Smoking Pot Linked with Testicular Cancer
Smoking marijuana increases the risk of testicular cancer, according to researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In their recent study, men diagnosed with testicular cancer were 70% more likely to be current marijuana users, although the risk was especially elevated in men who had started using the drug before they were 18 or who used it frequently. Much of the increased risk is associated with tumors which typically peak between the ages of 20 and 35 and account for about 40% of all cases of testicular cancer.
Although little is known about the long-term health consequences of marijuana, it is known to have adverse effects on the reproductive system. Researchers have also found a link between long-term heavy cannabis use and shrinkage in certain areas of the brain. In addition, studies have found an increased risk of mental illness in pot smokers, such as depression and schizophrenia.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the developed world. The naive notion that smoking pot is harmless takes its toll on our society. Marijuana is not harmless and it is addictive. More young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Source: Daling JR, et al “Association of marijuana use and the incidence of testicular germ cell tumors” Cancer 2009; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24159.
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