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activity and having different, potentially less carcinogenic, effects. So actually, marijuana smoking most likely does not cause the defects necessary for the development of cancer, it is the tobacco smoke that is responsible, and if anything, there are higher levels of positive acting chemicals in marijuana smoke. The lead 1999 UCLA researcher stated, rather erroneously, that there are more carcinogens, or cancer causing agents, in marijuana smoke than in tobacco smoke.

There are many instances of contradictions and alternate conclusions in research studies over the years, but not just towards marijuana. In general, it takes several independent studies to fully conclude the effects of a chemical. At the current time, marijuana is difficult for researchers in the United States to obtain legally. The tide of thinking has started to change as researchers try to flesh out the positive medicinal uses for cannabis, but current laws make it difficult to develop forms of the herb that are not intoxicating and will be more socially acceptable. Researchers must obtain marijuana from the US research crop, through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is less potent than what is available via other means and a poor research specimen. The maintenance of a single crop does not address the different strains of plant, which may have different efficacies and offer non-intoxicating variations of herb. The UK has authorized pharmaceutical crops for this purpose and classified cannabis as a class "C" drug, a lower classification than its prior class "B" status equating marijuana to cocaine and amphetamines, in 2004. The UK's Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) found that law enforcement costs were disproportionate to the low public health burden associated with use. Also, much of the research over the years is difficult to interpret because of small study sizes and potential societal bias, particularly in the 1980's when the "War on Drugs" was instituted by the Reagan administration. This is similar to the research done on tobacco-related illnesses, though with bias in the positive direction due to the tobacco industry, which only recently has come to light.

Much of the toxicity of tobacco cigarettes is due to the 599 additives on the list of ingredients released by the tobacco companies in 1994, that when burned create over 4000 compounds. Health agencies in the EU report that very few of these additives were used in their cigarettes prior to 1970. Tobacco

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