Should Marijuana be illegal to cancer patents?

EFFECTS OF HABITUAL MARIJUANA USE ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM The most potent argument against the use of marijuana to treat medical disorders is that marijuana may cause the acceleration or aggravation of the very disorders it is being used to treat. Smoking marijuana regularly (a joint a day) can damage the cells in the bronchial passages which protect the body against inhaled microorganisms and decrease the ability of the immune cells in the lungs to fight off fungi, bacteria, and tumor cells. For patients with already weakened immune systems, this means an increase in the possibility of dangerous pulmonary infections, including pneumonia, which often proves fatal in AIDS patients. Studies further suggest that marijuana is a general “immunosuppressant” whose degenerative influence extends beyond the respiratory system. Regular smoking has been shown to materially affect the overall ability of the smoker’s body to defend itself against infection by weakening various natural immune mechanisms, including macrophages (a.k.a. “killer cells”) and the all-important T-cells. Obviously, this suggests the conclusion, which is well-supported by scientific studies, that the use of marijuana as a medical therapy can and does have a very serious negative effect on patients with pre-existing immune deficits resulting from AIDS, organ transplantation, or cancer chemotherapy, the very conditions for which marijuana has most often been touted and suggested as a treatment. It has also been shown that marijuana use can accelerate the progression of HIV to full-blown AIDS and increase the occurrence of infections and Kaposi’s sarcoma. In addition, patients with weak immune systems will be even less able to defend themselves against the various respiratory cancers and conditions to which consistent marijuana use has been linked, and which are discussed briefly under “Respiratory Illnesses.” In conclusion, it seems that the potential dangers presented by the medical use of marijuana may actually contribute to the dangers of the diseases which it would be used to combat. Therefore, I suggest that marijuana should not be permitted as a therapy, at least until a good deal more conclusive research has been completed concerning its debilitating effect on the immune system. Sue

so, the FACT that many cancer patients are prescribed oxcontin is ok, but pot should be illegal to them? That is horse crap. Who cares if it’s illegal for them to use anyway? If they want it they can get it almost anywhere.

no even if it does make the pain go away temporaily it has side eefects that are harmful to the body. smoking a joint is equivilant to smoking 40 cigartttes and thats not good so the cons pretty much outweigh the pros

Sue,

Will you please expound on the damage from marijuana? I don’t know much about these things since I’m not a user and I’d like to know more about the physical effects it has long-term on the body. Thanks!

lets say, hypothetically of course, that pot is bad. so what. my body is my body, not yours. let me damage it if I want. Sue, the entire second paragraph you wrote, “Smoking marijuana regularly…proves fatal in AIDS patients,” basically says that smoking a joint a day can cause throat and lung damage, increasing the risk for infection. That kind of reminds me of how cigarettes affect people. Yet those are legal, and much more addicting. The rest of your post goes on about marijuana use advancing certain diseases, such as AIDS. The question was not about marijuana use for AIDS or HIV patients, but cancer patients instead. You ok chemotherapy, yet that increases the risk of infection for the patient to more than double. marijuana is a natural substance, chemotherapy is not. all in all, anything that relieves pain for a patient is ok in my book.

Sorry, a lot of cancer patients do make it. In fact we are able to get them in remission so much faster today and yes many have been reported to have gone into a permanent state of remission. You don’t give someone who has a fighting chance the talk…well we know you’re going to die anyways so here take this…it will make you feel better today but if you do live you probably will die from this anyways. Not something I would want to tell my grandmother or father, my son, my daughter or my partner. Sue

No, no, no. I know, from personal experience, that a lot of cancer patients don’t make it. So why not allow them to atleast live in peace while they still have their short amount of time?

Personally I think all recreational drugs should be legal for adults but that is an answer for another question. To me the laws against recreational drugs do more harm than good.

Every drug has some side effects. I’ve heard chemo patients explain that their nausea was so bad without marijuana that they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to keep anything down and would waste away. I think marijuana should be an option; some patients might find it more effective or to have fewer side effects than other drugs.

I dont think it should be illegal at all =D

Dear guru123, Yes, today cancer is treatable and curable in many cases. So while the cancer patient is smoking they are creating other problems directly as a result from the pot. Time and time again we see a cancer patient go in to remission only to find out that they have permanent damage to other parts of the body from the pot. You will find more and more doctors are NOT prescribing medical marijuana to their patients. I have a relative who is a doctor and will never prescribe it. Sue…good luck

if it was my grandfather might still be alive or he might not have gone through so much pain… he died in may from liver, colon, and prostate cancer.in january 2007, he went 2 the doctor. in MARCH they told him he had a mass on his liver. in APRIL they told him he had liver cancer. so it took them 3 months to “figure out” he had cancer. one day the ambulance came and later the doctor told him that the cancer spread to his colon and prostate. the doctors did not help until it was too late. they said that they could not do anything for him, and I remember the day he called. he was crying and he said “they’re sending me home 2 die.” he was “2 old” for surgery and they didnt think chemotherapy would help. so basically they gave up. I remember, towards the end, he didnt even talk or move some days because of the pain. it broke my heart 2 see him like that. 1 day I prayed 2 God to just let him out of his misery. I looked at him and blew him a kiss from the stairs, he was asleep and didnt talk all day. the next day, he died.

so yea I think it should be legal 4 cancer patients. so they wouldnt have 2 go through what he did…

Okay, first of all, Overit, “smoking a joint is equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes” are you serious? I dont know where you got your information, but I do know that it was an unreliable source. That is just an absolutely ridiculous statement. Second of all, Sue90, I believe you are being a little closed-minded about the topic. Nobody said anything about marijuana being legal to cancer patients in order to treat cancer. Medical marijuana should be legal to treat the some of the side effects the patient may suffer from due to cancer treatments - such as chemotherapy. [nausea and vomiting, being the most common] Some anticancer drugs cause nausea and vomiting because they affect parts of the brain that control vomiting and/or irritate the stomach lining. The severity of these symptoms depends on several factors, including the chemotherapeutic agent(s) used, the dose, the schedule, and the patient’s reaction to the drug(s). The management of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy is an important part of care for cancer patients whenever it occurs. Although patients usually receive antiemetics, drugs that help control nausea and vomiting, there is no single best approach to reducing these symptoms in all patients. Doctors have to take into account the type of anticancer drugs being administered; the patient’s general condition, age, and related factors; and, of course, the extent to which the antiemetic is helpful. There has been much interest in the use of marijuana to treat a number of medical problems, including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. Two forms of marijuana have been used: compounds related to the active chemical constituent of marijuana taken by mouth and marijuana cigarettes. Dronabinol (Marinol®), a synthetic form of the active marijuana constituent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is available by prescription for use as an antiemetic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who dont respond to the standard antiemetic drugs. Marijuana cigarettes have been used to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and research has shown that THC is more quickly absorbed from marijuana smoke than from an oral preparation.

As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated exponentially, so too has investigators’ understanding of cannabis’ remarkable capability to combat disease. Whereas researchers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s primarily assessed cannabis’ ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms — such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy — scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to alter disease progression. Of particular interest, scientists are investigating cannabinoids’ capacity to moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as their role in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease.)

Investigators are also studying the anti-cancer activities of cannabis, as a growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago.

I can understand your concern about long term effects, but as of right now, I believe it should be legal to cancer patients. Because after all, we wouldnt have found the cure for anything if it wasnt for research, and testing theories of “miracle antibiotics”. Its not just opinion, its also facts.

no because it relieves the pain and makes them feel happy. it gives them happy thoughts and they can forget that they have cancer

everybody should be able to use it

I don’t think it should be because it’s a pain killer for them

nope, it shouldnt (in my opinion)

Isn’t it illegal to everybody?

No

no, it should be legal

These are some of the comments I have copied from a forum

-pharmaceuticals are known to kill more people than illegal drugs

-marijuana is the number 1 cash crop in the world it serves as a natural medicine and has many other uses thats why they prohibited it so big companies can make more profit thanks to “bad journalism”

-can also help aids patients, aids diminishes appetite have them smoke a joint and they regain their appetite counteracting the illness

-no one can die from smoking cannabis and has been no known deaths compared to everything else including alcohol, tobacco, etc..

I myself have asthma and smoking opens up my airways making it easier to breathe with no side effects when medically legalized in my state I look foward to becoming a patient for prescription marijuana. 12 states have already legalized it along with other countries in the world and more following my job is to educate people that are not aware of the plants uses

re-legalize!

-I did most of my research through websites, books, magazines, and the news norml.org high times magazine etc..

• theres more to it than just getting high and I believe legalizing it would make this a better world to live in

-God bless the whole crop!

• and for people that dont smoke, you dont need to smoke it to support it

-all the better reason for the government to legalize.. couple reasons why it should be legalized: -will be removed from black market and stop empowering gang members -medical reasons -would be sold like alcohol, remember alcohol was once prohibited too (in stores away from children, have to be 21+) -would be a law that you cant drive while intoxicated on weed -prison population would lower (prisons are overcrowding with nonviolent offenders) -keep patients from being convicted -would provide millions of jobs for people -would make us an independent country (fuel, etc.., debt free america)

people with an addiction (including hard drugs) shouldnt be thrown in jail, they need help theres more people in jail with mental illnesses than there are in mental institutions

the list goes on

• the War on Drugs is a failure, its a war on its own people. policies need to be changed we pay billions in taxpayers money to keep the war going and neither side is winning thats just a waste of our tax money I wonder what they do with all that money.. those greedy bastards just sell drugs back onto the street, you can even check urself on that there was a time when there was a cia operation transporting drugs overseas into america the government also provided Rick Ross with plenty of heroin to go around, course making money from it

the truth must be exposed, theyre dirty work must stop!

-Of course we can do something about it, we all just need to unite screw the federal government remember slavery? if no one stood up im pretty sure it would still be going on people were tortured, beaten, killed and thrown in jail but that didnt stop them standing up for their rights eventually slavery was abolished same with alcohol prohibition eventually became re-legalized

• its like theres some kind of conspiracy going on I sense the government is up to no good and trying to control us. credit cards, money, and now they have chips that can be implanted in skin for uselful reasons but if in the wrong hands well were pretty much fuct they hiding the truth from us its dangerous to be right when the government is wrong they got theyre privacy but we dont. they want to know everything were doing on our leisure time

get up stand up!

• marijuanas not anti-establishment because its illegal, its illegal because its anti-establishment

all facts stated have been double-checked and confirmed what more info? norml.org hightimes.com americandrugwar.org flexyourrights.org lets all make this a better place to live in!