Pubdate: Fri, 17 Dec 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.

SMOKING MARIJUANA CAN CAUSE CANCER, STUDY FINDS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smoking marijuana can cause cancer, California
researchers said Friday, and aging baby boomers who have been indulging
since the swinging 60s may just be starting to feel its ravages.

The report, by Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang of the Jonsson Cancer Center at the
University of California Los Angeles, adds to evidence that smoking cannabis
can have cancer-causing effects similar to those linked to cigarette
smoking.

``Many people may think marijuana is harmless, but it's not,'' Zhang said in
a statement. ``The carcinogens in marijuana are much stronger than those in
tobacco. The big message here is that marijuana, like tobacco, can cause
cancer.''

Writing in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker and Prevention, Zhang
said he studied 173 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer, and
compared them to 176 cancer-free control patients.

Those who said they habitually smoked marijuana were more likely to be in
the group with head and neck cancers. And the more they smoked, the bigger
the risk.

``If you smoke a little, your risk increases a little,'' Zhang said. ``If
you smoke a lot, your risk increases a lot.''

He said pot-smoking baby boomers should be on the lookout for symptoms of
head and neck cancer, also very common in cigarette smokers and heavy
drinkers.

``In the '60s, we had very high numbers of people in their 20s smoking
marijuana,'' Zhang said. ``These people are just now getting to the ages at
which they will get head and neck cancers.''

Earlier this year, the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of
Sciences reported that marijuana could have some medical uses, notably to
treat pain for some terminally ill patients.

But the committee said pills using the active ingredients in marijuana were
a safer alternative because smoking marijuana can cause cancer, lung damage
and babies with low birth weights in pregnant women.