Just another friendly reminder that marijuana cures cancer, along with many other health benefits.

First, it's well established that pot is safe to use. THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, is nontoxic. One would need to consume 680 kg (1,500 pounds) of cannabis in less than 14 minutes before it turns poisonous for most people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol#Toxicity A human will die of water poisoning long before consuming that much water (one woman died of water intoxication after consuming 4 liters within two hours http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bradford/7779079.stm). That implies that THC is less toxic than water.

Heavy smokers of marijuana show no increase in lung cancer rates compared to nonsmokers, due to the anti-cancer properties of THC (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060526083353.htm).

Cigarette smoke is known to trigger asthma. Some people may assume that it's common sense that inhaling cannabis smoke would also exacerbate asthma--but like so much other common sense, that is totally wrong. Wheras tobacco smoke irritates the lungs, pot smoke acts as a bronchodilator. A study shown that the administration of marijuana "caused an immediate reversal of exercise-induced asthma..." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1099949 If someone does find the inhalation of cannabis smoke unpleasant, they can always use a vaporizer instead, which produces no combustion and no smoke.

Being high on pot does not impair your ability to drive a car. Yes, really. Research subjects were tasked with collision avoidance and driving skill tests both high on pot, and sober. There were no differences between the high and sober groups. The published study is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20464803. A second study demonstrated that, while under the influence of alcohol, test subjects drove faster, yet subjects under the influence of cannabis drove slower. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18460360. The pro-legalization group NORML officially cautions against driving under the influence of marijuana, probably because it is always better to be safe than sorry--but the point is that concerns over high drivers are overblown, and pot certainly cannot be compared to alcohol.

Harvard University researchers found that THC shrinks lung cancer tumors in size and weight by 50%, and THC lead to a 60% decrease in the number of cancer lesions present, in mice studies. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm

Pot reduces your risk of skin cancer, especially when used over the long term. The American Association for Cancer Research published a scientific study which found that "10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma." http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2009/07/28/1940-6207.CAPR-09-0048.abs
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Cannabidiol, found in marijuana, has been found to stop aggressive breast cancer from spreading. It's actually the first ever non-chemotherapy substance that stops the cancer from metastasizing. http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.long

Long term, heavy use of pot does not affect the mind. A study published in the Archive of General Psychiatry has found that after a month of abstinence, heavy cannabis users, who've smoked pot at least 5,000 times in the past, score just as well in tests of intelligence, attention, learning and memory, compared to a control group. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/58/10/909?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&
;fulltext=Harrison+Pope+marijuana&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

The University of Madrid discovered that cannabis kills human brain cancer cells, while leaving normal, healthy brain cells unharmed. A 30 day regimen of cannabis outright killed aggressive brain cancer, while protecting healthy cells. http://www.usnews.com/health/family-health/cancer/articles/2009/04/01/active-ingredient-in-marijuana
-kills-brain-cancer.html

Marijuana also protects the brain during strokes. During a cerebral ischemia (lack of blood flow to the brain), levels of glutamate rise, which kills brain cells. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that two chemicals in pot, THC and Cannabidiol, work together as potent antioxidants, which which neutralize the toxic glutamate. In the published research, the scientists note"Cannabidiol and THC also were shown to prevent...oxidative damage as well as or better than other antioxidants..."
http://www.pnas.org/content/95/14/8268.long

THC prevents Alzheimer's disease. The Scripps Research Institute in California has found that THC stops the formation "Alzheimer plaques" in the brain BETTER than modern anti-Alzheimer's drugs, "considerably superior" in the words of the published study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/?tool=pmcentrez

Studies in mice have shown that cannabis causes neurogenesis. That is, it causes the brain to grow more cells. It occurs in the hippocampus, responsible for learning, memory, mood, and anxiety. As a result of this new cell growth, the mice showed less signs of anxiety in stressful situations. This suggests that cannabis could be useful in treating or preventing depression in humans--not (just) from getting high, but by physically growing more brain cells.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8155-marijuana-might-cause-new-cell-growth-in-the-brain.html

A study sponsored by several Italian universities and health agencies tested cannabis on a panel of several different cancer types, including prostate and colorectal cancer. They found that cannabis is a "potent inhibitor of cancer cell growth" but noted "its use in chemotherapy is limited by its psychotropic activity." In other words, cancer patients aren't getting cannabis out of fear that they may get high. http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2006/05/25/jpet.106.105247.full.pdf+html

The really sad thing is that the US government funded a study that showed cannabis fights cancer back 1974, but ignored it. Scientists at the Medical College of Virginia found that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice--lung tumors and two kinds of leukemia--and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent. http://www.ukcia.org/research/AntineoplasticActivityOfCannabinoids/default.html

But remember! The US Government has declared that cannabis has no medical use. In addition, in 1999, the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences found that pharmaceutical companies will not investigate or develop drugs from cannabis, because since cannabis is a plant, it cannot be patented. "Pharmaceutical companies will not substantially profit unless there is a patent." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medical_cannabis&oldid=388114149

Since all the research shows how beneficial weed is, it's wise to remember why it was outlawed. Pot was legal in the United States up until the 1930s, when the nation's first Drug Czar Harry Anslinger announced “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men." and "marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes..." Congress aggreed, and not only outlawed pot, but forced the entire world to outlaw it, by pushing for the international treaty Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, in 1961. The prohibition against pot across the entire world is a direct result of US influence.

http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs