Doctors Call for Study on Lung Cancer Risk from Marijuana

A patient-focused media platform on cancer topics is making the case for a national study on the possible link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer.

SurvivorNet, an online platform launched last year by a former news producer and a venture capitalist, cites physicians' anecdotal observations of increased lung cancer rates among patients whose only apparent risk factor was marijuana smoking.

“Much like tobacco's earliest days, if something is not done about this now, we risk another major health emergency,” concludes a news release last week from SurvivorNet.

The release states that the only study to have looked at long-term marijuana use and cancer was a New Zealand study from 2008 that found an increased risk of lung cancer among young-adult users. The study was not extensive enough to yield definitive conclusions, however.

SurvivorNet has released a documentary outlining concerns among doctors regarding this lack of research into the effects of marijuana smoke, which contains some of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke.