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The cannabis – testicular cancer connection!
There may be more problems to smoking a joint than we realise… According to a new American study, cannabis can seriously increase the risk of testicular cancer. And this is particularly true when smoked during adolescence, a stage of life that the authors consider to be a real window of opportunity.
The cannabinoid receptors to which the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis binds are known to be present in the brain but they are also found in the testicles. For the first time it has now been shown that these receptors protect against certain forms of cancer. So, when a man smokes a joint, the THC passes into the testicles and as it affects the activity of these receptors it can inhibit their protective effect.
To investigate this hypothesis, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle studied the medical records of 369 cannabis smokers aged between 18 and 44. Almost 1,000 other, non-smoking individuals formed a control group.
The results are that regular cannabis smokers are twice as likely to develop the most aggressive form of testicular cancer. Not forgetting of course that cannabis consumption can lead to serious psychological problems. So, a word to the wise…
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