DOPE BOOSTS LUNG CANCER RISK IN YOUNG

Doctors call for cannabis study

YOUNG Scots are developing lung cancer from smoking cannabis, doctors claim.

And anti-drugs campaigners have called for an inquiry into the doctors'
findings.

Patients as young as 27 have been treated at one hospital after developing
the disease from using the class B drug.

Lung cancer normally occurs in much older patients and kills more than 90
per cent of victims within five years.

But consultants in cardio-thoracic surgery at the Western Infirmary,
Glasgow, revealed yesterday they had treated 12 patients under the age of
35 - 10 of whom were regular cannabis smokers.

Anti-drugs campaigners say there is now clear evidence to suggest smoking
cannabis is more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.

Alistair Ramsay, director of Scotland Against Drugs, said cannabis caused
great damage to the structure of the lungs.

He said: "These findings are entirely consistent with some work done by the
House of Lords Scientific Committee in 1998.

"They took evidence from all over the world including many medical experts
recognised in their specialist fields.

"They found there were much more significant risks associated with the
smoking of cannabis, which could lead to the disruption of cells in the lung
walls and ultimately to the development of cancer."

Western Infirmary cardio-thoracic consultant Alan Kirk said yesterday he was
keen to see a scientific study into the effects of taking the class B drug.

He said he feared smoking the drug could cause early onset of lung cancer
and now routinely asked patients if they were users.

He said: "Large studies need to be done to establish whether cannabis plays
a role in accelerating the disease."

Meanwhile, a US study has shown taking cannabis is more dangerous than
smoking cigarettes.

The research showed regular cannabis smokers were more than 30 times as
likely to get cancer of the throat, neck, mouth and larynx as those who have
never used the drug.

Cannabis researcher Professor Roger Pertwee, of Aberdeen University, said a
scientific study should be commissioned in Scotland.

He said: "Anecdotal evidence suggests people who have smoked cannabis
develop cancer younger.

"The culprit seems to be tars in the combustion process."