Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'

[walla_roo]

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-179264/Cannabis-kills-30-000-year.html

 

More than 30,000 cannabis smokers could die every year, doctors warn today.

Medical experts blame the Home Secretary for creating confusion about the risks posed by the drug - leading young people wrongly to believe it is harmless.

They claim David Blunkett's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug - putting it on a level with anabolic steroids and prescription painkillers - sent out the wrong message and played down the devastating health effects of its regular use.

Professor John Henry, a leading authority on the drug, said the change - due to take place this summer - had undermined doctors' efforts to highlight the risks.

He said: "Cannabis is as dangerous as cigarette smoking - in fact, it may be even worse - and downgrading its legal status has simply confused people.

"We have a clear public message about cigarette smoking. Every year, the number of smokers gets smaller and the message on packets about the dangers gets bigger.

"At present, there is no battle against cannabis and no clear public health message."

In today's issue of the British Medical Journal, Prof Henry and other doctors from Imperial College, and St Mary's Hospital, both in London, say cannabis could be a major contributor to UK deaths.

Researchers calculate that if 120,000 deaths are caused among 13million smokers, the corresponding figure among 3.2million cannabis smokers would be 30,000.

The drug can cause cancer, lung disease and abnormalities associated with serious mental illness.

Users are up to six times more likely to develop schizophrenia.

The British Lung Foundation says smoking three joints a day can cause the same damage to the airways as a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Prof Henry added: "Even if the number of deaths turned out to be only a fraction of the 30,000 we believe possible, cannabis smoking would still be described as a major health hazard.

"If we add in the likely mental health burden to that of medical illnesses and premature death, the potential effects of cannabis cannot be ignored."

Dr William Oldfield, from St Mary's Hospital and one of the authors of the article, said: "Cannabis and nicotine cigarettes have a different mode of inhalation. The puff taken by cannabis smokers is two-thirds larger, they inhale a third more and hold down the smoke four times longer.

"All these factors could contribute to illnesses of the heart and respiratory system, particularly as the chemicals in cannabis smoke are retained in the body to a much higher degree."

He said the cannabis used today - especially that bought in the Netherlands - was up to 40 times stronger than that used by Flower Power hippies in the 1960s.

The level of active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased from around 0.5 per cent 20 years ago to almost five per cent today. THC affects the heart and blood vessels and many sudden deaths have been attributed to cannabis smoking.

In Britain, about eight million people admit to smoking cannabis, with at least one-third of youngsters claiming to have used it at some time. They include Prince Harry, who admitted smoking the drug while a pupil at Eton.

 

 

 

 

[bufo marinus]

I don't think I've ever seen so much bullshit condensed in such a small news article ?

 

[magpie1]

propaganda nice name for a strain

[redatnite]

"Researchers calculate that if 120,000 deaths are caused among 13million smokers, the corresponding figure among 3.2million cannabis smokers would be 30,000."

 

Did the 'researchers' calculate these figures with an abacus??

Or did they just look at a pile of black jellybeans and say "alright fellows, these beans represent smoking deaths, and we know

citizens smoke pot, so lets make this pile death via smoking pot and this pile death via tobacco. Everyone happy? ok let's break for lunch.

Who's cashing the government check? Tony? Is that gonna be you? What time does the bank open?"

 

edit: no offence to any OZstoners that enjoy black jellybeans

 

Red

[Zionne]

Fearmongering at its finest, I suppose. How anyone can sit there and say cannabis kills is beyond me. 

[Lenore]

[doctor_nelson]

The article may well be politicised by people with a vested interest, but it may not be entirely bullshit because:

 

1) Burning cellulose and carbohydrates in vegetable matter produces carcinogens in the smoke - try a quick google for "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons". 

2) Inhaling carcinogens is probably going to increase your risk of cancer.

 

Cigarettes are particularly nasty because of the additives and if you add commercial tobacco to your cannabis then there's probably even more risk than the smoke from unadulterated herb would offer.

 

FWIW: My personal response is to use a vaporizer exculsively - no combustion so probably lower risk than burning herb and certainly lower than burning herb with ethylene glycol enriched tobacco.

 

Your mileage may vary.

Edited February 2, 2014 by doctor_nelson

[bufo marinus]

The article may well be politicised by people with a vested interest

 

Lets not overlook that little bit first,... until the debate can be honest the rest is speculation which = no credibility..

Who wants to ruin fine cannabis with the 5000 + chemicals found in tobacco anyway? Plus this isn't supposed to be about tobacco and cannabis.

... and personally I think $300 vaporisers are a waste of money. The hit isn't as satisfying and they still fill your lungs with a foreign substance so ??

What's to say one good bong hit isn't any more harmful overall than 2 good hits from a bag of vapour? Have you seen a vapor bag when it gets old?... nasty.

... 8 million pot smokers in the UK and they're still trying to find a smoking gun linking cannabis to death, that to me spells bullshit.

 

This article is trying to link/scaremonger peoples perception of the harm caused by cigarettes with cannabis use. Unfounded and speculative it has as much credibility as the crap I type out.

[louise]

The first step to controlling public opinion is a complicit press.

[bufo marinus]

So true Louise, it's like going back in time reading that article.