Even before the pandemic, a lot of people around the world were moving toward a more health-conscious lifestyle. For those who enjoy any kind of cigarette smoking, there can be a serious dilemma here. After all, smoking is said to cause cancer. Still, those who claim such things are usually referring to tobacco-based cigarettes. That leads us to wonder the obvious question: Do Hemp cigarettes cause cancer?
Does Hemp Cause Cancer?
The smartest way to proceed here would be to analyze the Hemp cigarette and see if any of its parts are known to cause cancer. First, we should obviously talk about the plant material itself. There are plenty of known carcinogenic (cancer-causing) plants (like tobacco)/ So, is Hemp one of them?
Based on the overwhelming majority of the evidence, it seems obvious that Cannabis is not a cancer-causing plant. In fact, it has even been used in the treatment of cancers. Many people know that cancer patients will sometimes use Cannabis to reduce the impact of chemotherapy treatments. However, this is not a true anti-carcinogenic action because it's mainly being used as an anti-nausea.
However, numerous studies ( like this one) have been done regarding the anti-cancer usage of Cannabinoids. According to our source, Cannabis helps to kill cancerous tumors and inhibits their growth. Thus, we can definitely say that the Hemp plant alone will not cause cancer.
Will Hemp Smoke Cause Cancer?
Having eliminated the plant itself, we should now talk about the smoke that is produced. All smoke is carcinogenic, so there is no way to avoid a certain amount of these substances when smoking. That being said, we still think it highly unlikely that Hemp smoke could ever cause cancer.
For evidence, let's examine this study, which compared the carcinogenic content of both tobacco and cannabis smoke. Although they found some of the same carcinogens in both products, the researchers found that the carcinogenic potential of Cannabis smoke was far lower. They also found that the anti-tumor properties of the plant prevented the carcinogens from taking full effect.
As far as we can see, the smoke of the Cannabis plant does contain a certain number of carcinogens. However, the plant itself contains substances that make it much harder for those carcinogens to harm you. Also, because Cannabis is non-addictive, Hemp smokers are sure to inhale a lot less smoke overall than tobacco smokers.
Are There Any Relevant Case Studies?
All of this theory is useful, but we should take a look at things from a more practical perspective and ask ourselves: Has anyone ever contracted cancer from any form of Cannabis? As far we can tell, the answer is no. However, there is some misleading evidence out there that claims otherwise.
According to this study, Marijuana use did result in a higher risk of lung cancer. However, when we look closely, we can see that there is a problem here. You see, the percentages were tabulated "after adjustment for confounding variables including cigarette smoking." That tells us that a significant number of the "Cannabis smokers" in this study were also regular users of tobacco. Thus, we need to find some better evidence.
What About Secondhand Smoke?
Let's assume that you are not a Hemp smoker yourself, but that you live with one or more of them. If that is the case, you might be worried about the potential carcinogenic effects of all that smoke when breathed secondhand. Although there is some basis for this concern, your chances of getting cancer from your roommate's Hemp joint are virtually nil.
We base this on a simple known fact: Secondhand marijuana smoke does not show up on a drug test. According to every medical source we can find, the chances of failing a drug test this way are extremely low. In order for that much THC to get into your bloodstream, you would have to have inhaled a lot of smoke. So, unless you plan on sitting in the closet with your friends while they smoke large amounts of Hemp, you should have no worries here.
Of course, Hemp cigarettes from Mr. Hemp Flower contain almost no THC, but we are still talking about the same plant species here. If secondhand smoke doesn't even leave enough cannabinoid residue in your system to be detected, the level of exposure must be very small indeed.
Conclusion
After looking at the facts and the evidence, we would have to say that Hemp cigarettes have little to no cancer-causing potential. Although the smoke itself contains some carcinogens (as all smoke does), the cancer-fighting nature of the plant itself works to counteract those carcinogens. It takes quite a bit of carcinogenic exposure to actually give someone cancer, and Hemp seems unlikely to ever reach that level.
