A recent study has found that marijuana smokers may develop bullous lung disease 24 years earlier than tobacco smokers. Bullous lung disease, a.k.a. bullae, is when air trapped in the lungs leads to obstruction of breathing and eventual destruction of the lungs, caused by long-term exposure to toxic chemicals. Furthermore, it can go undetected, as the disease may not show up on normal X-rays, a proper diagnosis requiring a high-resolution CT scans. With the 10% young adults and 1% adults smoking weed regularly, the mean age for lung problems was 41, opposed to 65 for tobacco smokers. Dr. Matthew Naughton, lead author, says this is because "marijuana is inhalaed as extremely hot fumes to the peak inspiration and held for as long as possible before slow exhalation. This predisposes to greater damage to the lungs and makes marijuana smokers more prone to bullous disease." Granted, most marijuana smokers usually also smoke cigarettes, which in some ways deserve the title of gateway drug more than pot, the previous findings that doobies have tar levels seven times higher than stogies now have support in medical statistics.
Another recent study study has found that, in terms of lung cancer, smoking one joint is equal to a normal 20-pack of cigarettes (in Europe 10 and 30-packs are pretty common). The researchers interviewed 79 lung cancer patients to find that cancer risk rose 5.7x for those who smoked than a joint a day for 10 years, or two joints a day for 5 years, after adjusting for other variables like tobacco smoking. According to Richard Beasley, team leader, "Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream (than tobacco smokers)." The main obstacle, in regard to health, but for public policy as well, seems to be that the most popular method marijuana drug delivery is still smoking, be it bowl, bong or blunt. Unfortunately, inhaling smoke is never healthy, otherwise we would live on the sun. Thus, it may be wise to invest in a vaporizer, which greatly reduces the levels of particulate matter like tar and noxious gasses like carbon monoxide and are relatively affordable online. Alternatively, bake magic brownies or make kookie cookies, many recipes are available in print and on the web. There is also the option of leaching marijuana in high-proof alcohol, to brew so-called Green Dragon. All three methods keep the lungs healthy and pink while still allowing people to benefit from the positive effects of marijuana. Mens sana in corpore sano.
Marijuana Smokers Face Rapid Lung Destruction — As Much As 20 Years Ahead Of Tobacco Smokers, ScienceDaily.com
Smoking One Joint is Equivalent to 20 Cigarettes, Study Says, FoxNews.com
Fidel Castro relinquished his presidency of Cuba on Tuesday morning, thus ending his 49-year tenure, one of the longest in modern history. Castro became president in 1959 after an armed revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista. Since then, he was the target of over 600 assassination attempts, the more exotic of which included exploding cigars and a fungal-infected scuba-suit. But it was an acute colon infection that finally incapacitated Castro in late July 2006. Since then he has been in and out of surgery, handing over power to his younger brother Raul. Fidel continued to influence policy from behind the hospital curtain, but after a letter published in Cuba’s Granma newspaper he has conclusively let go of his presidency, adding “It would betray my conscience to occupy a responsibility that requires mobility and the total commitment that I am not in the physical condition to offer.” However, it is unlikely that the US will lift the trade embargo on Cuba any time soon, according to deputy secretary of state John D. Negroponte.
