CANNABIS 'COULD KILL 30,000 A YEAR'

Thirty thousand Britons a year might eventually die from cannabis smoking,
doctors claimed last night.

They called for a battle against the drug to mirror that belatedly waged
against tobacco, saying that it too could soon pose a major public health
hazard.

Their warning, made in an editorial in the British Medical Journal, is the
most high-profile attempt yet to alert authorities to public health
difficulties that might result from an apparently more liberal attitude to
the drug.

The authors, from Imperial College London and St Mary's hospital, London,
argued that 120,000 deaths are caused among 13 million tobacco smokers each
year, from cancers, respiratory disorders and heart and lung disease. If
the health effects were the same, the corresponding figure from 3.2 million
cannabis smokers would be 30,000.

They conceded their extrapolation could be seen as scaremongering, but
Professor John Henry, one of the authors, said the real message was that
medical authorities must not be caught like they were by the results of
tobacco consumption, which took 50 years of research before any concerted
fightback started.

"Even if the number of deaths attributable to cannabis smoking turned out
to be a fraction of the 30,000 we believe could be possible, cannabis
smoking would still be described as a major health hazard. If we also add
in the likely mental health burden to that of medical illness and premature
death, the potential effects of cannabis cannot be ignored."

Dr William Oldfield, a senior registrar at the hospital, said cannabis and
nicotine had very different modes of inhalation, with cannabis smokers
taking in larger volumes and holding smoke down far longer. "These could
all contribute to illnesses of the heart and respiratory system,
particularly as the chemicals in cannabis smoke are retained to a much
higher degree."

The doctors argued that the level of active ingredient known as THC was
much higher than 20 years ago. It had a marked effect on heart and blood
vessels and sudden deaths had been attributed to cannabis smoking.

Cannabis-based prescription medicines, in spray or lozenge form, are
expected on the market soon, but there have been a number of warnings
recently that many Britons do not understand the risks from cannabis. The
British Lung Foundation for instance said three joints a day might do as
much damage as 20 cigarettes.

But there has been scepticism at such claims, including among anti-smoking
campaigners. They say, for instance, that tobacco users tend to carry on
smoking for far longer, whereas cannabis appears far less addictive.

They also question the 3.2 million figure for cannabis use. This is the
estimate for people who have used it in the last year. Regular use would be
far smaller.