Marijuana Use Linked to Testicular Cancer ... That's a Bummer, Man

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According to a report in the Journal of Cancer, heavy marijuana use appears to increase the risk of testicular cancer in men. From BBC News: Just being a marijuana smoker seemed to carry a 70% extra risk, while those who smoked it regularly, or had smoked from an early age, had twice the risk compared to those who had never smoked it. A connection was made to nonseminoma, a fast-growing form of testicular cancer which accounts for approximately 40% of all cases, and tends to strike younger. Yeah, so, it looks like pot will double a young man's chances of developing testicular cancer. Granted, researchers are still attempting to distinguish between causality and correlation, and the study didn't involve a huge number of men. And while I seem to remember people saying things about this back in college, I do wonder what a strong causal relationship would do to affect the number of kids who light one up or burn one down or whatever. Ironically, if a young man were to develop the ailment, pot might also double his chances of coping with it.