EXPERT: POT HAS LITTLE CANCER RISK

Review Finds That Tobacco Is More Likely Than Marijuana to Cause the Disease

Even though they're chemically similar, marijuana smoke is less
likely than tobacco smoke to cause cancer, according to one expert
review of the literature. The review, by Dr. Robert Melamede of the
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, noted that tobacco and
marijuana smoke differ in a number of ways, particularly in the fact
that marijuana smoke contains tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, while
tobacco smoke contains nicotine. Nicotine increases the
cancer-promoting effects of smoke, while THC reduces those effects,
he explained.

Although THC and nicotine act on related cellular pathways, they bind
to different receptors to activate these pathways, the review found.
However, the review warned that the effects of marijuana are complex
and sometimes contradictory. It also noted that many people use
marijuana and tobacco together, and the two drugs may interact in
complex ways. Although some governments are reluctant to approve
marijuana for medicinal use, the review noted that there's increasing
evidence that marijuana can improve the lives of patients with a
broad range of health problems, including insomnia, AIDS, multiple
sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. The review will be published in an
upcoming issue of the journal Harm Reduction.