From: [e--md--p] at [aol.com] (EAVMD TOP)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: MJ Smoking and Lung Damage??
Date: 12 Jun 1994 12:43:01 -0400

In article <2n98rv$[d 0 c] at [bigboote.WPI.EDU]>, [b--e--p] at [wpi.edu] (B. Despres)
writes:

you might be interested in this
TOBACCO VS MARIJUANA

  Our national leadership as well as the public is inflamed over
recent reports of the tobacco industry increasing nicotine content in
cigarettes, suppressing information about fire resistant cigarettes,
and just generally being bad actors. Strangely, neither the public
nor some members of Congress recognize the parallels to marijuana. 
 Tobacco is responsible for over 400,000 deaths every year from
cancers, lung, heart and other vascular diseases. Marijuana has been
linked to over 30% of vehicular trauma cases and is the most commonly
abused illegal drug. It contains higher concentrations of cancer
causing agents than tobacco.  Marijuana and tobacco cause at least
the same amount of injury to the airways, pulmonary function, and
lung immunity. Recent studies have demonstrated increased health care
utilization among heavy marijuana smokers for respiratory problems.
 Tobacco is addictive. Many physicians, including this writer,
consider tobacco one of the hardest drugs to quit using. Marijuana is
addictive, and is also one of the hardest drugs for addicts to quit.
They often return to marijuana first if they relapse. The nicotine
content of cigarettes varies. The major addictive ingredient in
marijuana, THC, varies from 3%-29%. 
 Tobacco is associated with birth abnormalities. Marijuana is
associated with decreased birth weight, length and shorter duration
of pregnancy. Recent studies have demonstrated that young children
exposed to marijuana during pregnancy have a ten-fold higher risk of
developing acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia.
 Patients frequently refuse to quit tobacco because it helps some of
them lose weight and manage anxiety despite severe health
consequences. A strong movement is supporting the use and
legalization of smoked marijuana as medicine despite severe health
consequences, toxicity, and the availability of safer more effective
medications for the various medical problems. No major medical
organization would ever support tobacco as medicine. No major medical
organization supports the use of smoked marijuana as medicine. 
 The tobacco lobby is a powerful, well financed and aggressive group
that has successfully fought efforts to regulate, tax, or otherwise
control it. The marijuana lobby is also well financed and organized.
It continually floods the media and public with misinformation
suggesting that marijuana is harmless and should be available
medically and for general use via legalization of the drug. The drug
culture "experts" downplay recent massive research showing health
problems with marijuana. The tobacco "experts" deny the link of
tobacco to cancer and other health problems. Recently Congressman
Waxman gave this admonition to the public:
``I wouldn't trust these so-called independent experts the tobacco
industry has paraded out to the public and the Congress over the
years to tell us things like tobacco smoking is really good for you
because it relaxes you, or there is no connection between cigarette
smoking and addiction, and of course their latest one that they don't
manipulate the nicotine levels."
 
 Mr. Waxman's admonition also applies to the current social
atmosphere surrounding marijuana. We need to learn from the mistakes
surrounding tobacco and not extend these mistakes to marijuana and
other drugs. The one major reason that the health impact of marijuana
and other illegal drugs is still less than tobacco is that the other
drugs are still illegal. The drug culture and its lobbyists are every
bit as insincere, manipulative, and self-serving as the tobacco
lobby. Urge your local press and governmental leaders not to fall
into another trap.

Eric A. Voth, M.D. FACP
Chairman,
The International Drug Strategy Institute