jov624

The article is posted here and the link is posted at the bottom for credability.

By Paul Armentano NORML

For some 35 years the US government has
been well aware that cannabis possesses
potent anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties.
And for the past three years, government-
funded researchers have speculated
that these qualities may offer “protective”
effects against the onset of various types of
cancer, including lung cancer, in humans.
Yet to date, virtually no investigators
had scientifically assessed the potential
anti-cancer effects of cannabis in humans
— until now.

In a clinical abstract published July 28
on the Cancer Prevention Research website,
a team of US investigators report that
cannabis use, even long-term, is associated
with a “significantly reduced risk” of head
and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Investigators at Rhode Island’s Brown
University, along with researchers at
Boston U, Louisiana State, and U of
Minnesota, assessed the lifetime cannabis
use habits of 434 cases (patients diagnosed
with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
from nine medical facilities) compared
to 547 matched controls.

The authors reported, “After adjusting
for potential confounders (including smoking
and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of
cannabis use was associated with a significantly
reduced risk of head and neck squamous
cell carcinoma (HNSCC).”

Perhaps even more notably, subjects
who smoked cannabis and consumed alcohol
and tobacco (two known high risk factors
for head and neck cancers) also had a
reduced risk of cancer, the study found.

“Our study suggests that moderate
marijuana use is associated with reduced
risk of HNSCC,” investigators concluded.

“This association was consistent across different
measures of marijuana use (marijuana
use status, duration, and frequency of
use). ... Further, we observed that cannabis
use modified the interaction between alcohol
and cigarette smoking, resulting in a
decreased HNSCC risk among moderate
smokers and light drinkers, and attenuated
risk among the heaviest smokers and
drinkers.”

A separate 2006 population case-control
study also reported that lifetime use of
cannabis was not positively associated
with cancers of the lung or aerodigestive
tract, and noted that certain moderate
users of the natural drug experienced a
reduced cancer risk compared to non-using
control groups.

By contrast, a study published recently
in the journal Cancer Epidemiology reports
that even the moderate use of alcohol (six
drinks or less per week) is associated with
an elevated risk of various cancers –
including stomach cancer, rectal cancer,
and bladder cancer.

As of this writing, no mainstream
media outlet has reported on the July, 2009
release of the cancer study.

*Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML, the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (norml.org)
and is co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We
Driving People to Drink? (marijuanaissafer.com)

West Coast Leaf Homepage