A new study found alarming risks associated with Marijuana use, including more than doubling the rate of heart disease, in addition to raising the risk of strokes, lung cancer, and heart attacks.
Compared to nonusers of the drug, those who used cannabis had just over double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, 29% higher risk for acute coronary syndrome, and a 20% higher risk for stroke, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Heart. The study used medical data from around 200 million people, mostly between the ages of 19 and 59, analyzed from 24 studies published from 2016 to 2023.
“Our results provide a fully comprehensive report of the recent situation towards the cardiovascular health of cannabis users,” the authors wrote. They noted limitations with the study, including imprecise dosage measurements.
“Frequent cannabis use has increased in several countries, and many users believe that it is a safe and natural way to relieve pain or stress,” they wrote. “In contrast, a growing body of evidence links cannabis use to significant harms throughout life, including cardiovascular health of adults.”
Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states. For the first time ever, daily marijuana users outnumber daily drinkers, according to a Carnegie Mellon University report last year.
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That change is mostly driven by young people. Sixty-nine percent of people aged 18 to 24 indicated they preferred marijuana to alcohol, according to a 2022 survey by New Frontier Data, a cannabis research firm.
The authors of the study called for the drug to “be treated like tobacco: not criminalized but discouraged.”
Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states. Read More
