TANCZOS UNFAZED BY HEART ATTACK-DOPE LINK

Green MP Nandor Tanczos won't be backing off his campaign to legalise
cannabis use despite American scientists warning it may increase the risk
of heart attacks in middle-aged people.

Researchers in Boston, Massachusetts, said the chances of having a heart
attack increased nearly five times in the first hour after smoking
marijuana. Most at risk are baby boomers, who are more likely to use
cannabis than previous generations and are now at the age when they are
most prone to heart disease.

Dr Murray Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at the Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, said: "People's risk of coronary artery
disease increases as they enter their 40s and 50s, so the risks associated
with smoking marijuana, which might have been a trivial issue when people
were younger, may now pose a significant health concern."

But Mr Tanczos said the study needed to be put into context. "It says that
the risk is the same as for strenuous physical exercise and I don't think
we should ban jogging."

Mr Tanczos said many legal drugs carried risks.

"The point of the policy debate is not whether it is good or bad for you
but what we should do if people smoke it. Do we give them criminal records?
That does not seem to stop them."

Heart Foundation medical director Diana North said the Boston study was
very limited.

"The critical thing is that this is a very small study and it's very hard
to know whether it's a true effect or not but it requires further
investigation . . . watch this space closely."

In his report Dr Mittleman said: "The risk associated with marijuana use is
about the same as the risk we found for strenuous physical exercise, and a
little higher than that observed for sexual intercourse."