According to MSNBC.com, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (a agency long known for anti-cannabis propaganda) has released a study that concludes that , "Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of a particular protein, perhaps raising a person's risk of a heart attack or stroke."

As a person in my mid 50's who smokes pretty much everyday I was, naturally, interested. Reading on, more information was disclosed.

"The marijuana users in the study averaged smoking 78 to 350 marijuana cigarettes per week, based on self-reported drug history."

Yikes! Even on my best days in Amsterdam I don't average 11 to 50 joints PER DAY. Who are these people? (And are any of you out there?)

You can read the article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24594228/

50 joints per day? When do these people find the time to do anything else in life? If you smoke 50 of ANYTHING everyday (tobacco, weed, cigars, dog-hair) you will be unhealthy. Mix in a salad occasionally, go to the gym 2-3 times per week and enjoy life....



Exactly. Where are all the dead bodies this report points to? It says it right in the article "it's not at all clear that it has any relevance to the real world". Thanks for more scare tactics and nonsense, MSNBC....

HW

I would say, hat in hand, that's the usual bunch of bullshits...

O.

Jeeze...I would think smoking anything that much is bad for you.

Anybody over 50 smoking 50 joints a day is already dead. .

I totally agree with Orcoman! "I would say, hat in hand, that's the usual bunch of bullshits... "

where do they find these people!? 50 joints a day!? 1/10 gr per joint?

here's my idea for a study: we'll smoke 3-6 mixed joints and then we can do a couple of Cooper Tests (VO2 Max) in the Vondelpark :)

-paniked

a tenth of a gram in a joint that's pathetic

Proof that American weed is inferior.

I can't name a person alive that can do 350 joints in Amsterdam in a week. That's 50 a day - or two an hour (or assuming you're passed out for 1/3 of the day it's three an hour). At a half g per j, that's 1.5 g's an hour.

Furthermore, I call into question any research done in America on this issue. The amount of money riding on finding in favour of the results is shocking.

Universities could lose millions a year in federal funding if they conclude no harm. The results are so tainted they cannot be trusted. The best way to find out the angle is to look at who paid for the research. If it's a group that specializes in keeping mary illegal and generates revenues based on how many people they incarcerate and makes a sport of hunting humans, I'm fairly confident that it's a biased result.

The real problem is - Who ACTUALLY paid for the research? My guess is taxpayers. I'd think that money would be better spent on curing cancer than adding more fake arguments against weed.

The US government seems to have too much money. I think world economics will solve that problem.

One thing that has not been mentioned yet is that the sampling method used to come up with statistics like these is from a ridiculously small population of smokers – 18, with 24 “control” subjects. What reputable scientist or statistician would work with a sample that small and still air the results for publication (and not get laughed out of their respective industries)?

Freakpa wrote:


I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone, in any country or place who could consistently smoke that amount. I’ve tried…



I would tend to agree with you on this point, Freakpa. You’ve got to be very careful when looking at any “study” on marijuana, no matter what organization or country the study is coming from.



This statement is just ridiculous. No one – anywhere - has a patent on “the best” weed. Does the Netherlands have excellent weed? You bet it does, as do many countries and places of origin. Is it easy to procure, and relatively cheap? Of course it is; that’s why we go there. To bluntly (no pun intended) proclaim that American weed is inferior based on a subjective propaganda piece like this one from NIDA is just ignorant.

Heh, reminds me of Al Gore in "An Inconvenient Truth" talking about the scientist whose salary and future funding are dependent on his findings being what it was predetermined they should be.

With 50 joints per day, that's over 2 per hour if the guy is smoking non-stop, 24 hrs a day. If we give the poor guy a break and he only smokes 12 hours out of the day, satisfying his munchies and sleeping it off the rest of the time, then that would be a joint every 14.4 minutes.

Essentially, the test subject is chain smoking marijuana from the time he gets up in the morning until he collapses at night.

the dogs

Dontcha just love statistics?