Heavy cannabis use ‘damages gums’

Heavy cannabis use ‘damages gums’ Heavy cannabis smoking is a major cause of gum disease, research suggests.

(note: suggests!! omitted from this item, interview, commentary is specifics regarding causation and correlation, although there is an awful lot of speculation. I might also suggest that the very same data may show that fundamental Christians are more likely to brush their teeth and less likely to contract venereal disease for much the same reasons as speculated here. I might also suspect that cannabis double standards, as identified by the 1998 Health Select Committee indicating a correlate alienation from rule of law and rejection of social values may exhibit itself in bioindicators such as oral hygiene. Now there is some useful research ideas for the Dunedin study. /Blair)

An international team tracked the dental health of 1,000 people born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972 and 1973.

They found heavy cannabis smoking was responsible for more than one-third of the new cases of gum disease among the group by the age of 32.

The Journal of the American Medical Association study follows work linking cannabis use to mental health problems, and lung disease.

In the mouth, there is a fine balance between tissue destruction and tissue healing and the various toxins in the smoke disrupt that Professor Murray Thomson University of Otago
Gum disease, one of the most common diseases of adulthood, is the second most common cause of tooth loss, after tooth decay.

It has long been linked to cigarette smoking, but this is the first study to look specifically at cannabis.

The researchers accepted that cannabis users also tended to smoke tobacco.
However, they said that even after allowing for this, heavy cannabis smokers had three times the risk of having established gum disease by the age of 32.

Even cannabis users who did not smoke tobacco developed gum disease.
Overall, 29% of the sample showed some signs of gum disease.

Bloodstream toxins
Lead researcher Professor Murray Thomson, of the University of Otago, said the effect was unlikely to be due to the direct impact of smoke on the gums as it was inhaled.

Instead, it was likely that toxins in the cannabis were absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs, and then affected the body’s ability to heal inflammation in the gums caused by the build up of bacteria on the teeth.

He said: “The problem is not the smoke itself – it’s what is in the smoke. “In the mouth, there is a fine balance between tissue destruction and tissue healing and the various toxins in the smoke disrupt that.”

The fact that cannabis users tend to inhale more deeply than tobacco users might also exacerbate problems.

For the study heavy cannabis users were defined as those who used the drug for an average of at least 41 occasions a year between the ages of 18 and 32.

Susie Sanderson, of the British Dental Association, said: “It has long been recognised that smoking tobacco is a cause of gum disease.

“This study underlines the fact that gum disease can be caused not only by smoking tobacco, but also by smoking cannabis.”

The research team also included scientists from King’s College London, Duke University and the University of North Carolina.

Research published earlier this year found people who smoked one cannabis joint a day had a higher risk of lung cancer than those who smoked 20 cigarettes a day.

A separate study found that bullous disease – a form of emphysema – occurs 20 years earlier in cannabis smokers than in tobacco smokers.

see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7226969.stm
also see http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425826/1572530 (it mentions “strong association”. )

Blair Anderson
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com

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BLPs, FLPs, and the Biology of Democracy

Anyone who has used marijuana medically knows that it is effective medicine. As a scientist, I can assure you that there are numerous peer-reviewed articles that support what patient’s claim. However, what I want to talk about today is that marijuana not only promotes the health of individuals, but of our democracy and possibly mankind. Fundamental physical laws of the universe are responsible for all creative forms, from galaxies to humanity. Even man’s economic, political and social systems have evolved by a common underlying process. Intrinsically, the yin and yang of ongoing creation may be found in; capitalism vs. socialism, conservatives vs. liberals, democracies vs. fascism. In all manifestations of life, a tension between opposites is the functional reality.

All levels of life must maintain balance between the nourishment extracted from the environment and the waste returned to the environment in order to create and maintain health. The production of free radicals is a common denominator that signals an imbalance between a life form and its sustaining environment. Free radicals are highly reactive and modify the chemistry of life. They are believed to be responsible for aging and age-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, auto-immune disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and cancers. Marijuana-like compounds, known as endocannabinoids, are produced by all humans and are central players in life’s biochemical balancing act, known as homeostasis.

Using this platform, we can speculate on the biology of democracy and the role played by endocannabinoids and marijuana. Mankind is engaged in an evolutionary genetic battle between more primative cannabinoid deficient people who are backward looking people, BLPs, and evolutionarily more advanced cannabinoid endowed people. who are forward looking people, FLPs. BLPs appear to be found in a high concentration in the United States government, whereas FLPs are excluded from our government, both naturally and by law. I propose that BLPs are deficient in endocannabinoids in the areas of the brain that allows for change, Bush being a prime example. BLPs look backwards and therefore tend to agree with each other. Through this consensus BLPs gain power. In contrast, FLPs look to the future with optimism because they are wired to embrace change. They have no unity of thought, other than cooperative acceptance of diverse opinions. They therefore historically tend not to gain power.

Mankind’s survival may depend on FLPs taking control before environmental change causes the extinction of Homo sapiens. In this rapidly changing world, we need to be responsive as new information becomes available. Mankind cannot make the evolutionary shift quick enough. Therefore, we need to increase the cannabinoid activity of the population by external means. More wisely motivated cannabis consumption may be necessary to save the species.

There are additional benefits that may occur if this path develops. One hundred years ago people in the US were predominantly dying from infectious diseases. Since cannabinoids reduce the inflammatory arm of the immune system, relatively lower levels could have been beneficial. However, today the main causes of death in the United States and many other so called advanced countries are age related illnesses. In animal models of diseases, the onset and severity of illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arteriosclerosis, etc, are helped by cannabinoids.

Leaders who are BLPs cannot lead. Think of the insanity. BLPs have outlawed the use of an anti-aging plant. They incarcerate good human beings for defying stupidity. FLPs have a fundamental moral obligation to participate in, and improve our society. We need a revolution of consciousness that will manifest itself in a new world. We must embrace positive change in all aspects of our lives especially in the voting booths. We must demand that political candidates address marijuana prohibition. We must all work together to bring about the necessary changes that will end the current insanity that characterizes our relationship with mother earth.

Dr. Robert Melamede, Associate Professor and Biology Chairman (ret)
Biology Department, University of Colorado
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
http://www.uccs.edu/~rmelamed/

(commentary on this subject is also featuring on the Canterbury Issues Forum here)

‹(•¿•)› “Mayor Blair” Anderson
http://blairformayor.blogspot.com/
ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219

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