What’s More Harmful—Pot or Tobacco?
A new study made available at Tuesday’s Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council meeting suggests smoking a joint or two once a week is less harmful to the lungs than consuming tobacco.
Recreational use of marijuana—smoking a joint once or twice a week—evidently causes no harm to the lungs, a 20-year study suggests, shedding new light on a key finding from less long-term research: Both marijuana and tobacco contain the same toxic chemicals, but lung disease is more likely to result from consuming tobacco than smoking pot occasionally.
A January 10 Associated Press report of the study—which was conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham—was made available Tuesday night to members and attendees at the year’s first board meeting of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock.
You may read the full AP article by clicking this link.
Circulating copies of the AP report at the monthly ERNC meeting was Tim Ryder, a veteran Eagle Rocker who heads Cannabis Clubs United With the Community, a group devoted to the safe distribution of medical marijuana in the neighborhood.
During the “public comments” period that preceded the board’s discussion of “agenda” items, Ryder challenged assertions made by a stakeholder, Corbett Rousey, during last month’s meeting that the presence of marijuana dispensaries results in increased crime.
ERNC board member and Sub-District 4 Director Peter Hilton countered that a lot of crime associated with medical marijuana facilities tends to go unreported—and that relying on statistics alone is not the best way to deal with the issue.
Hilton, who is Rousey’s partner in an Eagle Rock-based security firm, Los Angeles Loss Prevention Investigations, said he regularly watches customers of a medical marijuana dispensary opposite the street from his office smoke dope in public—and then drive off.
Many customers also resell the marijuana they buy to people outside the dispensaries, Hilton said, reaffirming a point that Rousey made in December’s ERNC meeting.
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to Tim Ryder's organization as "Cannabis Collective United With the Community." The organization's correct name is "Cannabis Clubs United With the Community."
In This article
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Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council
2225 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA -
Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
2225 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
noemi
12:32 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tobacco and alcohol are WAY more dangerous/harmful than marijuana....they're also easier to profit from...
Nelson R Grande II
2:06 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Even less harmful than occasional smoke is a Vaporizer. It is a tool that heats up the herb to a point that it releases vapor, not smoke, and delivers the active ingredients with no more harm to the lungs than a hot shower.
HackOfAllTrades
2:12 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
What's more harmful, not enough mouse clicks to drive the ad revenue on the Patch, or another post with the dreaded marijuana subject to beat a dead horse?
Nelson R Grande II
2:17 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
It's a pretty big deal, this Study. I'd say it was worth posting. :)
bbkong
10:39 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
This dead horse again. Sub-District 4 Director Peter Hilton counters actual science with rumor and his buddy seconds it with hearsay. BE AFRAID!!!
How about you boys whip out a camera and produce some actual evidence instead of rumor mongering and trying to stir up fear?
I have some bad news for you boys too, brace yourselves. Women and black people can now vote and gay people can get married. I know, it's shocking isn't it? But the republic seems to be working well as usual.
The fifties are over and they aren't coming back. Get used to it.
Tim Ryder
12:42 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
EXCELLENT!!!
Tim Ryder
11:11 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
The name of my grass-roots community group is actually called "Cannabis Clubs United With the Community" and an important part of our mission is to help educate some of the ignorant members of the Neighborhood Council about medical marijuana as well as try to counter the fear-mongering and outright lies of the prohibition crusaders who think they can get away with spreading falsehoods and outright lies about this new emerging industry that has thankfully landed right in our lap. We need to protect these small businesses and partner with them, not persecute, slander and discriminate against our fellow citizens who choose to safely medicate with this natural plant.
Ajay Singh
11:35 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tim—the article now has the correct name of your organization: Cannabis Clubs United With the Community, with a correction at the bottom. Apologies for the error—and thanks for pointing it out.
HackOfAllTrades
3:17 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
C'mon Ajay. Can you report on something else for a change? Unless the demographic you are going for is scared old people... They already have a rag for them, it's called the Boulevard Sentinel.
Susan R
11:06 am on Sunday, January 29, 2012
Noise is more harmful than both. Do the research.