Skip to comments.

'More tar' in cannabis than cigarettes

Herald Sun ^ | 27 March 2006

Posted on by Aussie Dasher

SMOKING three cannabis joints will cause you to inhale the same amount of toxic chemicals as a whole packet of cigarettes, according to research published in France today.

Cannabis smoke contains seven times more tar and carbon monoxide, the French National Consumers' Institute concluded in research published in the April edition of its monthly magazine.

The institute tested regular Marlboro cigarettes alongside 280 specially rolled joints of cannabis leaves and resin in an artificial smoking machine.

The tests examined the content of the smoke for tar and carbon monoxide, as well as for the toxic chemicals nicotine, benzene and toluene.

"Cannabis smoke contains seven times more tar and carbon monoxide than tobacco smoke," the institute's magazine says.

Someone smoking a joint of cannabis resin rolled with tobacco will inhale twice the amount of benzene and three times as much toluene as if they were smoking a regular cigarette, the study says.

Smokers of pure cannabis leaves will also inhale more of these chemicals than from a normal cigarette, though the amount varies depending on the quantities.

"Smoking three joints every day  which is becoming frequent  makes you run the same risks of cancer or cardio-vascular diseases as smoking a packet of cigarettes," the magazine says.

Cannabis is "by far" the most popular illicit drug in France, it says. The number of cigarette smokers and people drinking alcohol fell in 2005, while the number of cannabis users has increased in France in the past five years.



TOPICS:

KEYWORDS:

cannabis

fatcigarettes

marijhuana

pot

pufflist

smoking

tobacco

wodlist

Now, what was that line about pot being safer than tobacco? And it screws your brain, too!



To: Aussie Dasher

Cool. We should kick down doors and confiscate property illegally while growing federal government to new intrusive levels to combat this plant. Or we could put filters on the marijuana cigarette.







No, let's kick down doors and imprison citizens.



To: Aussie Dasher

Couldn't you avoid those dangers by eating marijuana instead of smoking it?



by 3 posted onby Sarvana (I'm not prejudiced, I hate everyone equally.)

To: Aussie Dasher

We need to put better filters on those joints.









To: Right Wing Assault

Or use a bong....



by 5 posted onby LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools.)

To: Aussie Dasher

Here is an added feature, lots of time after law enforcement sprays it to kill the plants it is harvested and sold, agent orange and all.



To: Sarvana

How about avoiding marijuana instead of smoking it? Reduces all the associated risks to zero.



Abstinence - works every time!



To: Aussie Dasher

Wonder what it would be like to have a government that treated us as adults...



To: Aussie Dasher; mugs99; Know your rights; winston2; Lady Jag; Wolfie; MRMEAN; tpaine

No one has ever proved that the tars in cannabis cause cancer.



No one has ever proved that anyone has ever dies from using cannabis in the history of the world.



A 1997 UCLA School of Medicine study (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine) conducted on 243 marijuana smokers over an 8-year period reported the following: "Findings from the long-term study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant risk factor for the development of chronic lung disease." "Neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in lung function as compared with those individuals who never smoked marijuana." The study concluded: "No differences were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and nonsmoking of marijuana."



Marijuana does not impair long-term memory. Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Unlike alcohol, marijuana does not kill brain cells or induce violent behavior. Continuous long-term smoking of marijuana can cause bronchitis, but the chance of contracting bronchitis from casual marijuana smoking is minuscule. Respiratory health hazards can be totally eliminated by consuming marijuana via non-smoking methods, i.e., ingesting marijuana via baked foods, tincture, or vaporizer.



http://www.cannabis.com/untoldstory/hemp_9.shtml



To: Aussie Dasher

My recollection is that one doesn't normally smoke three joints a day. I understand that current varieties are much more potent.



It would be more useful to compare the effects on the typical smoker of one, versus the other.



To: Aussie Dasher

ANNUAL AMERICAN DEATHS CAUSED BY DRUGS



TOBACCO ........................ 400,000

ALCOHOL ........................ 100,000

ALL LEGAL DRUGS ................ 20,000

ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS .............. 15,000

CAFFEINE ....................... 2,000

ASPIRIN ........................ 500

MARIJUANA ...................... 0



Source: United States government...

National Institute on Drug Abuse,

Bureau of Mortality Statistics



Caffeine and aspirin are more deadly than marijuana.



http://www.cannabis.com/untoldstory/hemp_9.shtml



Source: United States government...National Institute on Drug Abuse,Bureau of Mortality StatisticsCaffeine and aspirin are more deadly than marijuana.

To: robertpaulsen; Mojave

Here's another pot thread for you fWO(s)D cheerleaders.



To: Aussie Dasher

It's easy to check out this allegation---simply open up the torso of a dead pot smoker and look at his/her lungs. If they are anything like those of a tobacco smoker, they will be black. Saw one set of lungs like that once and it cured me of any idea I might want to try smoking. PS: The guy who had used those lungs died at 42 with lung cancer.



To: albertp; Allosaurs_r_us; Abram; AlexandriaDuke; Americanwolf; Annie03; Baby Bear; bassmaner; ...

Of course if you use a water bong most of the tar and chemicals are filtered out negating the effects of the increased tar and chemicals found in marijuana and i dont know many people that smoke three joints a day anyway unless they get low grade ditchweed Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here



by 14 posted onby freepatriot32 (Holding you head high & voting Libertarian is better then holding your nose and voting republican)

To: Aussie Dasher

Smoking three joints in a day would be like drinking a case of beer in a day. I recommend neither.



To: freepatriot32

Read it carefully. They're talking about hash, not plain cannabis.



To: Aussie Dasher

Yes,and i'm sure its mostly pot smokers who are always pushing for a smoke free environment!Hypocrites.



To: Beelzebubba

"My recollection is that one doesn't normally smoke three joints a day." That is correct. A person with glaucoma would smoke approximately 8-10 joints per day.



To: Aussie Dasher

The number of cigarette smokers and people drinking alcohol fell in 2005... Maybe they should make them illegal. Get those numbers back up.



To: Aussie Dasher

Here's a thought - why don't we just let adults do whatever they want - as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else?



If I want to come home from a long day's work & get drunk, high, eat candy - or just lay on the couch & watch TV - who's business is it to anyone else?



Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794

FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson