XPost: uk.legal, uk.politics.drugs   
   From: drjohn@NOSPAM.hotpotmail.com   
      
   (Attention Blah :))   
      
   Cannabinoids, constituents of marijuana smoke, have been recognized to   
   have potential antitumor properties. However, the epidemiologic evidence   
   addressing the relationship between marijuana use and the induction of   
   head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is inconsistent and   
   conflicting. Cases (n = 434) were patients with incident HNSCC disease   
   from nine medical facilities in the Greater Boston, MA area between   
   December 1999 and December 2003. Controls (n = 547) were frequency matched   
   to cases on age (+/-3 years), gender, and town of residence, randomly   
   selected from Massachusetts town books. A questionnaire was adopted to   
   collect information on lifetime marijuana use (decade-specific exposures)   
   and associations evaluated using unconditional logistic regression. After   
   adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol   
   drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a   
   significantly reduced risk of HNSCC [odds ratio (OR)(10-<20 years versus   
   never users), 0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.67]. Among   
   marijuana users moderate weekly use was associated with reduced risk   
   (OR(0.5-<1.5 times versus <0.5 time), 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32-0.85). The   
   magnitude of reduced risk was more pronounced for those who started use at   
   an older age (OR(15-<20 years versus never users), 0.53; 95% CI,   
   0.30-0.95; OR(>/=20 years versus never users), 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17-0.90;   
   P(trend) < 0.001). These inverse associations did not depend on human   
   papillomavirus 16 antibody status. However, for the subjects who have the   
   same level of smoking or alcohol drinking, we observed attenuated risk of   
   HNSCC among those who use marijuana compared with those who do not. Our   
   study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk   
   of HNSCC.   
      
   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19638490   
      
   --   
   Dr John Watson   
   Baker Street   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)