Cannabis Use Linked to Epigenetic Changes, Scientists Find
17th March 2025
Using cannabis may cause changes in the human body’s epigenome, a study of over 1,000 adults suggests. The epigenome functions like a set of switches, activating or deactivating genes to change how our bodies function.
“We observed associations between cumulative marijuana use and multiple epigenetic markers across time,” explained epidemiologist Lifang Hou from Northwestern University when the research was published in 2023.
Cannabis is a commonly used substance in the United States, with 49 percent of people trying it at least once, Hou and a team of US researchers report in their published paper.
Some US states and other countries have made cannabis legal, but we still don’t fully understand its effects on our health.
Even if we did, history demonstrates that the self-indulgent chemically-inclined would ignore it. How many people still smoke tobacco? But evolution has a way of taking care of such things.