VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 31, 2016) - Researchers at the University of Western Australia have identified the causal links between marijuana use and the development of serious diseases, cancers, birth defects, and the inheritance of traits that can cause such problems in children and grandchildren including the development of Down's Syndrome. Parental use of marijuana is a children's rights issue.

Associate Professor Stuart Reece and Professor Gary Hulse from UWA's School of Psychiatry and Clinical Sciences found illnesses are likely caused by cell mutations resulting from cannabis properties having a chemical interaction with a person's DNA. Even if a mother has never used cannabis, the mutations passed on by a father's sperm can cause serious and fatal illnesses in offspring. The parents DNA carrying these mutations can lie dormant and may only affect generations down the road. The study was published in the Mutation Research -- Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis.

Reference: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0027510716300574