HEALTH FEARS OVER DRUG

ABOUT 1500 people took part in the fifth annual International Cannabis
March in London on Saturday as doctors said the drug could be a major
health hazard that killed up to 30,000 people every year in Britain.

The long-term health risks are poorly understood.

The estimated death toll, which appears in a paper in the British Medical
Journal, is based on the known risks of cigarettes smoking and assumes
cannabis causes as much harm.

Although cannabis cigarettes are smoked less frequently than tobacco ones,
smokers often inhale much deeper and for longer.

Professor John Henry of Imperial College, London, and colleagues said in
the report that regular cannabis use was associated with a higher risks of
mental illnesses. There also were reports of lung and other cancers in
cannabis smokers.