Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ~Matthew 11:29

Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'

Posted: 2015-04-17

5-17-15 by JENNY HOPE, Daily Mail

More than 30,000 cannabis smokers could die every year, doctors warn today.

Medical experts blame the Home Secretary for creating confusion about the risks posed by the drug - leading young people wrongly to believe it is harmless.

They claim David Blunkett's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug - putting it on a level with anabolic steroids and prescription painkillers - sent out the wrong message and played down the devastating health effects of its regular use.

Professor John Henry, a leading authority on the drug, said the change - due to take place this summer - had undermined doctors' efforts to highlight the risks.

He said: "Cannabis is as dangerous as cigarette smoking - in fact, it may be even worse - and downgrading its legal status has simply confused people.

"We have a clear public message about cigarette smoking. Every year, the number of smokers gets smaller and the message on packets about the dangers gets bigger.

"At present, there is no battle against cannabis and no clear public health message."

In today's issue of the British Medical Journal, Prof Henry and other doctors from Imperial College, and St Mary's Hospital, both in London, say cannabis could be a major contributor to UK deaths.

Researchers calculate that if 120,000 deaths are caused among 13million smokers, the corresponding figure among 3.2million cannabis smokers would be 30,000.

The drug can cause cancer, lung disease and abnormalities associated with serious mental illness.

Users are up to six times more likely to develop schizophrenia.

The British Lung Foundation says smoking three joints a day can cause the same damage to the airways as a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Prof Henry added: "Even if the number of deaths turned out to be only a fraction of the 30,000 we believe possible, cannabis smoking would still be described as a major health hazard.

"If we add in the likely mental health burden to that of medical illnesses and premature death, the potential effects of cannabis cannot be ignored."

Dr William Oldfield, from St Mary's Hospital and one of the authors of the article, said: "Cannabis and nicotine cigarettes have a different mode of inhalation. The puff taken by cannabis smokers is two-thirds larger, they inhale a third more and hold down the smoke four times longer.

"All these factors could contribute to illnesses of the heart and respiratory system, particularly as the chemicals in cannabis smoke are retained in the body to a much higher degree."

He said the cannabis used today - especially that bought in the Netherlands - was up to 40 times stronger than that used by Flower Power hippies in the 1960s.

The level of active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased from around 0.5 per cent 20 years ago to almost five per cent today. THC affects the heart and blood vessels and many sudden deaths have been attributed to cannabis smoking.

In Britain, about eight million people admit to smoking cannabis, with at least one-third of youngsters claiming to have used it at some time. They include Prince Harry, who admitted smoking the drug while a pupil at Eton.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-179264/Cannabis-kills-30-000-year.html?hc_location=ufi

Share this article on:    Facebook     Google+     Twitter

 

Enter comments below:

Your Email:
Validation Code from Graphic:
Enter these characters in the field above.


(Comments subject to review before being published.)


 

Health and Wellness Article Summary
Replies
PostedArticle TitleTotalPending
2022-01-07 What's REALLY Keeping Covid Going...And How ... 0 0
2022-01-07 18 Reasons I Won't Be Getting a Covid Vaccin 0 0
2019-05-22 Rat-infested mountains of rotting garbage ar... 0 0
2018-07-04 Six cups a day could decrease your risk of e... 0 0
2018-04-15 HEALTH NEWSSitting For Too Long Can Shrink T... 0 0
2018-02-22 Drinking alcohol more effective than exercis... 0 0
2016-05-09 The War on Men | Suzanne Venker and Stefan M... 0 0
2015-06-24 Gilbert Wellness & Resources Center Proposal... 0 0
2015-06-18 Safe pot? Tell that to the 62 kids who died 0 0
2015-06-14 Support your local ranchers and help protect... 0 0
2015-06-11 The Alternate Plan: Texas counties pioneer S... 0 0
2015-06-08 Living together before marriage could lead t... 0 0
2015-06-06 How "Affordable" Will Health Insurance Be in... 0 0
2015-05-13 Medicaid expansion has led to overburdened e... 1 0
2015-04-17 Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year' 0 0
2015-04-05 Study Shows Marijuana Use Causes Brain Damag 0 0
2015-04-05 Dr. Helen Smith's Book: "Men On Strike..." 0 0
2015-04-03 Black conservative leaders discuss how the N... 0 0
2015-04-01 The Truth About Sex: Facts You Won't Believe... 0 0
2015-03-30 Canadians traveling abroad in record numbers... 0 0
2015-03-16 Cost of Healthcare.gov Website Exceeds $2.2B... 0 0
2015-03-16 At $340 million, Barack Obama owns world rec... 0 0
2015-02-20 800,000 people get bad tax info in latest He... 0 0
2015-02-08 Understanding Narcissistic Personality Disor... 0 0
2015-02-08 There Is No Such Thing as Mental Illness - S... 0 0
2015-02-02 OBAMACARE: $2 TRILLION IN SPENDING, $643M IN... 0 0
2015-01-10 Efficiency Of Government Deathcare 0 0
2015-01-04 Economics Of Socialized Medicine 0 0
2014-12-18 How Government Killed The Medical Profession 0 0
2014-12-05 Crews break up homeless camp in Silicon Vall... 0 0
2014-11-30 NEW FEDERAL DIETARY GUIDELINES ARE A MEATY I... 0 0
2014-11-19 Gruber and the Individual and Employer Manda... 0 0
2014-11-19 Mainstream Media FAIL: Citizen Journalist Ex... 0 0
2014-11-12 Obamacare Premiums Skyrocket 0 0
2014-10-27 FL Amendment 2: Morgan & Morgan, "For the P... 0 0
2014-10-20 CDC: Homosexual Males Represent 2 Percent Of... 0 0
2014-10-20 MORE OBAMACARE INSURANCE CANCELLATIONS TO CO... 0 0
2014-10-15 Second Dallas Hospital Worker Tested Positiv... 0 0
2014-10-13 Ebola: 'First' possible transmission of the ... 0 0
2014-10-13 Gilbert ranked among top cities in country, ... 0 0
2014-10-10 VOTER ALERT! 0 0
2014-10-03 Vote No On Prop 480 0 0
2014-08-23 7 Harmful Side Effects Pot Legalization Has ... 0 0
2014-08-09 VA Waiting Room 0 0
2014-08-07 Israel Rolls Out Exoskeleton Allowing Parapl... 0 0
2014-08-06 Brewer Converting Republicans to Independent 0 0
2014-07-31 Zack Interview-Security on the border betwee... 0 0
2014-07-26 Worsley Refuses To Fill Out CAP Survey? 0 0
2014-07-26 The Medicaid Funding Scam 0 0
2014-07-25 Obama Administration Forced to Craft New Bir... 0 0
The Latest


The Latest (cont.)


If you would like to get the latest news from EVNN,
just send an email to eastvalleynewsnetwork@gmail.com
and say "Sign me up" and you will receive
our daily news digest at your inbox.

national debt

 

 
Catching the News that others let get away...
 
- Sitemap -