Does THC cause glioma cells to commit suicide?
If this is right — and I have no idea whether it is, although the authors have respectable affiliations and it’s published in a very respectable journal — Rick Doblin is going to be completely insufferable.
All the studies of cannabis and lung cancer have come out negative, despite the presence of carcinogenic “tars” in cannabis smoke. Could this be a case of offsetting effects? And if so, would a close look show lower levels of non-respiratory-system cancers among heavy cannabis smokers? That shouldn’t be a hard study to do.
Footnote Someone should tell the authors that if you’re going to publish a paper that every non-specialist will quote as “pot kills tumor cells,” you should try to avoid a publication date of April 1.
Update Exhale.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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