textfiles/drugs/maryjane.txt

From: verdant@titan.ucs.umass.edu (Sol Lightman)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Mary Jane, Tobacco, & cigarettes (was FUCK NICOTINE)
Summary: Info on comparison of MJ and tobacco; cigarette additives
Message-ID: <1jcc8kINNn7u@titan.ucs.umass.edu>
Date: 17 Jan 93 19:32:36 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Lines: 277

The following is the text of a pamphlet I wrote for an organization
at UMASS amherst

It is an attempt to point out some of the absurdities in the marijuana-
is-bad-for-you-like-cigarettes bullshit, as well as take a few cheap
(but well aimed) shots at the tobacco industry.
It is written from a pro-marijuana-relegalization perspective,
and if you want a copy, mail us a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope.
(we're poor.)

ATTN! to those who were wondering earlier about cigarrette additives.
data on government lists of additives enclosed.

If any mistakes are present, do point out.


(see "fuck nicoteen")

An address and some sources are at the end.


So, you thought it was the tar that caused cancer...


     Think again.  Cigarette companies will have you believing
anything just as long as you continue to buy their products.  The
fact is, although insoluble tars are a contributing factor to the
lung cancer danger present in today's cigarettes, the real danger
is radioactivity.  According to U.S. Surgeon General C. Everette
Koop (on national television, 1990) radioactivity, not tar,
accounts for at least 90% of all smoking related lung cancer.  
     Tobacco crops grown in the United States are fertilized by law
with phosphates rich in radium 226.  In addition, many soils have
a natural radium 226 content.  Radium 226 breaks down into two long
lived 'daughter' elements -- lead 210 and polonium 210.  These
radioactive particles become airborne, and attach themselves to the
fine hairs on tobacco leaves.  
     Studies have shown that lead 210 and polonium 210 deposits
accumulate in the bodies of people exposed to cigarette smoke. 
Data collected in the late 1970's shows that smokers have three
times as much of these elements in their lower lungs as non
smokers.  Smokers also show a greater accumulation of lead 210 and
polonium 210 in their skeletons,though no studies have been
conducted to link these deposits with bone cancer.  Polonium 210 is
the only component of cigarette smoke which has produced tumors by
itself in inhalation experiments with animals.  
     When a smoker inhales tobacco smoke, the lungs react by
forming irritated areas in the bronchi.  All smoke produces this
effect.  However, although these irritated spots are referred to as
'pre-cancerous' lesions, they are a perfectly natural defense
system and usually go away with no adverse effects.  Insoluble tars
in tobacco smoke can slow this healing process by adhering to
lesions and causing additional irritation.  In addition, tobacco
smoke causes the bronchi to constrict for long periods of time,
which obstructs the lung's ability to clear itself of these
residues.  
     Polonium 210 and lead 210 in tobacco smoke show a tendency to
accumulate at lesions in specific spots, called bifurcations, in
the bronchi.  When smoking is continued for an extended period of
time, deposits of radioactivity turn into radioactive 'hot spots'
and remain at bifurcations for years.  Polonium 210 emits highly
localized alpha radiation which has been shown to cause cancer. 
Since polonium 210 has a half life of 21.5 years, it can put an
ex-smoker at risk for years after he or she quits.  Experiments
measuring the level of polonium 210 in victims of lung cancer found
that the level of 'hot spot' activity was virtually the same in
smokers and ex-smokers even though the ex-smokers had quit five
years prior to death.  
     Over half of the radioactive materials emitted by a burning
cigarette are released into the air, where they can be inhaled by
non-smokers.  In addition to lead 210 and polonium 210 it has been
proven that tobacco smoke can cause airborne radioactive particles
to collect in the lungs of both smokers and non-smokers exposed to
second hand smoke.  Original studies conducted on uranium miners
which showed an increased risk of lung cancer due to exposure to
radon in smokers have been re-run to evaluate the radioactive lung
cancer risk from indoor air radon.  It turns out that tobacco smoke
works as a kind of 'magnet' for airborne radioactive particles,
causing them to deposit in your lungs instead of on furniture. 
(Smoking indoors increases lung cancer risks greatly.)  
     It has been estimated that the total accumulated alpha
radiation exposure of a pack-a-day indoor smoker is 38 to 97 rad by
age 60.  (Two packs a day yields up to 143 rad, and non-smokers
receive no more than 17 rad.)  An exposure of 1 rad per year yields
a 1% risk of lung cancer (at the lowest estimate.)  
     Don't smoke.  Or if you do, smoke lightly, outdoors, and
engage frequently in activities which will clear your lungs. 
Imported India tobacco has less than half the radiation content of
that grown in the U.S.  
     Kicking the nicotine habit is not easy, and nobody has the
right to expect it of you.  Often physical addictions are
reinforced by emotional and psychological needs.  Filling or coming
to terms with those needs can give you the inspiration and added
freedom to succeed.  
     Most of all, inform yourself, even if the information is
disturbing.  You are a lot less likely to be taken in by tobacco
advertising once you know the facts.

 
     Nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco smoke, has long
been known to be highly addictive.  In fact, doctors and
pharmacologists are not in consensus as to which is more addictive
-- nicotine, or heroin.  Physical addiction occurs when a chemical
becomes essential for the body or metabolism to function.  In other
words, a substance is said to be physically addictive if extended
use results in a build up of tolerance in the body to the extent
that discontinuing use of the substance results in negative side
effects.  Called "withdrawal symptoms," these consequences can
include anxiety, stress, trauma, depression and physical conditions
such as shakes or nausea.  It is to avoid these consequences that
an addict will keep using his or her substance.  
     In addition to being addictive, nicotine is also a toxin (i.e.
lethal if ingested in sufficient quantities.)  Nicotine has been
shown to have a negative effect on the heart and circulatory
systems, causing a constriction in veins and arteries which may
lead to a stroke or heart attack.  In fact, nicotine is so
poisonous that smokers who ignore their doctor's advice and
continue to smoke while using dermal nicotine patches have managed
to overdose and die of heart seizure.

     Many people think smoking marijuana is just as harmful as 
smoking tobacco, but this is not true.  Those who hold that 
marijuana is equivalent to tobacco are misinformed.  Due to the 
efforts of various federal agencies to discourage use of 
marijuana in the 1970's the government, in a fit of "reefer 
madness," conducted several biased studies designed to return 
results that would equate marijuana smoking with tobacco smoking,
or worse.  
     For example the Berkeley carcinogenic tar studies of the 
late 1970's concluded that "marijuana is one-and-a-half times as 
carcinogenic as tobacco."   This finding was based solely on the
tar content of cannabis leaves compared to that of tobacco, and 
did not take radioactivity into consideration.  (Cannabis tars do
not contain radioactive materials.)  In addition, it was not 
considered that:  
     1) Most marijuana smokers smoke the bud, not the leaf, of 
the plant.  The bud contains only 33% as much tar as tobacco.  
     2) Marijuana smokers do not smoke anywhere near as much as 
tobacco smokers, due to the psychoactive effects of cannabis. 
     3) Not one case of lung cancer has ever been successfully 
linked to marijuana use.   
     4) Cannabis, unlike tobacco, does not cause any narrowing of
the small air passageways in the lungs.   
     In fact, marijuana has been shown to be an expectorant and 
actually dilates the air channels it comes in contact with.  This
is why many asthma sufferers look to marijuana to provide relief. 
Doctors have postulated that marijuana may, in this respect, be 
more effective than all of the prescription drugs on the market. 
     Studies even show that due to marijuana's ability to clear 
the lungs of smog, pollutants, and cigarette smoke, it may 
actually reduce your risk of emphysema, bronchitis, and lung 
cancer.  Smokers of cannabis have been shown to outlive non- 
smokers in some areas by up to two years.  Medium to heavy 
tobacco smokers will live seven to ten years longer if they also
smoke marijuana. 
     Cannabis is also radically different from tobacco in that it
does not contain nicotine and is not addictive.  The psychoactive
ingredient in marijuana, THC, has been accused of causing brain 
and genetic damage, but these studies have all been disproven.  
In fact, the DEA's own Administrative Law Judge Francis Young has
declared that "marijuana in its natural form is far safer than 
many foods we commonly consume."

     The disturbing thing about all of this information is that
the majority of Americans are as yet unaware of the radioactive
risk in cigarettes.  In fact, many professionals: doctors,
scientists and health administrators, either have never heard of
polonium 210 or consider it to be just another scare story.  
     Why is this information so hard to come by?  When the
studies were first released in the late 70's, many magazines were
unable to print articles because their main advertisers,
cigarette companies, threatened to pull support if they published
the facts.  Although network news did pick up the story,
virtually nothing came out in print.  Those who heard were hard
pressed to produce collaborating evidence, and were eventually
convinced it was nothing to worry about.
     The power of the cigarette industry to suppress information
goes far beyond magazines, however.  A well financed tobacco
lobby has been very active in the United States Congress for
decades procuring subsidies and fighting laws and proposed
research which could hurt the American tobacco industry.  Tobacco
interests practically own Senate and House seats, as many
campaign contributions come from cigarette profits.  Tobacco pay-
offs also go to fund organizations such as the Partnership For A
Drug Free America, which adopt a harsh anti-drug agenda yet seem
to omit alcohol and tobacco (claiming they are harmless.)
     As an example, a 1984 law which was intended to require
tobacco companies to release to the public a list of additives
used in the manufacture of cigarettes was watered down to the
extent that the list is now released only to the Department of
Health and Human Services on the condition that it not be shown
to anyone else.  Companies have been known in the past to add
chemicals to cigarettes for flavor, and, many assert, for their
addictive properties.  In Britain such chemicals have included
acetone and turpentine, as well as an assortment of known
carcinogens.
     Tobacco companies argue that revealing their 'secret
ingredients' would hurt their competitiveness.  In fact, when
Canada passed legislation forcing additive lists to be released,
one large company reformulated its recipe for its Canadian
distribution; another took its product out of Canada entirely.  
     Tobacco companies do not have the right to poison the
public.  Don't trust them.  Get the information you need to make
your own decisions, and restore government to the people.

     Another destructive aspect of the Drug War is the
unreasonable measures taken as a result of "reefer madness." 
Because of the long standing anti-pot-smoking paranoia begun in
the 1930's, many law enforcement agencies have taken it upon
themselves to censor and limit the marijuana culture through
whatever channels they can find.  This includes the banning of
various forms of drug "paraphernalia" (pipes, clips, rolling
papers, etc.)
     Water pipes, or "bongs," are quite often the target of such
efforts.  Claiming that water pipes are constructed to allow
marijuana smokers to inhale "dangerous" marijuana smoke deeper
into their lungs, many states and towns have passed laws
controlling the sale, manufacture, and possession of these items
for "health" reasons.  
     The sad fact is, water pipes have been shown to be extremely
effective in removing harmful materials from smoke before it
reaches the lungs.  They also cool the smoke and prevent injury
and irritation to lung passages.  In effect, laws against water
pipes hurt all smokers, cannabis and tobacco, by preventing the
development of safer forms of consumption.

Produced as a public service by the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition
Research and written by Brian S. Julin
Corrections, comments, inquiries should be addressed to:
UMASS CANNABIS
S.A.O. Box #2
Student Union
UMASS Amherst, MA
01003
 
 
Sources:
     (radioactivity)
E.A. Martel, "Alpha Radiation Dose at Bronchial Bifurcations
>From Indoor Exposure to Radon Progeny", Proceeds of the National
Academy of Science, Vol. 80, pp. 1285-1289, March 1983.
Naoimi H. Harley, Beverly S. Cohen, and T.C. Tso, "Polonium 210:
A Questionable Risk Factor in Smoking Related Carcingenisis."
"Radiactivity: the New-Found Danger in Cigarettes," Reader's
Digest, March 1986.
"Would You Still Rather Fight Than Switch?," Whole Life Times,
Mid-April/May 1985. 
     (secret ingredients)
"What Goes Up In Smoke?," Nation, December 23, 1991.

----

I also heard that cigarette companies have as many as 400 chemicals
to add to cigarettes, including placing a small, almost indetectable
quantity of sugar or chocolate on the lip of the cigarette to give
you a dex rush (just a small one) as a way of saying, "hello, baby,
let me get that monkey of your back."  The goal of this is to increase
the addictiveness of said death stick.
The companies don't seem to care about what it does to their customers,
(you can always grow more suckers, birth is cheap, just ban contraceptives.)

Anyway, Indian grown tobacco has the lowest radioactive content,
buy it wrapped, untreated (except for curing) at tobacco specialty shops,
they wrap the cigarettes in tobacco leaf (no paper.)


Bri