Startling Study Links Cannabis Use to Genetic Damage, Cancer
Cannabis use has been linked to cellular damage that significantly increases the risk of developing highly cancerous tumors, according to a new study in the scientific journal Addiction Biology.
The study identifies cannabis as a “genotoxic” substance, meaning it harms the genetic material within cells. This damage can result in DNA mutations, accelerated aging, and cancer.
Alarmingly, the study suggests that this genetic damage could be passed on to future generations through egg and sperm, making the effects of cannabis use potentially trans-generational.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia highlighted this connection in their recent publication. They linked existing evidence that cannabis use disrupts cellular energy production by impairing mitochondria to new findings published in Science.
These findings reveal that mitochondrial dysfunction can drive chromosomal damage, leading to higher rates of cancer, premature aging, and birth defects. Together, this research underscores the far-reaching consequences of cannabis-induced genetic harm.
The Science studies were not conducted in the context of cannabis use; however, they provide mechanistic insights into some observations about cannabis use that were not previously well understood, such as that cannabis causes both mitochondrial and genetic damage. Taken together, the article in Addiction Biology put older historical research about cannabis into context and suggests that cannabis-related genotoxic damage may be all around us — even if we largely don’t see it.
Co-author Dr. Stuart Reece comments: “The link we’ve described between cannabis use and genotoxicity has far-reaching consequences. This new research shows how genetic damage from cannabis use can be passed down the generations. This should reframe the discussion surrounding cannabis legalization from a personal choice to one that potentially involves multiple subsequent generations.”
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