4 ms·

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows

40 points by echair 18y ago

zack 18y ago
I was going to write a one-line summary, but then I got high. Question: what if you smoked marijuana all day long. Would the antagonist properties of THC counterbalance the detrimental effects of the carcinogenic smoke-related metabolites?
giles_bowkett 18y ago
this belongs on Reddit, not Hacker News. hate to say I told you so. :-p
- peregrine 18y ago
  Yea I'm a little confused also as to how this got to the fp so fast.
- pg 18y ago
  If you think that, just flag it.
  - biohacker42 18y ago
    What should I do with this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=472410 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=472410
bprater 18y ago
Wow, marijuana news is hitting a feverish pitch lately, especially with that most-winning "Olympian pothead" making news. I am glad to see studies like this being performed. If you are a pot smoker, keep in mind that taking smoke in your body in any form is unhealthy. I suspect that eventually one state (Nevada?) will attempt to legalize it and the house of cards will begin to fall in the US. Until then, big business (pharma?) who controls Congress isn't going to let it happen without a fight.
- unalone 18y ago
  It's much healthier for you vaporized, or so I've read. Less lung damage, anyway.
  - kragen 18y ago
    That would seem logical but I don't think large-scale studies have been done. Large-scale studies on smokers have been done and did not find an increased lung cancer risk.
- micks56 18y ago
  Massachusetts just decriminalized possession. $100 civil fine for possession of less than 1 ounce. You are still subject to Federal prosecution, though. There is no way around that unless the Federal Government decriminalizes marijuana.
- kragen 18y ago
  I suspect that eventually one state (Nevada?) will attempt to legalize it and the house of cards will begin to fall in the US. Didn't Alaska and California do that a while back?
- netcan 18y ago
  It's ironic, but the US Federal Government might have a harder time maintaining prohibition inside the US then out. Many countries that are clear losers from prohibition or those that have really decided against it have had a hard time getting out of international agreements to maintain the laws. The US' zeal is the greater part of the reason for why these are so enforceable & why most decriminalisation decisions in Europe have mostly been cheats of some kind.
jfornear 18y ago
Study: Marijuana May Raise Testicular Cancer Risk http://www.javno.com/en/lifestyle/clanak.php?id=232267 http://www.javno.com/en/lifestyle/clanak.php?id=232267
CalmQuiet 18y ago
I've watched this thread with puzzlement because it was almost immediately a dead link. ...and I couldn't readily find it at sciencedaily.com Now that it's a Phoenix from its ashes I understand its death: the article is from April 2007. Unfortunately, mj research seems to produce "discussions" that combine the fervor of religious + political topics. The cited study is just one more study in the mj research legacy that shows lots of possible damages and several possible benefits of cannabis depending on the application and the population concerned. Recommendation: cool heads, please (not for the pun).
jballanc 18y ago
1. Old (2007) 2. Not the original source. I would be in favor of an informal community contract here on HN, that any link to an article which starts off with "Researchers have shown" or "A new study was published", that we must include the original research paper in a link in the first comment. Here, I'll help out this time (it only took me ~5 min): http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html 3. Not horribly interesting. Know what else will shrink a tumor? Cyanide! If anything, this link is a good example of what has been happening with science reporting recently. Publications, especially those dependent on a page-view model for revenue generation, have been increasingly sensationalizing science. This is irresponsible.

40 points by echair 18y ago

zack 18y ago

I was going to write a one-line summary, but then I got high. Question: what if you smoked marijuana all day long. Would the antagonist properties of THC counterbalance the detrimental effects of the carcinogenic smoke-related metabolites?

giles_bowkett 18y ago

this belongs on Reddit, not Hacker News. hate to say I told you so. :-p

peregrine 18y ago
Yea I'm a little confused also as to how this got to the fp so fast.
pg 18y ago
If you think that, just flag it.
- biohacker42 18y ago
  What should I do with this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=472410 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=472410

bprater 18y ago

Wow, marijuana news is hitting a feverish pitch lately, especially with that most-winning "Olympian pothead" making news. I am glad to see studies like this being performed. If you are a pot smoker, keep in mind that taking smoke in your body in any form is unhealthy. I suspect that eventually one state (Nevada?) will attempt to legalize it and the house of cards will begin to fall in the US. Until then, big business (pharma?) who controls Congress isn't going to let it happen without a fight.

unalone 18y ago
It's much healthier for you vaporized, or so I've read. Less lung damage, anyway.
- kragen 18y ago
  That would seem logical but I don't think large-scale studies have been done. Large-scale studies on smokers have been done and did not find an increased lung cancer risk.
micks56 18y ago
Massachusetts just decriminalized possession. $100 civil fine for possession of less than 1 ounce. You are still subject to Federal prosecution, though. There is no way around that unless the Federal Government decriminalizes marijuana.
kragen 18y ago
I suspect that eventually one state (Nevada?) will attempt to legalize it and the house of cards will begin to fall in the US. Didn't Alaska and California do that a while back?
netcan 18y ago
It's ironic, but the US Federal Government might have a harder time maintaining prohibition inside the US then out. Many countries that are clear losers from prohibition or those that have really decided against it have had a hard time getting out of international agreements to maintain the laws. The US' zeal is the greater part of the reason for why these are so enforceable & why most decriminalisation decisions in Europe have mostly been cheats of some kind.

jfornear 18y ago

Study: Marijuana May Raise Testicular Cancer Risk http://www.javno.com/en/lifestyle/clanak.php?id=232267 http://www.javno.com/en/lifestyle/clanak.php?id=232267

CalmQuiet 18y ago

I've watched this thread with puzzlement because it was almost immediately a dead link. ...and I couldn't readily find it at sciencedaily.com Now that it's a Phoenix from its ashes I understand its death: the article is from April 2007. Unfortunately, mj research seems to produce "discussions" that combine the fervor of religious + political topics. The cited study is just one more study in the mj research legacy that shows lots of possible damages and several possible benefits of cannabis depending on the application and the population concerned. Recommendation: cool heads, please (not for the pun).

jballanc 18y ago

1. Old (2007) 2. Not the original source. I would be in favor of an informal community contract here on HN, that any link to an article which starts off with "Researchers have shown" or "A new study was published", that we must include the original research paper in a link in the first comment. Here, I'll help out this time (it only took me ~5 min): http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html 3. Not horribly interesting. Know what else will shrink a tumor? Cyanide! If anything, this link is a good example of what has been happening with science reporting recently. Publications, especially those dependent on a page-view model for revenue generation, have been increasingly sensationalizing science. This is irresponsible.