A new study yesterday said smoking cannabis can alter a person’s DNA and cause mutations that could expose a user to serious illnesses. The study published in the journal ‘Mutation Research – Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis,’ said the risk from the DNA mutations is not exclusive to the marijuana user.
“The disease-causing mutations are also passed on to children and several future generations,” the researchers said. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is a long molecule that contains an individual’s unique genetic code. Like a recipe book, it holds the instructions for making all the proteins in the human body.
Cannabis, a genus of flowering plant, has long been used for hemp fibre, for hemp oils, for medicinal purposes and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fibre.
Though the link between cannabis and severe illnesses, such as cancer, has previously been documented, how this occurs and the implications for future generations were not well understood.
Reacting to the study, Dr. Stuart Reece and Professor Gary Hulse, from the University of Western Australia’s School of Psychiatry, analysed literary and research material to understand the likely causes. Reece said: “Through our research, we found that cancers and illnesses were likely caused by cell mutations resulting from cannabis properties having a chemical interaction with a person’s DNA.
” Speaking further, Reece said: “With increasing cannabis use globally in recent years, this has a concerning impact for the population.” While a person may appear healthy and lead a normal life, the unseen damage to their DNA could also be passed on to their children, and cause illness for several generations to come.
He said: “The worst cancers are reported in the first few years of life in children exposed in utero to cannabis effects.
