Cancer and Marijuana

Cancer has been in the news recently. Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, announced that her fight with cancer is not over. Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, also announced that his cancer has returned. These high-profile diagnoses have focused the attention of the country, both left and right, on the scourge that is cancer, which kills nearly 1,500 people in the United States each day.

The cancer trends in this country are mixed. The data shows a slight decrease in cancer deaths overall; however, the numbers also show a less positive picture. For example, lung cancer in females is on the rise, as is Melanoma of the skin and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In terms of cancer prevention, the report shows that less people are eating vegetables and more people have pesticide in their blood stream.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has equated the war on drugs with the fight against cancer. In essence, the argument of the DEA is that society should not give up against the fight against cancer even though a cure has yet to be found; therefore, society should not give up against the fight against drug use even though people still continue to use drugs. The argument assumes that cancer and drug use are the same.

On the one hand, the DEA may be on to something. As stated above, nearly 1,500 people die from cancer each day in this country. Similarly, just over 2,000 people are arrested for some kind of marijuana offense each day. That is a lot of lives ruined each and every day. On the other hand, death from cancer is not the result of volition the same way marijuana arrests are the result of choice. People do not choose to get cancer, yet people do choose to subject other people who use marijuana to the criminal justice system.

The irony of the comparison between prohibition and cancer is that, at least when it comes to marijuana, the drug may help increase the survival rates of cancer victims. It is well known that cannabis helps alleviate the symptoms associated with chemotherapy. Less well known is the fact that cannabis has anti-tumor properties. Isn’t it crazy to think that marijuana might someday cure cancer? The possibility is at least worth pursuing, especially for the thousands of Americans who need help, among them Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow.


Kenneth Michael White is an attorney and the author of “The Beginning of Today: The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937” and “Buck” (both by PublishAmerica 2004).