Marijuana: Why cancer cases may rise

Cigarrette smokes
does similar havoc to
the bodyMarijuana is a common, illegal recreational drug that is used by many people. Scientists found that marijuana smoke contains more toxic compounds than tobacco smoke and that its smoke causes damages in the cells of the body, so predisposing its smokers to cancer, reports Sade Oguntola.

It is back with a bang. As usual, it comes in small and jumbo sizes.

Except for the new names that its current users have added to it, eja”, oja”, “wapa” and “jogodo”, among others, old timers have always called it “stone”, “ganja”or igbo.’’

Marijuana (cannabis) has always been around, and has generally become a topical issue and now that it is cheap and readily available, many youths are getting hooked on it without any consideration for its possible effects on their health.

Because marijuana is a stimulant, many easily get addicted to it and, as a result, would do anything to ensure they “feel alive from inside”, or remain high. However, there is a price to pay for every habit. Abusers end up not feeding well,” they are ever restless, and may become candidates for cancer, later in life.

Using a highly sensitive new test, scientists in Europe are reporting “convincing evidence” that marijuana smoke damages the cells of the body in ways that could potentially increase the risk of cancer development.

Before now, there has been uncertainty over whether marijuana smoke, like cigarette smoke, has the same effect on the constituents of the human cell (DNA), in a way that it predisposes to lung and other cancers.

Scientists are especially concerned about the toxicity of acetaldehyde, present in both tobacco and marijuana. Before now, it has been difficult to measure cell damage from acetaldehyde with conventional tests.

A 2007 study by the Canadian government found that marijuana smoke contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. The study found that marijuana smoke contained 20 times more ammonia, and five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides than tobacco smoke.

It is known that tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemicals, of which 60 are classed as being able to cause cancer. The team of researchers from the Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and Karolinska Institute, Sweden, explained that the ability of marijuana smoke to damage basic constituents of the cells in the body has significant human health implications, especially as users tend to inhale more deeply than cigarette smokers.

The team declared in their report in the new issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology that “the smoking of three to four cannabis cigarettes a day is associated with the same degree of damage to the covering of the pipe that carries air into the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day”.

Professor Oye Gureje, head of the psychiatry department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, said that that there were a body of evidence supporting that cannabis could damage genes, the basic constituent of man.

“There is evidence that it can cause some health problems. For example, we know that it can affect fertility, but not that it can cause abnormal changes in sperm, which can lead to abnormal babies,” he stated.

According to Prof. Gureje, there is, however, the possibility of people smoking marijuana developing cancer. “The fact is that any noxious substance that goes into the body increases the risk of developing various kinds of cancers. Certainly, the smoke and content of marijuana are toxic, just as tobacco smoke. It is dangerous to the body, so there is certainly evidence to show that people who smoke will have increased risk of cancer. That is clear, but I do not think it is something you can consider in isolation. They have to smoke a lot of it, just like people who smoke tobacco. The more you smoke, the higher the likelihood that you will get some problems out of smoking.

Meanwhile, the psychiatrist said that when talking about the consequences of marijuana smoking, cancer is not the first thing that comes to mind, given that the evidence supporting that it predisposes to cancer is much less compelling than the evidence for other things.

According to him, “The risk for cancer as a result of marijuana is much more less than the risk for other things; the risk of cancer in marijuana smokers is much less than the risk among cigarette smokers. This is partly because marijauna smokers would not smoke as many wraps as a cigarette smoker would in a day.

“Certainly, the risk for cancer would be slightly increased in those that smoke compared to those who do not smoke at all, because they are pumping some toxins into their bodies.

While pointing out that the effects of smoking would add on to already existing hereditary trait for cancer, Prof. Gureje said “despite the widespread use of marijuana, only a few people will actually develop problems from smoking it. The people who get mental health problems would be determined by such factors as the amount of it they smoke and also their genetic make-up.”

According to him, “the fact that someone smokes so much marijuana and nothing happens to him is not evidence that marijuana does not harm. Some people are vulnerable to being harmed but they would not know until they had tried it.”

Several experts looking at the health effects of marijuana and working to ensure that people took an informed decision to quit smoking it, reported that adolescents and young adults who smoked a lot of marijuana were more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development.

Another study in 2007 found that marijuana smokers were 40 per cent more likely than non-users to suffer psychotic illnesses, such as hallucinations and delusions, later in life.

Hallucinations are false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be seen, heard, felt, and even smelled or tasted.

A delusion is an unshakable belief in something untrue. These irrational beliefs defy normal reasoning, and remain firm even when overwhelming proof is presented to dispute them. It is a common symptom of several mood and personality-related mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.

Though marijuana use had, at times, been associated with stroke, there is no firmly established link, and potential mechanisms are unknown. Similarly, there is no established relationship between marijuana use and heart disease, including worsening cases of existing heart disease.

But adolescents with a history of poor school performance may have their educational achievements further limited by marijuana smoking. Those who initiate marijuana use in the early teens are at higher risk of progressing to heavy marijauna use and other illicit drug use, and to the development of dependence on marijuana.

Pregnant women who continue to smoke marijuana are probably at increased risk of giving birth to low birth weight babies, and perhaps premature babies. Women of childbearing age who smoke marijuana at the time of conception, or while pregnant, possibly increase the risk of their children being born with birth defects.

Researchers found that men who regularly smoked marijuana had a 70 per cent increased risk of testicular cancer. The risk was highest – twice that of those who never used the drug – in those who smoked it, at least, once a week or had a long history of use, beginning in adolescence. This was based on findings from 369 men with testicular cancer, who were questioned about their history of cannabis use. Marijuana was linked with testicular cancer, independently of smoking, drinking and family history.

Long-term exposure to marijuana smoke is linked to many of the same health problems as tobacco smoke, such as increased respiratory symptoms like cough, phlegm and wheeze.