*related=https://videosift.com/video/3-Arguments-Why-Marijuana-Should-Stay-Illegal

3 Arguments Why Marijuana Should Stay Illegal has been added as a related post - related requested by PlayhousePals.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by Mordhaus.

Wow. Little to no evidence of smoked marijuana having any connection to lung or other cancers.

I must admit I'm surprised. To me it seems like burning something and inhaling the smoke is "obviously" a bad idea with regards to health.

Since the link between tobacco cigarettes and cancer is well established and agreed on by doctors, it makes one wonder what the difference is. Is it entirely the additives that cigarette manufacturers put into cigarettes? If so, why the hell wouldn't there be massive pressure to mass produce additive-free cigarettes at least as an option for smokers?

Also, I guess one (potential) downside of legalization is that the same sort of corporations that knowingly put cancer-causing shit into cigarettes might expand into marijuana territory, potentially trying to put crap into your pot that dispensaries and dealers never have.

Still, overall this is clearly good news for pot fans out there, and will put further pressure on the double standard between legal-but-far-more-dangerous alcohol and tobacco as compared to illegal-but-relatively-innocuous pot. Congratulations! Light one up in celebration (as if you needed a reason).

That's what American Spirit brand was all about....additive free cigarettes.

I wondered if your use of the past tense should be taken to mean that they are no longer in business, so I googled. It appears that they are still going.

Interesting stuff in the Wikipedia article. It notes that the Surgeon General warnings about tobacco still apply, and in fact they have to include a disclaimer that says "no additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette".

So now I guess I'm back to being surprised and a bit suspicious about the lack of evidence for smoked marijuana causing cancer, as opposed to tobacco being very clearly linked to cancer...

I think it can be linked more to tobacco being a carcinogen. While smoking 'anything' may cause other issues with your respiratory system (bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, etc), smoking a carcinogen means you are exposing cells to a substance that can alter their genome.

An easier comparison would be chewing gum and nicotine gum. Since nicotine is a carcinogen, you run the risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, and gums by chewing the gum. Regular chewing gum does not contain a carcinogen, so it wouldn't affect you in that way.

As far as the smoke itself, I know that cigarette smoke has additional carcinogens other than nicotine. I do not know if these transfer to weed simply because it is smoked as well. One would assume you could bypass this, just in case, by vaping or using edibles.

*controversy

Adding video to channels (Controversy) - requested by MrFisk.

This was a part that was often left out in discussions by prolegalization groups when pushing for changes in laws. While the potential harms are significantly less, I agree with the video of not dismissing that there are harms.

One part that I often have an issue with is the studies relating driving impairment with cannabis use. Well, some are well designed, controlled studies that ensure that cannabis is the only drug involved. Some studies are only looking back at police enforcement numbers for accidents. Often those reports will not break down the difference between cannabis only or the person having multiple drugs in their system at the time. In addition, the fact that the tests for cannabis will come out positive for weeks after use further complicates the issue. I'm not making an argument for driving impaired while on cannabis, just noting some things that many of the conclusions on studies often leave out.

The use of pesticides "legally approved or unapproved" is not calculated in a lot of these studies.

At least with legalization. there puts some accountability towards what is used.