It has been known for more than two decades that many illicit drugs inflict damage on the immune system leaving the body open to a host of opportunistic infections, not the least of which is the HIV virus. Other drugs accelerate the progression of HIV to full blown AIDS. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health 87:585-590, noted that the risk of AIDS mortality in marijuana users versus non-users was approximately doubled, though the authors insisted this phenomenon was related more to male homosexuality behaviour than to smoking marijuana, a drug known to undermine the immune system.