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A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) indicates that marijuana use does not increase a person’s risk of developing lung, head, or neck cancer.1 Results of the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse, were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego, CA, on May 23.2
The study was based on survey results from 611 Los Angeles County residents with lung cancer, 601 with cancer of the head or neck regions, and 1,040 residents without cancer. All respondents were under the age of 60, and they supplied information on their lifetime uses of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as their diet, occupation, family cancer history, and socioeconomic status.3
The study ultimately found that smoking marijuana, at any level, does not seem to increase the smoker’s risk of developing certain cancers. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers, defined in this study as those who had smoked more than 22,000 marijuana cigarettes, did not have an increased risk of developing cancer. The connection between smoking tobacco cigarettes and cancer, however, was readily apparent. The study found that 80% of lung cancer patients and 70% of head and neck cancer patients had smoked tobacco, while only 50% of patients with either type of cancer had smoked marijuana. Moreover, results indicated a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who had smoked 2 or more packs of tobacco cigarettes a day.
Even the researchers claimed to be surprised by the results, as previous studies have found higher percentages of carcinogens within marijuana than tobacco cigarettes. Moreover, smoking marijuana typically deposits greater amounts of tar and fine particles within the lungs. According to a press release from the American Thoracic Society, Donald Tashkin, MD, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s lead researcher, has theorized that the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from marijuana smoke may encourage aging cells to die early and thereby prevent a cancerous transformation.3 Dr. Tashkin has studied marijuana for 30 years, and much of his previous work on the subject has been used by federal health and drug enforcement officials to support the case that marijuana is dangerous.2
There has been some debate over the years regarding the health effects of marijuana use. A study publicized 6 years ago by a researcher at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, MD, arrived at the same conclusion as the recent UCLA study.4 Results from that study also demonstrated that marijuana is not associated with head, neck, or lung cancer, based on data from a smaller set of cancer patients and healthy volunteers.
-Courtney Cavaliere
References
1. Study finds no marijuana-lung cancer link. Reuters. May 24, 2006. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/05/24/pot.lung.cancer.reut/index.html. Accessed May 25, 2006.
2. Kaufman M. Study finds no cancer-marijuana connection. Washington Post. May 26, 2006; A03. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html. Accessed May 30, 2006.
3. Study finds no link between marijuana use and lung cancer [press release]. San Diego, CA: American Thoracic Society; May 23, 2006.
4. Peck P. Marijuana unlikely to cause head, neck, or lung cancer. WebMD Medical News. May 8, 2000. Available at: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/23/1728_57309. Accessed May 30, 2006.
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