Smoking pot makes you age faster and leads to birth defects in your future kids, study suggests

Smoking pot makes you age faster and leads to birth defects in your future kids, study suggests READ MORE: Mixing gold with red wine may heal chronic wounds By SADIE WHITELOCKS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 12:16 EST, 15 November 2024 | Updated: 12:52 EST, 15 November 2024 e-mail 21 View comments Smoking marijuana can alter a person's DNA, accelerating aging and leading to birth defects in their future children. The drug has boomed in popularity over the last decade.

It is now recreationally legal in 24 US states and daily use of weed has surpassed that of alcohol . But new findings have warned of the dangerous health implications, including faster aging, increased cancer risk and fertility problems. Researchers from The University of Western Australia looked at more than 50 global studies investigating the effects of cannabis use on the body and said the startling statistics should 'reframe the discussion of cannabis legalization.

' Co-author Dr Stuart Reece said: 'This new research shows how genetic damage from cannabis use can be passed down the generations. This should reframe the discussion surrounding cannabis legalization from a personal choice to one that potentially involves multiple subsequent generations.' They say premature aging is one of the most common effects of marijuana and a recent study found long-time users who were 30 years old showed they had a biological age of 30 percent higher.

The study involved 154 participants from a small city in the southeastern U.