Cannabis Use Linked to Epigenetic Changes, Study Reveals
26th April 2024
Imagine that.
“We observed associations between cumulative marijuana use and multiple epigenetic markers across time,” Lifang Hou, a preventative medical doctor and epidemiologist from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine explained in July 2023.
So much for all the stoners who complained that marijuana was harmless.
The addition or removal of methyl groups from DNA is one of the most studied epigenetic modifications. Without changing the genomic sequence, it changes the activity of genes, because it’s harder for cells to read the genome instruction manual with these molecular changes in their way.
Environmental and lifestyle factors can trigger these methylation changes, which can be passed onto future generations, and blood biomarkers can provide information about both recent and historical exposures.
Trofim Lysenko, you’re up.