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Pharma just wants to sell medications. If they can put it in to a bottle and sell it; they will. With the approved cannabinoids, DEA has scheduled them in schedule 2 and 3.
There has been some experimental drugs using an inhaled form of THC. Sativex made it all the way to stage 3 trials. FDA gave it fast track status. However, since then, it has stalled.
Tobacco and alcohol products have been expressly removed from DEA oversight.
During prohibition, you could get a prescription for alcohol.
Sativex is widely available in Europe. It's just one more area in which they are way ahead of the game. It is government corruption caused by Big Pharma Money that caused the stall.
It is important to note that Sativex actually works, unlike Marinol, because it is a whole plant derivative.
Smoke is harmful to lung health. Whether from burning wood, tobacco or marijuana, toxins and carcinogens are released from the combustion of materials. Smoke from marijuana combustion has been shown to contain many of the same toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke.4-7
Beyond just what's in the smoke alone, marijuana is typically smoked differently than tobacco. Marijuana smokers tend to inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than cigarette smokers, which leads to a greater exposure per breath to tar.8
Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same toxins and carcinogens found in directly inhaled marijuana smoke, in similar amounts if not more.5 While there is no data on the health consequences of breathing secondhand marijuana smoke, there is concern that it could cause harmful health effects, especially among vulnerable children in the home. Additional research on the health effects of secondhand marijuana smoke is needed.
Lung Health and Marijuana Smoke
Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung. Research shows that smoking marijuana causes chronic bronchitis and marijuana smoke has been shown to injure the cell linings of the large airways, which could explain why smoking marijuana leads to symptoms such as chronic cough, phlegm production, wheeze and acute bronchitis.4,9
Smoking marijuana has also been linked to cases of air pockets in between both lungs and between the lungs and the chest wall, as well as large air bubbles in the lungs among young to middle-aged adults, mostly heavy smokers of marijuana. However, it's not possible to establish whether these occur more frequently among marijuana smokers than the general population.4
Smoking marijuana can harm more than just the lungs and respiratory system - it can also affect the immune system and the body's ability to fight disease, especially for those whose immune systems are already weakened from immunosuppressive drugs or diseases, such as HIV infection.4,9
Smoking marijuana hurts the lungs' first line of defense against infection by killing cells that help remove dust and germs as well as causing more mucus to be formed. In addition, it also suppresses the immune system. These effects could lead to an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections among marijuana smokers, although there is no clear evidence of such actual infections being more common among marijuana smokers.4,9 However, frequent marijuana-only smokers have more healthcare visits for respiratory conditions compared to nonsmokers.10
Studies have shown that smoking marijuana may increase the risk of opportunistic infections among those who are HIV positive, although it does not seem to effect the development of AIDS or lower white cell counts.4,9
Another potential threat to those with weakened immune systems is Aspergillus, a mold that can cause lung disorders. It can grow on marijuana, which if then smoked exposes the lungs to this fungus.4 However, it rarely causes problems in people with healthy immune systems.
Thank you Atalanta, you have posted that before. However, I fail to see where it addresses when I will get COPD or emphysema. I would trust what you have to say about that over the American Lung Association any day of the week.
Here's why: "smoking marijuana leads to symptoms such as chronic cough, phlegm production, wheeze and acute bronchitis.". Hmmm. I've known 100's of marijuana smokers. None have succumbed to these symptoms. NONE.
They also know 100's. Still, no one knows of these symptoms. Hmmm.
There are millions of marijuana smokers going all the way back to the 1960's. WHERE ARE ALL THESE CASES?
Thank you Atalanta, you have posted that before. However, I fail to see where it addresses when I will get COPD or emphysema. I would trust what you have to say about that over the American Lung Association any day of the week.
Here's why: "smoking marijuana leads to symptoms such as chronic cough, phlegm production, wheeze and acute bronchitis.". Hmmm. I've known 100's of marijuana smokers. None have succumbed to these symptoms. NONE.
They also know 100's. Still, no one knows of these symptoms. Hmmm.
There are millions of marijuana smokers going all the way back to the 1960's. WHERE ARE ALL THESE CASES?
Somebody is blowing smoke...
Take care of your lungs, Raddo. It's the only pair you will ever have.
Chronic marijuana smoking may lead to emphysema, a serious disorder in which areas of lung tissue are destroyed and replaced with cysts, according to a paper published in this month's issue of the journal Thorax.
In the paper, Martin Johnson, MD, of the department of respiratory medicine at Glasgow (Scotland) Royal Infirmary, and colleagues discuss the cases of four men who regularly smoked marijuana but did not smoke much tobacco, and who developed emphysema in the upper areas of their lungs. "Our cases are of particular interest, not just because of their young age, but also because of the unusual pattern of emphysema and the relatively low level of exposure to tobacco smoke compared with that more commonly associated with emphysema," Johnson writes.
The men ranged in age from 27 to 46. The 27-year-old had smoked several pipes full of marijuana daily for several years, while the other men smoked from two joints per week to three per day. Tobacco use, which is commonly associated with the development of lung cancer and emphysema, was minimal among all three men. All of them developed the cysts, called bullae, in the upper areas of their lungs, but not in the middle or lower areas
The researchers were unable to show that marijuana smoking is a cause of emphysema, but demonstrated that it may play an additive role in the development of bullae. "There is a public perception that marijuana smoking has little adverse effect on physical health. ... We hope that our case reports will stimulate further study into ... potential lung toxicity," Johnson writes.
Jag Khalsa, PhD, a neuropharmacologist with the Center on AIDS and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, reviewed the paper for WebMD. "There have been anecdotal reports of the development of these kinds of conditions in chronic marijuana users, and I'm not surprised by these findings," he says. "The idea that people who smoke marijuana don't smoke as much as those who smoke cigarettes and are therefore not at risk of health consequences is erroneous." Because pot smokers try to keep the smoke in their lungs longer, and because marijuana is smoked unfiltered, a few joints may be as harmful as a much larger number of tobacco cigarettes, he says.
In an interview with WebMD, Christopher Gallagher, MD, clinical assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, says: "In our clinic we have encountered several young marijuana smokers with no history of tobacco smoking or other significant risk factors who were diagnosed with lung cancer or other ... cancers. It's certainly reasonable to suspect there could be an association with the development of emphysema." Though more study is needed, he says, "for the recreational user with a full life expectancy, the potentially harmful effects of marijuana smoking are a legitimate concern."
Chronic marijuana smoking may lead to emphysema, a serious disorder in which areas of lung tissue are destroyed and replaced with cysts, according to a paper published in this month's issue of the journal Thorax.
In the paper, Martin Johnson, MD, of the department of respiratory medicine at Glasgow (Scotland) Royal Infirmary, and colleagues discuss the cases of four men who regularly smoked marijuana but did not smoke much tobacco, and who developed emphysema in the upper areas of their lungs. "Our cases are of particular interest, not just because of their young age, but also because of the unusual pattern of emphysema and the relatively low level of exposure to tobacco smoke compared with that more commonly associated with emphysema," Johnson writes.
The men ranged in age from 27 to 46. The 27-year-old had smoked several pipes full of marijuana daily for several years, while the other men smoked from two joints per week to three per day. Tobacco use, which is commonly associated with the development of lung cancer and emphysema, was minimal among all three men. All of them developed the cysts, called bullae, in the upper areas of their lungs, but not in the middle or lower areas
The researchers were unable to show that marijuana smoking is a cause of emphysema, but demonstrated that it may play an additive role in the development of bullae. "There is a public perception that marijuana smoking has little adverse effect on physical health. ... We hope that our case reports will stimulate further study into ... potential lung toxicity," Johnson writes.
Jag Khalsa, PhD, a neuropharmacologist with the Center on AIDS and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, reviewed the paper for WebMD. "There have been anecdotal reports of the development of these kinds of conditions in chronic marijuana users, and I'm not surprised by these findings," he says. "The idea that people who smoke marijuana don't smoke as much as those who smoke cigarettes and are therefore not at risk of health consequences is erroneous." Because pot smokers try to keep the smoke in their lungs longer, and because marijuana is smoked unfiltered, a few joints may be as harmful as a much larger number of tobacco cigarettes, he says.
In an interview with WebMD, Christopher Gallagher, MD, clinical assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, says: "In our clinic we have encountered several young marijuana smokers with no history of tobacco smoking or other significant risk factors who were diagnosed with lung cancer or other ... cancers. It's certainly reasonable to suspect there could be an association with the development of emphysema." Though more study is needed, he says, "for the recreational user with a full life expectancy, the potentially harmful effects of marijuana smoking are a legitimate concern."
They ranged 27 to 46. I am 60 and have 46 years of usage. So please, I am getting anxious. How long do I have???
Why don't you ever answer my questions?
There are millions of marijuana smokers going all the way back to the 1960's. WHERE ARE ALL THESE CASES?
It has very limited medicinal value, and the value it does have has already been used to make medications. The difference is that those medications don't get you high so the drug addicts don't want them.
And unlike with natural marijuana, Big Pharma can get patents for those manufactured meds and charge $1000 for a 30 day supply, so drug companies *do* want them.
I had a doctor lie to me about marinol. He said it raised blood pressure. All the research says that it lowers blood pressure. But I have not tried it.
Sorry about your parents. My exes family about 90 % alcoholic. I see that huge damage it does.
You have been smoking pot for 45 years. I am not putting you down, but pot is addictive and it seems you are going to a substance to not deal with the reason/issues why people are addicted to something. ie: alcohol, pot, pain killers, hard drugs, food, exersize.
You have learned to be be an addict, you have chosen pot. Most children who grow up in an addict home grow up to be addicts in something, sadly.
Long term pot smokers can get emphysema and COPD.
That's just the nature of smoking anything. Vaping and especially simply eating edibles, are likely much less risky ways of utilizing cannabis.
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