DOCTORS WARN OF LINK BETWEEN POT, DISEASE

TORONTO (CNS) -- Researchers have found that young people who smoke
cannabis once a week are up to three times more likely than non-users
to have serious periodontal disease by age 32.

"People lose the support around the bone, the support around their
teeth and they may lose their teeth to the disease," said Dr. James
Beck, a dentistry professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What's more, growing research suggests people with gum disease
release bacterial products into the bloodstream, increasing their
risk of "systemic" diseases such as heart disease and stroke.

Cannabis is the second most commonly used drug among Canadian youth,
behind alcohol.

According to a drug-use survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, 26 per cent of Ontario students used cannabis at least once
in the past year. Ten per cent of pot smokers are daily users, and
use increases with each grade, from four per cent of seventh graders,
to 45 per cent of Grade 12s.

Periodontal disease can destroy ligament around the tooth and bone.
Gum separates from the teeth, forming pockets that fill with plaque
and infection.