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Heavy alcohol drinkers who also smoke cannabis 'may slash their odds of getting killer liver diseases such as cirrhosis by up to 55%'
Researchers analysed data on almost 320,000 heavy drinkers in the study
Those who smoked cannabis had a 45% lower chance of fatty liver disease
It's unclear why the drug has this effect, but it is known to be anti-inflammatory
Binge drinkers may be protected from potentially deadly liver diseases, if they also smoke cannabis, a study suggests.
Heavy drinkers who smoked marijuana had 'significantly lower odds' of developing serious problems with their liver, including cirrhosis and a common form of cancer.
Cannabis has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties and its compounds are currently the subject of hundreds of studies.
Both dependent and non-dependent smokers had a 45 per cent lower risk of getting alcoholic steatosis, or 'fatty liver disease'.
They had a 55 per cent lower chance of developing of cirrhosis - scarring of the liver which can lead to liver failure.
Their odds of steatohepatitis (AH), a type of fatty liver disease, were also 43 per cent lower.
And they had 38 per cent lower odds of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - the most common form of liver cancer.
Dependent users had lower odds than nondependent users for getting liver disease generally, the researchers said.
WHAT IS LIVER DISEASE?
There are more than 100 types of liver disease.
The main causes are:
Obesity
Alcohol abuse
An undiagnosed hepatitis infection
Symptoms are rare until the disease is advanced.
Previous work by the same team, on five million people who did not abuse alcohol, found lower rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in cannabis smokers.
The team noted receptors in the body which respond to compounds in cannabis have the ability to suppress the collection of fat on the liver, therefore protecting it from disease.
Previous research has already found cannabinoid receptors in the liver are potential targets for the treatment of liver disease.