Category: Pain Management

As marijuana becomes mainstream and usage rates skyrocket, some of the nation’s top cancer doctors are urging the Surgeon General to investigate the link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer.

Among the renowned doctors calling for more study is Dr. Joseph Friedberg, head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Publishing his concerns on SurvivorNet, the cancer site providing the latest information and treatment options from foremost cancer experts, Dr. Friedberg is calling for a federal study citing increased rates of lung cancer in their practices from patients whose only discernible risk factor is marijuana smoking. SurvivorNet released a documentary outlining the concerns surrounding the lack of research on the link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer in hopes of bringing widespread attention to the need for this study.

Dr. Friedberg states “Given the expanding legalization of marijuana, and the anticipated wave of increased use, there is clearly a need to study the cancer risks of marijuana with the same rigor that has been devoted to tobacco smoke. Both types of smoke contain some of the same carcinogens, so the widely held belief that tobacco smoke causes cancer and marijuana smoke does not is inherently flawed. “We have an opportunity to avoid a potential marijuana-related public health crisis similar to what we are still dealing with from cigarettes being introduced to the public without any health risk warnings.”

Previously, the only study on long term use of cannabis and lung cancer was a 2008 NIH study conducted in New Zealand which found that long term cannabis use increases the risk of lung cancer in young adults. The study cites other reputable scientific findings that state cannabis smoke is similar to tobacco smoke but with twice as many carcinogens and because people smoke joints without filters and hold the smoke in their lungs longer it can increase the risk of lung cancer. The major finding from this study was that for each joint-year of cannabis exposure, the risk of lung cancer increased by 8%, after adjustment for confounding variables including tobacco smoking.

A major differential risk between cannabis and cigarette smoking was observed, with 1 joint of cannabis similar to about 20 cigarettes for risk of lung cancer. This study was not extensive or long enough to be definitive but it raises concerns about the drug. This study would be the first of its kind to bring groundbreaking research and information to millions of Americans who smoke marijuana without understanding the potentially lethal side effects. Much like tobacco’s earliest days, if something is not done about this now, we risk another major health emergency.

SurvivorNet was founded to fill an urgent need for better information about cancer prevention and treatment. “By bringing attention to crucial findings from some of the country’s leading cancer doctors, we are hoping to save lives. We know marijuana is alleviating suffering for a great many cancer patients. We also think people who smoke and vape marijuana recreationally should have accurate information about whether there is an increased risk for cancer and then make their own choices. It’s clear a major national study is needed so we can really understand this issue.”

Reprint by permission of PRNewswire; Image courtesy of PixaBay Free License CC0

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