Study Suggests Weed Causes Cancer & DNA Damage
June 15th, 2009 by Rick
According to one of the American Chemical Society’s journals, Chemical Research in Toxicology, in the June 15 issue it says that Rajinder Singh and researchers at the University of Leicester “discovered” information that the drug warriors have been searching high and low for: marijuana damages DNA and may cause cancer. Eep!
Researchers wrote:
These results provide evidence for the DNA damaging potential of cannabis [marijuana] smoke, implying that the consumption of cannabis cigarettes may be detrimental to human health with the possibility to initiate cancer development. [...] The data obtained from this study suggesting the DNA damaging potential of cannabis smoke highlight the need for stringent regulation of the consumption of cannabis cigarettes, thus limiting the development of adverse health effects such as cancer.
Now let’s take a closer look at the words used:
- potential
- implying
- possibility
- suggesting
A study should be factual, ensuring every possible angle is covered and this one doesn’t seem to be very bullet-proof in their findings. The claim that smoking marijuana has the potential to cause cancer is interesting seeing how another study done in Spain says that components of marijuana actually slow tumor growth. In fact that study was first conducted in 1974 but like anything that places marijuana in a positive, medicinal light, the journals were suppressed.
Which study was/is more scientific? How can this plant cause cancer and then turn around and fight tumor growth? I’m no rocket scientist (although I play one on TV) but I’m fairly sure that the cancer might be connected somehow to tar intake… from burning the plant, not the plant itself.
Why then wouldn’t they run studies with vaporizers (alternate forms of marijuana intake) and see if marijuana was still damaging DNA… and had the “potential” to “initiate cancer development”?
Study: Science Confirms Coke is Addictive
May 22nd, 2009 by Russ
In a breathtaking and completely novel discovery, ’scientists’ at McGill University have found cocaine use to be both pleasurable and addictive. While they could have reached this conclusion after a few nights of clubbing at Toronto’s Big Easy nightclub, they instead opted for more of scientific method-y approach.
In the study, ten straight-laced Canucks were given cocaine to snort, while ten unluckier blokes were handed placebo powder. In the shocker of all shockers, the cocaine users tended to enjoy their experience a great deal more. So much for the potential of illicit placebo trafficking.
One interesting tidbit did manage to surface in this study, however. It seems that the amount of dopamine (pleasurable endorphin) that the brain secretes when taking cocaine is dependent on how much cocaine the person has used in the past. In other words, cocaine pros might actually receive a greater high than cocaine newbies. This phenomenon also immediately explains why the drug can become so addictive.
Meanwhile, McGill scientists are setting their sights on solving more mysteries of the universe, such as whether water actually quenches thirst, and whether drinking it is in any way related to the process of urination. Good luck, intrepid discoverers.
The Future of Orange Julius: THC Oranges
October 6th, 2008 by Perry
Oh, how great would that be.
Actually, in one of the more stunning displays of ingenuity, a scientist created a THC-producing orange tree. This. Is. Brilliant.
Dr. Hugo Nanofsky, a biochemist at Florida State University and tenured professor, created the strand after he was inspired by an officer ceasing his car as a teenager.
At the heart of the confusion is the fact that THC now naturally occurs in a new species of citrus fruit.
It was only a matter of time before the DEA became involved, and its jurisdictional capabilities of regulating a fruit.
In fact, Florida’s top law enforcement officials admit that even if the cultivation of Nanofsky’s orange were to be outlawed, it would be exceedingly difficult to identify the presence of outlawed fruit among the state’s largest agricultural crop.
Update: Unfortunately, the news was too good to be true and was proven to be a hoax. Move along, there’s nothing to see here. Hmph.
