Weed?

[WildInTheWind]

Originally Posted by amber

Ah, not to bad. I've heard a lot about not mixing it with codeine, actually, so. Doesn't bother me of course, I basically have a stomach of steel, but..

I have a low tolerance for almost everything. No stomach of steel here! Never stopped me though. I guess I'm a cheap date

~*~becky~*~

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

Concerning Lung Functions and Asthma...

Dr. Ethan Russo says:



Start by searching the PubMed site and plugging in keywords such as cannabis asthma Tashkin (a noted expert):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/

Cannabis actually is a bronchodilator (opens up breathing passages) and was employed in therapeutic cigarettes at the turn of the last century for this purpose. Interestingly, THC alone may promote coughing, but the mixture of cannabinoids and essential oils in herbal cannabis have net anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant effects that are helpful.

The book, Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts by Zimmer and Morgan is an excellent resource for information on this and similar issues that is accurate, understandable and scientifically meritorious.
Good luck!



Marijuana In Asthma Study

A team from Hungary has conducted research into marijuana and established a link between the drug and asthma which could help develop new treatments for respiratory-related illnesses. Back in the mid-1970s US professor Donald P Tashkin found that "recent studies demonstrated significant, acute bronchodilation in healthy young men after they smoked marijuana".

Now research in Hungary, Italy and the US indicates that while some asthma sufferers are prone to coughing when exposed to elements of the drug, others seem to be less affected by such irritation when lung muscles are tensed.

According to Dr Tamás Freund of the Institute of Experimental Medicine of Budapest, the knowledge gleaned from this research could alter the way respiratory illnesses are treated.

"Colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, found that induced bronchular constriction was antagonized by anandamide, a substance with the same properties as cannabinoids, a material found in marijuana.

"The contribution of my laboratory was to localize the molecules released by anandamide and its effect on nerve fibers in order to ease the muscles, helping reduce the substance that constricts the muscles," he explained.

Marijuana is currently being examined for medical properties in the fields of asthma, stroke and cancer research, as well as being utilized for pain relief and the control of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy treatment.

Freund and his staff of researchers have completed their part of the project, but say the day drugs utilizing their work are widely available to help asthma sufferers is still some way off in the future.

"This is the basic research, more study is required before drugs can be made available," said Freund. At present the research has involved animals, but in the US research is soon to be conducted on humans.

Danielle Piomelli, of the University of California, said, "We think that by targeting cannabinoid receptors in the upper airways we can control coughs in a number of conditions."

For the moment, the Institute of Experimental Medicine is now continuing its work with marijuana based substances, examining the link between learning and memory.

Source: Budapest Sun (Hungary)
Author: Duncan Welch
Published: November 23, 2000 - Volume VIII, Issue 47
Address: Városmajor utca 13. II. emelet
Copyright: 2000 The Budapest Sun
Contact: editor@bpsun.hu
Fax: (36-1) 214-0388
Website: http://www.budapestsun.com/
Feedback http://www.budapestsun.com/contact.asp


Some critics exaggerate the dangers of marijuana smoking by fallaciously citing a study by Dr. Tashkin which found that daily pot smokers experienced a "mild but significant" increase in airflow resistance in the large airways greater than that seen in persons smoking 16 cigarettes per day.(7) What they ignore is that the same study examined other, more important aspects of lung health, in which marijuana smokers did much better than tobacco smokers. Dr. Tashkin himself disavows the notion that one joint equals 16 cigarettes. A more widely accepted estimate is that marijuana smokers consume four times as much carcinogenic tar as cigarettes smokers per weight smoked. (8) This does not necessarily mean that one joint equals four cigarettes, since joints usually weigh less. In fact, the average joint has been estimated to contain 0.4 grams of pot, a bit less than one-half the weight of a cigarette, making one joint equal to two cigarettes (actually, joint sizes range from cigar-sized spliffs smoked by Rastas, to very fine sinsemilla joints weighing as little as 0.2 grams). It should be noted that there is no exact equivalency between tobacco and marijuana smoking, because they affect different parts of the respiratory tract differently: whereas tobacco tends to penetrate to the smaller, peripheral passageways of the lungs, pot tends to concentrate on the larger, central passageways.(9) One consequence of this is that pot, unlike tobacco, does not appear to cause emphysema.

7. D. Tashkin, Respiratory Status of 74 Habitual Marijuana Smokers, Chest 78 #5: 699-706 (Nov. 1980).

8. T-C. Wu, D. Tashkin, B. Djahed and J.E. Rose, Pulmonary hazards of smoking marijuana as compared with tobacco, New England Journal of Medicine 318: 347-51 (1988).

9. D. Tashkin et al, Effects of Habitual Use of Marijuana and/or Cocaine on the Lung, loc.cit.






DONALD P. TASHKIN, BERTRAND J. SHAPIRO, Y. ENOCH LEE,
and CHARLES E. HARPER

SUMMARY

After experimental induction of acute bronchospasm in 8 subjects with clinically stable bronchial asthma, effects of 500 mg of smoked marijuana (2.0 per cent Delta 9-tetrahydrodrocannabinol) on specific airway conductance and thoracic gas volume were compared with those of 500 mg of smoked placebo marijuana (0.0 per cent Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol), 0.25 ml of aerosolized saline, and 0.25 ml of aerosolized isoproterenol (1,250 ug). Bronchospasm was induced on 4 separate occasions, by inhalation of methacholine and, on four other occasions, by exercise on a bicycle ergometer or treadmill. Methacholine and exercise caused average decreases in specific airway conductance of 40 to 55 per cent and 30 to 39 per cent, respectively, and average increases in thoracic gas volume of 35 to 43 per cent and 25 to 35 per cent, respectively. After methacholine-induced bronchospasm, placebo marijuana and saline inhalation produced minimal changes in speci! fic airway conductance and thoracic gas volume, whereas 2.0 per cent marijuana and isoproterenol each caused a prompt correction of the bronchospasm and associated hyperinflation. After exercise-induced bronchospasm, placebo marijuana and saline were followed by gradual recovery during 30 to 60 min, whereas 2.0 per cent marijuana and isoproterenol caused an immediate reversal of exercise-induced asthma and hyperinflation.

Introduction

Recent studies have demonstrated significant, acute bronchodilatation in healthy young men after both smoked marijuana (1, 2) and oral Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta 9-THC), the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana (2). More recently, the smoking of marijuana and ingestion of Delta 9-THC by subjects with chronic, clinically stable, bronchial asthma of minimal to moderate severity has been shown to produce airway dilatation of a magnitude similar to that previously noted in healthy subjects (3). Although these findings appear to support the benefit ascribed to the use of cannabis in the last century for the treatment of bronchial asthma (4), they do not provide any direct evidence for a bronchodilator effect of marijuana during an acute asthmatic attack. In the present study, the effects of smoked marijuana on bronchomotor tone were evaluated in asthmatic subjects after acute bronchospasm was induced either by inhalation of methacholine or ! by exercise.

Materials and Methods

Eight patients with bronchial asthma characterized by typical attacks of wheezing, breathlessness, and cough at least partially relieved by bronchodilator medication and without other significant medical illness were selected for study. All subjects were clinically stable at the time of the study. Three subjects had participated in previous studies to evaluate the acute bronchial effects of smoked marijuana and oral Delta 9-THC in stable asthma (3). Five subjects had smoked marijuana previously. Of these 5 subjects, one had smoked marijuana only in connection with the previous study (3), 3 had smoked infrequently (less than 1 joint per month), and one had smoked regularly, but mildly (I joint per week).

_________________________

(Received in original form February 20, 1975 and in revised form June 19, 1975 )

1 From the Division of Pulmonary Disease, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024.

2 Supported by U. S. Public Health Service Grant no. HSM 42-71-89.






Martin Martinez

Cannabis and Lung Cancer

Martin Martinez

I attended the 1st National Clinical Conference on Medical Marijuana in Iowa in 1998. Arguably the most learned man on the subject of the effects of smoke on the lungs is named Donald Tashkin, Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care, at UCLA. He spoke for almost an hour at the Conference, showing slides of smoke-browned lungs. He showed how marijuana smoke seems to push pollutants towards the outer lining of the lungs. His presentation did not portray marijuana smoke as harmless, but there was no solid evidence of disease associated with the browning of the lungs' outer lining. Donald Tashkin has conducted the most extensive research involving the largest number of long-term marijuana-only smokers, as well as multi-drug smokers--marijuana, tobacco, cocaine, and other substances, for several decades. His critique of marijuana smoke was completely non-committal. (Considering the government is his largest source of funding, there is little doubt why his lecture at the first medical cannabis conference was short and unsupportive.) When Dr. Tashkin finished his speech, he did not wait to answer questions. He grabbed his materials and bolted for the door. I raced after him and stopped him on the steps outside the conference hall. I showed him the passages I had written about his research in The New Prescription. I stood there and watched him read everything I had written about his work. He agreed that my synopsis was correct. Then I asked him the $64,000 question. I said, "Do you know of any cases of marijuana-only smokers who had lung cancer?" He said "Yes, there is one." Then he smiled, explaining, "He was sixteen years old." We both smiled, knowing a teenager could not possibly have sufficient exposure to marijuana smoke to cause lung cancer--his cancer was clearly due to some other cause.

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

Any other questions?

[WildInTheWind]

Originally Posted by ½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®

Any other questions?

No that about sums it up!! LOL. I'm off to soak in the tub and light up...damn this pesky cough

~*~Becky~*~

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by ThePenguin

Same here. I never tried lots of the stuff that most people have....

-Lis

Sounds like me!

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

Want to see a study on Cannabis and its medicinal uses with child birthing?

[DeeGeMe]

Never smoked it. In fact, I'd never smoked a regular cigarette until I was about 35, and only then because a) my boyfriend dared me and b) I was drunk.

[DeadliestPoison]

::awaits Lux::

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by WildInTheWind

I have a low tolerance for almost everything. No stomach of steel here! Never stopped me though. I guess I'm a cheap date

~*~becky~*~

That would be me too - and I know that yet I still do stupid stuff like wine and weed combos...well not anymore....

I hate not having a stomach of steel - but I guess it does keep me from eating or ingesting anything too horribly bad for me

[Lisa1769]

When I was younger and childless, I use to smoke alot of pot.

But, you know what they say, once a dopehead, always a dopehead!


Has anyone seen the movie, Rolling Kansas? I got in on the last half of it today. Very funny!! I'm gonna have to watch it in it's fullness.

[77Rumours77]

Originally Posted by Lisa1769

Has anyone seen the movie, Rolling Kansas? I got in on the last half of it today. Very funny!! I'm gonna have to watch it in it's fullness.

YESSSSS! O MY! That movie is so funny!
LOL, It sometimes come on Comedy Centrals "Secret Stash" like at 1 AM.

[Lisa1769]

Originally Posted by 77Rumours77

YESSSSS! O MY! That movie is so funny!
LOL, It sometimes come on Comedy Centrals "Secret Stash" like at 1 AM.

cool, thanks.....Comedy Central is the station it was on this afternoon. I'll check TV Guide. I must see it all!

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

I can’t leave this thread without this last bit of information for those interested. It will be my last thread hijack I promise.


Oops wrong file. Oh well it's late.

[WildInTheWind]

[QUOTE=Lisa1769]When I was younger and childless, I use to smoke alot of pot.

But, you know what they say, once a dopehead, always a dopehead!

QUOTE]

Haha!!! I know exactly what you mean! I don't smoke it cronically like I used to, but I still like talking about it. Brings back good memorys. I don't remember most of them, but I know they're there!!

~*~Becky~*~

[Lisa1769]

[QUOTE=WildInTheWind]

Originally Posted by Lisa1769

When I was younger and childless, I use to smoke alot of pot.

But, you know what they say, once a dopehead, always a dopehead!

QUOTE]

I don't remember most of them, but I know they're there!!

~*~Becky~*~

I can relate.