October 1996 LSAT Section 1 Question 4

An ingredient in marijuana known as THC has been found to inactivate herpes viruses in experiments. In previous exper...

Jermaine1 on August 17, 2020

Further explanation/Clarification

My answer choice for this was initially C. Although, is the reason why the answer choice B is correct because if the effect of THC is neutralized by other ingredients in marijuana it means that marijuana is not the cause of cancer?

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shunhe on August 19, 2020

Hi @Jermaine1,

Thanks for the question! So we’re told here that THC in marijuana can inactive herpes viruses in experiments, and in previous experiments, we know that inactivated herpes viruses can convert healthy cells into cancer cells. So using marijuana can cause cancer, the argument concludes.

Now we need to find something that most seriously weakens this argument. Well, take a look at (B), which tells us that the carcinogenic effect of THC could be neutralized by other ingredients found in marijuana. Well, if this is true, then the other stuff neutralizes the THC, so you won’t get cancer from marijuana. And that pretty directly weakens the conclusion.

(C), on the other hand, would make you think that it’s more likely that you’d get cancer, since it makes your body more susceptible to viruses linked to cancers. So that actually strengthens the argument, which is why it’s wrong.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.