Dagga weakens bones

LONDON: Heavy dagga smokers are damaging their bones and could develop osteoporosis in later life, a study shows.

Researchers have found that users who smoke several times a day have more fragile spines and hips, and suffer more broken bones.

Lead researcher Professor Stuart Ralston, of the University of Edinburgh, said: “Heavy users of cannabis have quite a large reduction in bone density compared with non- users and there is a real concern that this may put them at increased risk of developing osteoporosis.”

Scientists studied 170 cannabis smokers. Heavy use was defined as having used the drug on more than 5 000 occasions.

Compared with 114 people who did not smoke cannabis, the heavy users had lower bone density in their hips and spines, the American Journal of Medicine reports. The density was about five percent lower than cigarette smokers who did not take the drug. – Daily Mail