, but he was pleasantly surprised. It would be nice if prohibitionists would be as willing to admit that they have been wrong with just about every dire prediction they have made about medical marijuana or cannabis legalization. The sky hasn’t fallen in Colorado; in fact, the state is booming. Nor have sensible cannabis policies brought down the social order anywhere. As the years progress and Reefer Madness continues to be replaced by reason and science, sensible cannabis laws will continue to flourish across the globe.
Anthony Johnson
Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.
