Today's news mentions that smoking marijuana is as dangerous as
cigarettes - and they keep mentioning "joints."  Has there been a
study that shows marijuana in a safer form?  Is a pipe safer because
of the screen filter?
Are there any legal products available by prescription in the US for
medicinal marijuana that do not require it to be smoked?  Like a spray
or pill?  Or, what is a good alternative for marijuana for medicinal
purposes (depression, not pain) - herbal or prescription, and what are
their side effects?
Thanks!

Hi espresso-ga

Here's a good article challenging some of the presumptions or myths of
cannabis smoking. In particular, look near the bottom of the page. The
analysis claims 'pulmonary risk might be reduced if marijuana were
smoked in water pipes rather than cigarettes' (Doblin, R., "The
MAPS/California NORML/Marijuana Waterpipe/Vaporizer Study," Newsletter
of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies 5,1
(Summer 1994)):

Exposing Marijuana Myths: A review of the scientific evidence
Lynn Zimmer & John P. Morgan
Claim No: 4 Marijuana causes lung disease
http://my.marijuana.com/Exposing_04_1095.html

As the review states, apart from psychoactive ingredients, marijuana
and tobacco smoke are almost identical. So, the water pipe's
beneficial effects would presumably come from less stress on the
lungs.

'There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to cannabis'

http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/library-e/Wheelock-e.pdf

(Page 17)

So it appears that smoking cannabis on its own is safer than mixing it
with tobacco.

While there is a plethora of herbal alternatives to cannabis, there
don't seem to be any studies regarding their effects on health.

Examples of alternatives:

Herbal Hydro Buds:

http://www.herbalsmokeshop.com/hydro.htm

India Black

http://www.herbalsmokeshop.com/india.htm

The feeling of well being derived from cannabis can be obtained by
eating it, eliminating all dangers associated with smoking. The
effects are also stronger:

http://www.thegreenhouseorganisation.com/cannabis/

Concerning mouth sprays and pills, a spray is being developed for
prescription in the UK:

http://www.marijuana.com/article.php?sid=4895&mode=thread&order=0

Marinol is an alternative to cannabis, available on prescription in
the US. However it falls under Schedule III-V:

http://www.drugstore.com/pharmacy/controlledsubs.asp?back=%2Fpharmacy%2Fprices%2Fdrugprice%2Easp%3Fndc%3D00054260211#procedures

'Pharmaceutical-quality MARINOL® provides standardized THC
concentrations and has not been shown to provide the rapid-onset high
that marijuana often does when it is smoked. Orally ingested drugs
generally have slower onset of action due to the time required by
digestion and absorption':

http://www.marinol.com/patient/pat03.html#2

The above site also gives a run down of side effects etc.

Concluding, the safest alternative to smoking cannabis is either
eating it, or taking Marinol in pill form. The onset of the high is
slower, but this shouldn't stop it being used as medication against
depression. If it must be smoked, smoking cannabis alone appears to be
safer than mixing it with tobacco. Using a water pipe may reduce
damage to the lungs.

If you need any of this clarifying, don't hesitate.

Best wishes

sim-ga


Search Engine: Google

Search Terms:

cannabis way smoke harmful

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=cannabis+way+smoke+harmful

cannabis safer herbal alternative

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=cannabis+way+smoke+harmful

cannabis eating effects

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=cannabis+eating+effects

cannabis mouth spray marinol usa

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=cannabis+mouth+spray+marinol+usa

marinol prescription effects

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=marinol+prescription+effects

Thank you for all of your detail and open-mindedness.
[Did you see the prices for the Marinol?  Sheesh!]

There is much debate about this, and both sides (pro and anti
legalization) put forward statistics that prove their case and
disprove their oppositions case.
For example in your question you say:

"Today's news mentions that smoking marijuana is as dangerous as
cigarettes"

However I can counter that with:

"Cannabis smoking 'more harmful' than tobacco" 
14:02 11 November 02 
NewScientist.com news service 
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993039"

Good luck in your research

Dr.Know

espresso, it is amusing to see that you only see an imbibing of
chemicals as an alternative for depression.  Other methods include,
pyschological counselling, religion, meditation, acupuncture etc., 
using chemicals to suppress depressive moods is only an approach that
does not solve the root of the problem - which should be found out
i.e. what is causing the depression.

Using medicals to alter and affect moods on humans would ultimately
lead to a dependency by that human on more drugs to continue an effect
that has only a temporary relief but does not solve the original
problem.

good luck though in your pursuit to reduce depression - my personal
experience... chemicals ain't the solution, solving the problem that
creates the depression is.

Eating it would presumably ameliorate the problems caused by the smoke.

jeremymiles-ga

Pipe smoking is just as dangerous as cigarettes, so yes, eating it
would be the only way to avoid smoke and therefore the damages caused
by smoke! :)  Of course, the damage caused by the drug itself would
still be there...and might be worse!

When my aunt had cancer, her doc gave her "legal marijuana" in the
form of a pill. (This was in California.) But you don't get high off
the pill, because it only contains one of the ingredients in
marijuana, which has been shown to decrease pain.

As is mentioned in one of the links above, the safest way to inhale
marijuana is by using a vaporiser.

Because the vaporiser releases the psychoactive substances without
actually burning the plant material, you get the "cleanest" possible
hit - without (or at least greatly reduced) amounts of harmful
chemicals or compounds which are found in smoke.

The advantage of water pipes (or bongs) over joints is debatable.
Research has indicated that while a hit from an unfiltered joint
delivers (X) amount of THC, a hit from a waterpipe might deliver less
than X as THC "sticks" to the water molecules.  In other words, the
water not only holds back some of the harmful substances but the THC
as well... which means you might need (say) two or more tokes to equal
the effect of one toke from a joint.

As it is very difficult to determine exactly how much THC one inhales,
and considering the complexity of such experiments, the above remains
a theoretical argument.
Also, one also needs to consider that waterpipes also decrease the
temperature of the smoke - reducing the risk of burning the throat or
lungs.

So if you're concerned about your health, and you find eating pot
either too potent or tedious to prepare, vaporisers are the next best
thing.

A web search will reveal many sources for vaporiser sale or
construction.

Some cases of chronic depression [pun intended] do not have a root
'cause' in psychology or bad experiences, some are simply a chemical
imbalance in the brain. Most anti-depressants on the market today are
not 'drugs' as we typically view them, but medications designed to
help regulate how your brain releases and absorbs neurotransmitters
like seratonin, dopamine etc. My family doctor recently told me that
marijuana reduces the seritonin in the brain which can actually worsen
rather than treat depression. However, in my experience at my worst
points of depression I have a tendancy to focus too much on the
negative and blow it out of proportion ["12 fallacies of thinking" I
believe] , and a small bowl at those moments seems to put things back
in perspective and erase any doubts I had about my ability to deal
with anything. I honestly believe it is simply a question of
moderation... too much or too little of anything isn't good for you.
Hope this info helps, I'm double-checking my sources for you though.
:)