Marijuana linked to DNA damage.
June 17, 2009

For those of you whom have sons in their mid-twenties living in your basements, garages or attics, you may have to break some bad news to them It seems that Cannabis smoke damages DNA and may initiate cancer. Awww, bummer dude. In a recent study published by the University of Leicester, researchers focused on the toxicity of acetaldehyde, which is contained in both marijuana and cigarettes. Though marijuana and tobacco may share some similarities, there are some significant differences.

According to authors of the study, "…because of its (cannabis) lower combustibility it contains 50% more carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including naphthalene, benzanthracene, and benzopyrene, than tobacco smoke." It has been known for some time that marijuana smoke contains several times as much tar, as well as causes about 6-7 times damage to bronchial mucus membranes as cigarettes. Another factor is the tendency of marijuana users to inhale the smoke more deeply than typical cigarette smokers.

Both cannabis and tobacco have been changed from their initial natural form by mankind's ability to alter the crops we grow. And though cigarettes include many more additives than marijuana, it seem that to live a healthy life and avoid wasting money, you must avoid both.

This work was done by Rajinder Singh, Jatinderpal Sandhu, Balvinder Kaur, Tina Juren, William P. Steward, Dan Segerback and Peter B. Farmer. The study has been published in Chemical Research in Toxicology.