Tobacco vs Marijuana

thats garbage...

marijuana rocks my socks, but tobacco is nasty!

There's a risk to anything, and show me proof where someone has actually died from a smoking overdose. By the way, the whole premise behind this is that people actually smoke 3 "marijuana cigarettes" a day... that's substantially abusing it. The studies may be right but it's the context with which it's presented that bugs me. Sorry, just my opinion.

P.S. Nearly any opposing subjects can be statistically proved as either right or wrong, depending on bias (i.e. who's paying you behind the scenes to conduct these experiments).

First, the "3 marihuana cigarettes" are used to compare the risk to our LUNGS with the ones from tobacco.

Second, this is just some information I found on the internet, and I decided to make an article.

Third, and last. No one is paying me but Triond.

Cyas.

Marijuana is given a bad rep. Marijuana is said to be a killer, yet it’s used for medicinal purposes such as cancer, anorexic, and other medical conditions. Can we say the same about cigarettes? When has a cancer patient or a person suffering from anorexia been prescribed cigarettes which are legal? On the other hand Marijuana, the “illegal natural” plant has and is prescribed by physicians. People with anger problems could benefit from the use of marijuana, for it provides a relaxation effect. Moreover, studies have shown that people with high stress have a higher risk for many health problems which can lead to early death. Some people have a glass of wine to relax after a stressful day, and some may smoke a marijuana cigarette. What is the difference if done in moderation? We know alcohol kills, yet it’s acceptable and legal. On the other hand, Marijuana though not legal unless prescribed by a doctor, can provide a world of relaxation. Happier person equals healthier person. They say laughing is a medicine in itself well Mary Jane can really help you laugh yourself to health. In my opinion, we should eat, drink, and smoke in moderation. “Moderation” is the key word.

I know marihuana has lots of possitive properties. But pleace remember that my article is about the risk to our LUNGS, not about tobacco and marihuana themselves.

Cyas.

As a mother and grandmother who has seen what smoking Marijuana moderately has done to her family I must disagree with Linda. I see my two beautiful grandsons so unhappy as their parents have seperated because of too much Marijuana smoking. In a lot of cases moderate Marijuana smoking leads to experimenting of other drugs as users want to experience better highs. Garzo your article was interesting. Anyone with half a brain would know that just as cigarettes are addictive and Cancer causing so is Marijuana addictive and Cancer causing. I am very anti Drugs and make no appologies for my opinion, and there isn"t a argument around that could change my mind.

weed is a natral herb on the planet. why would god have it hear if he didn't want us to smoke it

Everyones opinion is important, thnx for comenting!

I liked lindas opinion,very logical,unlike the 'closed mind' of teresa.

hmmm, cannabis the cause of a break up?,are you frigging kiding me!,somewhere along the line 'ABUSE' plays a very heavy part NOT cannabis.
and as for 'experimenting' with harder drugs after smoking cannabis,well what a load of hoot!
in 'my' personall experience its been ALCOHOL that has led me to try other drugs and it was society that caused me to start smoking,then 'thank god', i found cannabis and i'm a very happy person for it!
And smoking cannabis is helping me give up ciggarettes...slowly :)

Ultimatly, people should let other people do want they want as long as it does not interfere with 'other' peoples lives.

And in my opinion, ciggarettes are worse than cannabis, for the simple fact that 'linda' pointed out, and anyway, it SHOULD still be legally used today,it was only the arrival of the asprin or paracetamol than made people stop using cannabis anyway.

peace

Quote:
'P.S. Nearly any opposing subjects can be statistically proved as either right or wrong, depending on bias (i.e. who's paying you behind the scenes to conduct these experiments).'

yeah,depending which government official is pulling the strings.

Maybe conspiricy theory,maybe two people thinking alike?

'They' think we(us),the public are stupid or something, i swear it!

anyway,good points jason,i'le agree with ya.


Peace

Sorry forgot to put my 'tag' to last post,well its me anyway ok, sorry again.



peace

There is a risk related to all types of smoking period.(referring to the end of the article.) Also, half of the people that are here trying to defend weed, are pot heads themselves (i.e. Justin.) There is no point in anyone else commenting to support either side of the debate. Everyone else is just going to try to prove their meager point. I would like to convey the message to any potential commenter that if you would like to post about either side of the argument, then have a logical, and well thought-out reason, not just ,"Weed is a natural herb, so we should smoke it." Nice article Garzo.

Quote:
'There is a risk related to all types of smoking period'
End quote.


Ile go along with that,taxis,buses,airplanes,boats,cows...etc.etc..,but seriously smoking is bad.

I don't think i will go along with half people on here trying to defend weed,i think people are dissing weed and THEN some people are defending it,as in 'weed' is not the 'only' and 'sole' killer here,if you know what i mean.

And back to the original post for debate,so 'they' claim cannabis is more harmfull than ciggarettes,well in my opinion ....no,well,my brother is fit and healthy and leads an active life,he smokes cannabis only,no ciggarettes.

Thats pretty strong proof in my opinion.
(oh, and im the one thats half out of breath when running up stairs,i smoke cigarrettes)....its not rocket science is it!?

Thanks for your opinion all you guys. But pleace remember that my article is about the risk to our LUNGS! And it isnt about weather it is correct or not the use of cannabis, or tobacco.

Anyway I hope to read more of your interesting opinions on this subject.

Sorry about the mistakes, my first language is Spanish not English.

Cyas.

Even if weed is "proven" to be less harmful to your lungs, it is also proven to me damaging to your brain cells. So, as I percieved it, you're harming yourself in both ways, smoking cigarrettes or weed. I do admire the fact that "concerned" posted a well thought-out comment rather than just being immature about the issue. Thanks.

Quote:
'it is also proven to me damaging to your brain cells'.
Endqoute.


I'm unsure as to where you are coming from in this respect my honorable friend?

I have not the time and space needed to convey my story of life today,but i will try and explain quite simply in 'a nutshell' that,i have an average I.Q of 135,but no buisness sense,worked consistantly in well paid jobs since leaving school and have been smoking 'weed' for over 20 years,do you think that if i hadn't been smoking pot i could have been the next einstein? :)

(and also its funny to me that quite a lot of 'geniuses' throughout history gave us art,literature,music and other great things,its funny because most of these people........smoked)

p.s. not to glorify smoking,it IS bad for you, i was just trying to prove a point!

peace

Thanx for the info Miguel... Its great that all of you guys are as concerned as I am in this subject. Pleace continue writting opinions.

Cyas

My complete take on this debate is that,there is NO direct link between cannabis being bad for you,because it is 'mixed' with tobacco most of the time,cannabis cannot be monitored properly over decades,because that would be stupid and a waste of taxpayers money,so the simplest thing to do is 'tarnish' it with the same tobacco brush!

Even standing around a huge bonfire on guyfawkes night can be bad for you,very bad for you also travelling in a vehicle and getting stuck in a tunnel is bad for you ,even air conditioning is bad for you,many many things we breath in todays polluted society are BAD for you.

basically, the government people want us mere passants to stop getting high(only get high on there taxed drugs) and they also want us to stop smoking,sooooooooo we can live longer,work longer and pay more frigging taxes.....thats the bottom line and you people know it!

sorry,little it of a 'rant' there, i must be 'blue in the face' :)
oh, and i think Marc Ander's view is a little ermm,...extreme.
So the good people of amsterdam are spaced out short lifers and bleary eyed death drivers from hell!...?
anybody can become a killer with OR without drugs, its down to the individual.
You'll have no argument from me that ciggarettes are bad for you.
(i say,ban alcohol,raise ciggarette age to 21 and zero tolerance toward doing ANYTHING while driving)

Quite an impressive rant there! Also, I didn't really try to bring alcohol into the matter because we aren't discussing it. But, I am against ALL forms. And that was a good and true point you brought up about pollution. Are you American? I noticed that you said pounds. Anyway, I'm trying to tone down the argument. There is no sense in getting overheated. Peace.

hahaha,no worries mate! :)

Im quite a mellow person really,just got lots of carisma!.
(its my aries/gemini mindset Vs my laidack taurian nature that makes me come across a bit like 'steam coming out my ears' i think)

I didn't want to mention alcohol either,but the story went that way!! :)

oh and i'm english/british

always.....

peace.

I can do no better than post than a part of a relevant, sourced and serious, Wikipedia article:

"Health issues and the effects of cannabis

Different and fewer risks than tobacco

Tobacco smoking has well-established risks such as bronchitis, coughing, overproduction of mucus, and wheezing. Similar risks for smoking cannabis related to airway inflammation have been suggested in a study of healthy cannabis users who exhibited similar early characteristics to tobacco smoking.[37]

The effects of tobacco and cannabis smoking differ, however, as they affect different parts of the respiratory tract: whereas tobacco tends to penetrate to the smaller, peripheral passageways of the lungs, cannabis tends to concentrate on the larger, central passageways. One consequence of this is that cannabis, unlike tobacco, does not appear to cause emphysema, though this claim is disputed. A 2002 report by the British Lung Foundation estimated that three to four cannabis cigarettes a day were associated with the same amount of damage to the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day.[38] Unlike tobacco, regular cannabis use does not appear to cause COPD.[39]


Cancer risk

Cannabis smoke contains numerous carcinogens;[40][41][42] however, scientific studies have failed to show higher cancer rates in cannabis smokers. A study published in 2006 by Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles, the largest study of its kind, concluded there is no link between smoking cannabis and lung cancer.[43] A study published in 2006 on a large population sample (1,200 people with lung, neck, or head cancer, and a matching group of 1,040 without cancer) failed to positively correlate a lung cancer risk. The results indicated a slight negative correlation between long and short-term cannabis use and cancer, suggesting a possible therapeutic effect. Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has anti tumor properties, either by encouraging programmed cell death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous, or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors.[44] Prior, a 1997 study examining the records of 64,855 Kaiser patients (14,033 of whom identified themselves as current smokers), also found no positive correlation between cannabis use and cancer.[45] A Research Triangle Institute study concluded that THC, a dilative agent, may help cleanse the lungs by dilating the bronchi, and could actively reduce the instance of tumors.[46] Additionally, a study by Rosenblatt et al. found no association between marijuana use and the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.[47] However, a contrasting 2006 study linked the smoking of cannabis to the growth of cancerous tumors through the impairment of anti-tumor defenses.[48] A 2000 study conducted by NORML and MAPS found that the two tested vaporizers performed up to 25% better than unfiltered marijuana cigarettes in terms of tar delivery."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_issues_and_the_effects_of_cannabis


So, as you can see, it is a shame that Cannabis is still prohibited, given the prohibition promotes cannabis/tobacco mixing. More people use tobacco that normally would, because prohibition turns the easiest and cheapest crop around (hemp) in a more expensive product.
This also leads to direct and numerous other health and social issues:
-nicotine is a carcinogen enhancer
-nicotine enhances the anxiogene and other not so positive effects of THC (cannabis)
-people smoke more joint than they normally would to cope with their nicotine addiction, needing to smoke for nicotine becomes associated with smoking a joint. IE, using tobacco in joints make people smoke more and be more stoned that what they would do otherwise, which is a problem for several reasons that you can imagine.

Very nice sekeraj.

Also it is well known that THC/cannabis has a positive effect for nausea.

And it IS a shame of ALL shames that cannabis is not legislated properly,i also FEAR that now England will have a new(well not new)prime minister soon, 'Hitler like' Gordon brown will re-classify cannabis back to a class B drug, which will totally make my blood nuke itself!
But 'hopefully', he will see sense and just LEAVE the cannabis law alone(or adjust it a little so i can LEGALLY grow 4-6 PERSONAL plants,as they do in Holland)


anyway,tobacco is bad for you.

Go on a rant concerned! Rant, rant, rant. lol. Nice arguments guys.

I did this article to concern people about this subject, as well as informing. But the fact is that, eventually I finished learning a lot from all of you guys.

Please continue like this, I have read all your opinions, and the only thing I can say is please continue informing me as well as I tryed the first.

Thank you all.

I would love to search the internet with facts and answers and theories and such,but the fact is i work with my EXPERIENCE,it works for me,it makes me mad when people contradict MY lifes experience,but nethertheless i am up against the 'masses' which makes my opinion worthless.

I am a altogether person thats NOT skitsophrenic,im quite sane,a high I.Q,noble,trustworthy,clever,ahemm sometimes laaazy :),i work and i smoke,but i don't drink alcohol,i love my family,i treat them good,i am not a thief or any type of criminal,i NEVER smoke cannabis outside or during work hours....
i am basically the model 'guy next door' type.
So when people say,'oh cannabis rots ya brain,cannabis makes you skitso,cannabis turns you into a rabid beast and so on....'

people can read this and say,'not EVERYONE that smokes cannabis is the same'

*a little insight to what that guy said couple of posts back,'potheads' go blue in the face*..yes ,with bloody good reason!!. :)
**tobbacco comes from a plant and is legal and it kills
alcohol comes from plants and is legal and it kills,both concrete evidence,so why is cannabis illegal?(because its deemed untaxable)

peace

Just to add, i have always said,'abuse' plays a vital role in the drug world(that includes alcohol and coffee and tea and tobacco ,they all 'mind' altering 'drugs'),because you can live your whole life drinking and NEVER become a alcoholic,everything in MODERATION,because lets face it,people can die from drinking too much WATER!!

ABUSE needs to be addressed not the drugs themselves,but how do you control 'self control',you cannot,its up to the 'individual' to be sensible,but how do you trust an individual to be responsible,you cannot,you would have to have a complete ban on every substance which in turn would immediately put things underground,hence making it very dangerous,more deaths,so a third party has to take 'control' and govern and set guidelines and legislate and ammend accordingly and then TAX IT!
the government are controlling your abuse and getting paid for it and if you abuse too much,you go too prison and the PEOPLE pay for it,thus negating their intervention of duty,but still getting paid!

If people were more responsible and AWARE of life, i think the saga of the 'drug world' would not be so apparent in society,plus it would free up a hell of a lot of money AND people to do other noble things in society.


everything in moderation.....


Peace.

Good points, hey concerned, where you live do they not put spaces after commas? No offence, I was just wondering. It's like a literature rule in the U.S. and Cuba that after a comma, you should put a space and then continue your sentence. Not trying to correct you or anthing.

Peace

Hahahahaha, no offence taken!.

Do they teach spelling lessons in the us of a miguel?...(quote)anthing!?. :)
no offence but you spelt it wrong, no offence! :)

Only pulling your plonka!,hahahaha, after all of my rant,you comment on my grammer?hahaha, i even used a on-line spellchecker?

Anyway,my keyboard has problems(as do i,apparently!)
I'm accually not used to keyboards and typing and ENGLISH! haha,i'm more of a common sense expert than a writing/typing expert,i havent been on these sites that long,and writing is not my strong point(believe it or not!).

Hope this satisfies your curiosity?.


Peace.

Great article! The discussion from the article is as good as the article itself.Keep up the good work.

HAHA. It's GRAMMAR. lol, i'm done with that now.

peace

ditto. :)

Peace.

One thing I think no one mentioned is this: compared to a cigarette smoker who smokes say 20 cigarettes a day, a pot smoker may smoke only a few hits of a joint a few times a week. I realize that there are heavier pot smokers as there are heavier tobacco smokers, but a lot less marijuana is needed for the average pot smoker than the average tobacco smoker. Three joints a day smoked in full is a lot of pot! PLEASE...

ok, but seriously i have to get in on this. Even though i'm a couple of days off. So, i'm walking down the street (riding in my car, whatever) and there are so many people smoking cigarettes that it is immeasurable. Yet, mostly anyone that smokes marijuana (weed, cannabis, whatever) is indoors away from everyone else, NOT HARMING OTHER PEOPLE WITH THEIR BAD HABITS. So maybe its just me but nicotine is the number one abused drug in the U.S. and people are still complaining about marijuana being bad. Just make nicotine/tobacco/cigaretttes illegal. It's a drug (as is cannabis), its addicting (as is cannabis, even though i don't think so), and it's bad for your health (as is cannabis), so why isn't it illegal (as is cannabis)???

What's the problem???

what the heck, you guys are idiots. how many people do you know that have died from smoking bud? NONE. If you have cancer, you can LEGALLY use marijuana.. so it must be doing something good, or else doctors with degrees wouldn't prescribe someone to use it.

oh, and i have a theory for marijuana being legal.
i would tell george bush to legalize marijuana. If you get caught with more than an ounce, you get to pay a fine. NO JAIL TIME OR ANYTHING. Just a fine, that way it would be taxed, right??

Hey kyle, i feel where you are coming from but, not everybody are idiots my friend, thats just plain rude :)

And your idea of 'carrying' weed legally within certain boundaries HAS been accepted in certain countries, i believe ITALY you can legally carry up to half ounce, in CANADA i think you can legally carry an ounce,in HOLLAND you can legally carry half ounce, in SWITZERLAND you can legally carry half ounce, in MORROCO its leagal(i think?), and im sure in certain parts of america you can legally carry up to an quarter?,other peoples info not my own, and i think certain parts of AUSTRALIA weed is legal.

So if they have done it(and have not got a bad reputation for doing so) then why can't other countries follow suit?

It IS a valid point!


Peace.

well that's a joint...which doesn't have a filter as does a cigarette. if you filter the weed through a bong i could pretty much saftly say that it wont harm you as much as maybe even 3 cigarettes, seeing how most people don't smoke the same amount as weed in a bong as tobacco in a cigarette, the risk is even lower...so yea, don't worry a thing my fellow potheads

if smoking weed is so bad why have we had more deaths with Tobacco then weed?

Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana, and in a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung's small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.


P.S. I have never smoked tobacco or marijuana in my life. I am just telling you facts.

None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.

I hope my previous two comments got the facts straight.

First off, your grammar is terrible! Second, you didn't provide ANY actual information here. You talked about one study in one country, that's unscientific. Read my article "Looking Beyond the Haze" on this same site in the recreation/drugs category if you want to know the facts.

just watch

"IN POT WE TRUST" (9 parts about 10 minutes each)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sx9utVHPMm8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a6kHspdt_MM&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OzJyxjRzU_Q&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xz8rdqDV1cw&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pVauCzo9Vf8&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=n2DeJss8vH0&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=n4pKGwUCD54&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bryzFk8DtPI&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2FBn21hHI&feature=related

marijuana rules! ^^

I'm just wondering 1) how old are these "kids" in the survey? It would be nice to know. I might be missing it but do you have any sources for the information? I'd like to check it out. And 2)why even because your first language is Spanish and second, English, you still wouldn't use spell check. I mean come on Spanish word processors have to have spell check? Or were you high when you wrote it? And forgot about it. I don't mean to be rude because for all we know you do smoke weed. There are a lot of anti-cigarette people who smoke cigarettes.

Thanks

I am doing a paper at school, and this a very excellent source for information! If I ahd 5 hands, I would give this Five Thumbs Up!!!!

i smoke marijuana and cigaretts.... i am a 15 year old kid right...

so listen to what i have to say if you would like to hear... i smoke cigaretts because it relaxes my nervous system.... you cannot get addicted to weed you just to smoke it because you enjoy the affects of being grilled or stoned....

the age group that smoke is between 15 and 25... and in that fact it shows that the age group will continously grow over time.... i have no obligation to stop smoking weed at the moment i enjoy it quite alot. My inteligence hasnt been altered in anyway. marijuana doesnt make you sardonic,pessimistic or narsistic in anyway... although you notice with smokers they are all of those mentioned...

i know i was a bit of topic but what can i say im stoned...

thanks people
:D

THC opens the small airways allowing the lungs to clean themselves while nicotine constricts the very same tubes, thus preventing the lungs from depositing of negative properties.
THC and about 60 other cannabiniods actually shut off bad cells and toxins in a mass extermination known as programed cell death.....while leaving in peace the righteouss good cells.
If marijuana did not have THC but instead had nicotine, it would kill after your first puff because of the tar.
If tobacco did not have nicotine but instaed THC it would be almost harmless.
The danger that radioactive tobbacco products from America and western nations poses to it\'s victims has virtually nothing to do with the tar or chemicals produced by smoke or even the poison nicotine.
Smoke is harmfull either way, but marijuana if by far the safer than tobbacco, especially those grown in radioactive fertilizers.

THC is medicine, nicotine is addictive poison!

Buy a vaporizer if smoke scares you.

I take it that Teresa doesn't drink and is actively pursuing prohibition of alcohol(yea, that worked out well last time, didn't it?), since alcohol , drunk in excess, is the biggest problem facing the family, and society, only second to poverty and government interference in general, that we have.

In reality, tho, things aren't black or white. People who are responsible, who drink or smoke cannabis , or even have the odd E or line of coke, will be absolutely fine and enjoy the effects. Those that aren't responsible - a minority - well, they will always find it tough going (whether it be social practices, work or even spending your money wisely)

And lets not forget that their are reasons why some people abuse alcohol, drugs or even compulsive cleaning. They have problems. Most will just find something else to fill the void if you keep fighting their symptoms instead of fighting the fundamental cause.

I drink occasionally
I smoke cigarettes
I used to smoke cannabis - I don't anymore.


In the end, the Government, not does Teresa, have ANY right whatsoever to tell me what I can and cant put into my body. I\'m sick of interfering, control freaks, trying to make everyone live a life they deem acceptable. Only a matter of time before they start dictating to the rest of us what we can put into our minds (banning certain books etc).

I havent even gone into the negative practical effects of prohibition. I doubt the \"moral-do-gooders\", who pave our roads with good intentions, would waste their time with facts and opposing views... afterall they are DICTATORS!

PS I nearly forgot. For those who think cannabis is addictive, you are dead wrong. Cannabis is not addictive. The tabacco, in the joint, may be addictive but you cant blame cannabis for that!.
Becoming addicted and doing something because you like it, should not be confused. If we banned everything that people enjoy, what kind of world would this be? Well, other than the fact it'd be empty since there would be no sex allowed...