Cancer of all kinds happens when cells in your body begin to operate incorrectly, due to either physical or chemical stress. Wounds that fail to heal for one reason or another are one of the more common causes of cancer, as are pesticides and other chemicals that affect your cells' functions. Marijuana brings both of these threats to the table.
Cannabis and Your Immune System
Marijuana dampens the immune system, especially in those areas directly affected by the smoke; your mouth, throat, and lungs. That means that pot smokers are much more likely than the average person to get oral infections, and those infections don't heal quickly, either. Cannabis also causes xerostomia -- a malfunctioning of the salivary glands that leads to dry mouth -- which makes your mouth tissues more vulnerable to injury.
Marijuana and Oral Cancer
Eventually, chronic pot smokers are much more likely than others to develop something called oral leukoplakia -- thick, white patches on the mucus membranes of the mouth. Oral leukoplakia is often considered a pre-cancerous growth, meaning it's quite likely to turn into cancer. The most common cannabis-related oral cancer is on the back of the tongue or on the floor of the mouth under the back of the tongue.
Please call the office of Drs. Johnson and Risbrudt for an oral cancer screening at 949-493-9311.
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