Study: Weed, Lung Cancer Not Linked

Smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not increase a person’s risk of lung cancer, according to a new UCLA study, producing results that have surprised even the researchers.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, compared the lifetime marijuana use of 1,200 head, lung and neck cancer patients and 1,040 people without cancer, matched by age, sex and neighborhood. The results concluded that marijuana smoke did not boost a person’s chance of developing any of the three cancers studied.

Although there was no marijuana-cancer link, the researchers did find a 20-fold increase in lung cancer in people who smoked more than two packs of cigarettes per day.

Administrators Lift Block on SRTV Signal

Student leaders remain unsatisfied with administrators after Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson authorized the reactivation of Student-Run Television’s signal last week.

The station is still limited to daytime programming, however, to ensure broadcasts comply with Federal Communications Commission standards.

In November, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff — with Watson’s approval — denied a request by A.S. councilmembers to restore the station’s signal, which is broadcast on the university’s Triton Cable. The council had shut the station down after pornography was repeatedly aired on the channel. SRTV officials contended that they were legally allowed to broadcast the material, but administrators said that because the station used the university’s signal, it would have to abide by campus restrictions.

Those restrictions where outlined in Triton Cable’s “acceptable use policy,” drafted by Ratcliff and other administrators. The document, which barred explicit sexual material from SRTV, is currently being reviewed by the UC Office of the President before it is to be implemented.

A.S. President Harry Khanna and SRTV Manager Andrew Tess said that after UCOP review, Ratcliff is expecting only minor changes to the AUP.

“Having this signal is better than nothing, but it’s not where we want to be,” Tess said. “We’re not opposed to the idea of policies, but it is unreasonable.”

While Khanna — who met with Watson last to request the station’s reactivation — said that the student government would stay out of any legal battles between SRTV and administrators, he added that the council would like to see major changes to the AUP. However, a demand by Watson that the A.S. Council formally acknowledge that SRTV falls under the purview of the AUP could restrict the council’s support for the station, according to Khanna.

“We understand our hands are tied,” he said. “While we think the AUP is overreaching and inappropriate, we’re still in a corner.”