ABSTRACT
It is well documented that drug abuse can cause renal diseases. Nephropathy and proteinuria among heroin addicts has been recognized since the early 1970s. The predominant lesions in heroin-associated nephropathy are segmental glomerulosclerosis in African-Americans and membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) in the Caucasian population. Cocaine may induce kidney damage, predominantly acute renal failure in the course of rhabdomyolysis. However, there are no case reports of nephropathy associated with marijuana smoking. We report a case of a marijuana-addicted 27-year-old Caucasian man after cadaveric kidney transplantation who developed de novo posttransplant MGN. The long period and high level of narcotic intoxication suggested that de novo MGN may have been associated with heavy marijuana abuse.
