Lung and aero-digestive cancers in young marijuana smokers

Marijuana has been shown to be one of the commonly abused substances in the world, especially among teenagers and young adults. Although its addictive potential and psychomotor side-effects have been widely publicized, the is sue of possible carcinogenicity is not as well perceived. Marijuana smoke c ontains many of the same organic and inorganic compounds that are carcinoge ns, co-carcinogens, or tumor promoters found in tobacco smoke. We have enco untered several young marijuana users with no history of tobacco smoking or other significant risk factors who were diagnosed to have lung or other ae ro digestive cancers in our practice. Although there are several experiment al and epidemiological studies suggesting an association of marijuana use a s a possible cause of cancers, this issue remains controversial. It is hope d that our case presentation can help to stimulate further awareness and re search into this issue.