South Bend, IN: A history of cannabis use is associated with an estimated ten percent reduction in one’s risk of developing cancer, including the risk of lung cancer, according to a meta-analysis published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
An Indiana University professor reviewed 34 studies assessing whether the use of cannabis was associated with either an elevated or a reduced risk of developing certain types of cancers.
His review determined that cannabis use was negatively associated with the occurrence of various types of cancers, excluding testicular cancer. Use was most strongly correlated with a reduced risk of developing cancers of the head and neck.
The study concluded: “The current analysis suggests an association of cannabis use with a substantial decrease in risk of non-testicular cancers, with moderate effect size, and a non-significant increase in risk of testicular cancer, with negligible effect size. This suggests that cannabis use may substantially decrease the death rate from cancer in the United States.”
Full text of the study, “Scoping review and meta-analysis suggests that cannabis use may reduce cancer risk in the United States,” appears in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.