Now that over three-dozen states have legalized cannabis in some form, millions of people are using it. Some are sticking with medical cannabis, while others are using recreationally. There are plenty of reasons to avoid both, with the most recently observed being a higher incidence of oral cancer.
A recently published study out of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine demonstrates a clear link between individuals diagnosed with cannabis use disorder (CUD) and a higher incidence of oral cancer. And thanks to the growing concerns of CUD among medical professionals, the study data is worth paying attention to.
More About the Study
To understand the impacts of long-term cannabis consumption on cancer rates, researchers analyzed medical records from six different academic medical centers. The records covered adult patients screened for drug use disorders from 2012 to 2019. All patients included in the final cohort had no prior diagnosis of oral cancer.
Patients were followed for five years after their initial assessments. Here is what they found among the more than 45,000 patients included in their study:
- 2.1% developed CUD
- 0.74% of the CUD group developed oral cancer
- 0.23% of the non-CUD group developed oral cancer
Running the numbers demonstrates that cannabis users diagnosed with CUD are more than three times more likely to develop oral cancer over a five-year period. It is also worth noting that the researchers, in their summary, pointed to smoking cannabis as the primary culprit.
The Two Biggest Factors
The two biggest factors to keep in mind with this study are the CUD diagnosis and the smoking method of consumption. CUD is the medical term for cannabis addiction. Despite what you may have read online, cannabis is addictive. There is a standard diagnosis for CUD, a diagnosis that is more likely among long-term, heavy cannabis users.
This is important because cannabis users have different habits. One recreational user might limit his use to a few times per week while a friend is using daily. Meanwhile, a medical cannabis user is consuming daily but at much smaller doses. CUD is less likely to be found among medical users because their consumption occurs under the supervision of a doctor or pharmacist.
The other factor, smoking, seems to be the biggest contributor to oral cancer. No one should be surprised. We have known for a long time that tobacco smoke increases a person’s cancer risk. Why would cannabis smoke be any different?
Medical Smoking Not Allowed
Medical cannabis patients have an advantage in that smoking isn’t allowed by state medical cannabis programs. Utah is a perfect example. As explained by Salt Lake City’s BeehiveMed, a Utah medical cannabis cardholder can purchase cannabis vapes, tinctures, edibles, and topical products. He can even purchase raw cannabis flower. But smoking is strictly prohibited under state law.
Assuming that the higher risk of oral cancer among cannabis users is directly related to smoke, it stands to reason that the oral cancer risk is lower among medical users who choose some other delivery method. A medical user who smokes despite regulatory restrictions should have a higher risk of oral cancer.
What does all this mean? It means that consumers have yet another reason to seriously consider avoiding long-term, heavy cannabis consumption. Medical consumption supervised by a doctor or pharmacist carries minimal risk. But unregulated consumption is another matter.
Cannabis is not completely safe. There is harm associated with it, and ignoring such harm in order to pass ever less restrictive cannabis reform laws doesn’t do consumers any favors. It might even harm them. Visit BeehiveMed.com
