Fox News Infected With "Reefer Madness"

Fox News is running an alarmist story today under the outrageous headline, "Marijuana Not Only Gets You High, It Damages Your DNA."

The 'news' story, which several other mainstream media outlets are also promoting, is based on a new British study assessing the effects of, ahem, "calf thymus DNA treated in vitro (in a Petri dish) ... with the smoke generated from 1, 5, and 10 cannabis cigarettes."

Yes, really.

So how did Fox "We report, you decide" News summarize this non-story? Let's take a look.

What Fox News reported: "Smoking marijuana not only gets you high, but it also alters your DNA."

What the study actually said: "[T]hese results provide evidence for the DNA damaging potential of cannabis smoke, implying that the consumption of cannabis cigarettes may be detrimental to human health with the possibility to initiate cancer development."

What Fox News reported: "There have been many studies on the toxicity of tobacco smoke," researcher Rajinder Singh said in a news release. "Cannabis in contrast has not been so well studied."

What Fox News didn't report: From the March 2009 issue of the scientific journal Medicinal Research Reviews, "Research on the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids has reached enormous proportions. ... [A]pproximately 15,000 articles on Cannabis sativa L. and cannabinoids and over 2,000 articles on endocannabinoids (are available in the scientific literature)."

What Fox News reported: "Singh said cannabis smoke contains 400 compounds including 60 cannabinoids. It also contains 50 percent more carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including naphthalene, benzanthracene, and benzopyrene, than tobacco smoke, Singh added."

What Fox News didn't report: From the November 2007 issue of the scientific journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, "Vaporization of marijuana does not result in exposure to combustion gases, ... and [was] preferred by most subjects compared to marijuana cigarettes. ... The Volcano [vaporizer] device is an effective and apparently safe vehicle for THC delivery, and warrants further investigation in clinical trials of cannabis for medical purposes."

What Fox News reported: "'The smoking of 3-4 cannabis cigarettes a day is associated with the same degree of damage to bronchial mucus membranes as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day,' the team wrote in the journal."

Except for the fact that it isn't. In fact, here's what Donald Tashkin of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, had to say about the subject earlier this month in an interview with the McClatchy newspaper chain. (**Note: Dr. Tashkin has performed US-government sponsored studies of marijuana and lung function for over 30 years and is considered to be the United States' – if not the world's – foremost expert on the subject.)

"What we found instead was no association (between marijuana smoking and cancer) and even a suggestion of some protective (anti-cancer) effect. ... Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects. But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization (of marijuana). I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance. Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm."

Just for the record, in 2006, Tashkin led the largest population case-control study (yes, Dr. Tashkin actually performed research on humans, not 'calf thymus DNA') ever to assess the use of marijuana and lung cancer risk. The study, which included more than 2,200 subjects (1,212 cases and 1,040 controls), reported that marijuana smoking was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or upper aerodigestive tract — even among individuals who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints during their lifetime.

Let the folks at Fox put that in their pipe and smoke it.


News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: NORML
Author: Paul Armentano
Contact: NORML
Copyright: 2009 NORML
Website: Fox News Infected With "Reefer Madness"
 
They say don't drink or smoke cigs when pregnant, why would we treat weed any different? Makes sense to me. Be clean when having kids.
 
If it doesn't alter DNA, how do you explain all the potheads that have grown man-boobs?

the life style many smoker lead in the cause of moobs, not the pot smoke. think about it, most smokers like to chill on a couch and smoke a bowl. what goes great with a bowl? some food. so sitting on a couch and eating food will lead to getting man boobs.
 
It does alter dna; it preserves it and reverses aging. Makes us immune to biological diseases like lung cancer and breast cancer....
 
I was thinking that there are athletes that smoke and are very healthy. Know why, they're very active. Get into biking and swimming and surfing.
 
green monkey answered the man boob thing...
tintala breast cancer runs in my family I havent gotten it yet (older sister when she was 47 & Mom at 79), so I got some years left. But then again I've been a Guinea pig for 2 studies (1 blind & other knew what drugs I was taking) & the only thing good if I get breast cancer is no more bra's & teenage breasts once again. :0)

Another excuse to get pamela anderson sized implants.lol

Edit: Sry if that was insensitive.
 
Man Boobs, guess i aint heard about this 1 ... what are we talkin here, A-cups or something that will make u the most popular guy in cell block D?
 
Re: Fox News Infected With “Reefer Madness”

the correct answer is . . .
the life style many smoker lead in the cause of moobs, not the pot smoke. think about it, most smokers like to chill on a couch and smoke a bowl. what goes great with a bowl? some food. so sitting on a couch and eating food will lead to getting man boobs.

its a myth.
 
we're not all lazy. i smoke first thing daily and then throughout the day, never have a problem getting my shit done.

lol tantala
 
I actually suffer a condition during pregnancy called hyperemesis. I vomited so badly that I lost 25 lbs during the first 3 months of my pregnancy. I was drinking lemon water and eating 3 saltines a day. Thats it. Imagine yourself so sick that you vomit up more than that.

My Dr was from India and he knew I had smoked weed for depression and migraines (car accident involving brain damage) He told me all about the history of marijuana as medicine in midwifery in India, Jamaica, and many village areas/remote places in Japan, China, etc that have no access to modern medicine.

Tests were showing that my child was not growing right inside the womb due to my malnutrition.

I tried 3 different chemical prescriptions over those three months. I believe phenergren was one of them (and it causes false positive readings on marijuana tests btw) Including one that said overuse could cause deformities in the unborn. I was a day from getting admitted to the hospital when I agreed (off record) with my dr. to try a 1/2 a joint.

Within an hour I ate my first meal in over a month. I remeber it well. Wheat bread spread thick with peanut butter. Man, no woman has ever had such a meal.

Two weeks later they discovered a complication making things worse. (not caused by years of weed use but by other health issues) I had placenta previa. (placenta over the cervix) I bled every time I moved. I spent 17 weeks in bedrest. I was weak, aenamic and needed to be able to stomach vast amounts of iron suppliments. (NOt good with nausea)

I smoked 2 joints a day, with my drs off record approval (no, I'm not in a medical state)

My wee one is 18 months old now. She has 18 words in sign language and her development is at over a 2 year level. Her peditrician is having her tested to see if she might have a genius level intelligence. (Her father's IQ is 146 and mine is 140)

So, feed me some more BS Fox News. DNA damage. HA HA!

All the prescriptions in the world couldnt help me at that moment. Mary Jane saved my child's life.

Luna
 
I'm pretty sure Fox News isn't out to get pot.

Fox News is no doubt out to get pot. Bill O'rielly the biggest idiot on the planet calls anybody who likes marijuana, not just users, dope fiends and other names along those lines. Everybody on that station is a simple minded follower, they all think the same and spew the same garbage. The whole news station is corrupt and completely unintelligent. How can you call yourself fair when you are all a bunch of the most farrrrrrrrrrrrrr "right-wing" lunatics in this country! Anybody who watches fox news and agrees with anything besides actual news stories which they do very few of and seem to only play negative ones at that, are crazy. They make me furious and I would love to debate the subject any day with them. Man gotta calm down now.... (My dad loves fox news)
 
Yea I agree,,,FAUX NEWS,,,I am really gettin frustrated at all the EXPERTS that know pot makes you stupid, George Washington(pot farmer)Thomas Jefferson(pot farmer),,DUH !! For 200 YEARS in this Country you were REQUIRED to grow hemp if you owned a farm. YOU could PAY your TAXES with HEMP to the US Government!! WHAT HAPPENED ?? HARRY ANSLINGER punk to the DuPont and Hearst empires. DO YER HOMEWORK PEOPLE !! YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT !!
 
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