Marijuana use linked to higher risk of heart attack and stroke

Really? Is that so? Because according to what I have previously read and been told, it lowers your blood pressure, naturally. So I don’t have to take those annoying pills that make me feel like a zombie all day….perhaps that’s their motivation for this.

A bunch of maybe's, and possibilities in there. Not really any definitely conclusions.

Well, breathing polluted air, including smoke, is likely to increase incidence of circulatory disease. This article talks at length about smoking cannabis but at the start talks of higher risk from eating, which is then ignored. Do hash cookies really raise the risk?

Actual quote from the research 'daily use of cannabis — predominately through smoking — was associated with a 25% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug.'

Not actual quote from pothead when asked about the research 'Cool. Like you got some chips or something man?'

Actual quote from the research 'daily use of cannabis — predominately through smoking — was associated with a 25% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug.'

It appears to be an epidemiological study, without accounting for lifestyle. It’s a type of study that indicates where further research is required, but not a conclusive study in itself, which is why all statements in the article refer to ‘may’ or ‘possibly’ without definitive conclusions.

breathing polluted air, including smoke, is likely to increase incidence of circulatory disease

I don’t believe that’s ever been concluded for cannabis, only tobacco.

Here is the press release:

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2024/smoking-cannabis-associated-increased-risk-heart-attack-stroke.

And here is the study:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.030178.

The only disclosure made, being that one of the four authors serves as a consultant to the WHO outside of the submitted work.

Conclusion? “Cannabis has strong, statistically significant associations with adverse cardiovascular outcomes independent of tobacco use and controlling for a range of demographic factors and outcomes.”

Note a comment by one of the researchers, Professor of Medicine Salomeh Keyhani: “There is a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry that markets cannabis use as not only harmless, but good for you. It can be a challenging discussion to have with patients because there is evidence that cannabis has some therapeutic properties. However, as suggested by this study, cannabis use also has significant cardiovascular risks.”

We note, for the benefit of those patients who may be reluctant to discuss their usage to physicians during consultations, that the study found that cannabis use was independently associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, for which the odds rose with the number of days per month that a person used it. Therefore, "Patients should be screened for cannabis use and advised to avoid smoking cannabis to reduce their risk of premature cardiovascular disease and cardiac events."

We also note that the study also examined the effects for those who had never smoked or vaped tobacco products, finding that JUST using cannabis was associated with both stroke, and with the combination of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke risks.

Well, around 7 million a year die from ambient air pollution - indoor and outdoor. One aspect of this is particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). One source of these is smoke. Any smoke will contain particulate matter. I'm not trying to make a case cannabis should be banned or anything. Could be that sex raises the risk of circulatory problems too for some. Few would advocate banning that just because of small risks.

For practitioners reading this article and this study, and considering measures to screen their patients for use? Perhaps also consider this study out last month from Drexel's The Well Center, looking at the relationship between cannabis use and the clinical severity among adults with binge eating.

The press release: https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2024/February/A-Closer-Look-at-Cannabis-Use-and-Binge-Eating.

From the lead: “We hope this research is helpful for clinicians treating patients with binge eating, as it can provide them with updated information about the prevalence of cannabis use in their patients. We recommend that clinicians screen for cannabis and alcohol use in all their patients and assess any potential problems the patient may be experiencing related to their substance use.”

Conclusion? "These findings indicate that a notable subset of patients with BE use cannabis and experience cannabis-related problems, and that cannabis and alcohol use may be related for these individuals."

Links:

Advance online publication version: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpha0000706.

PubMed version: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38236224.

Well, around 7 million a year die from ambient air pollution - indoor and outdoor. One aspect of this is particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). One source of these is smoke. Any smoke will contain particulate matter.

It's a reasonable hypothesis, but are there any studies to support it?

The typical pot fan: "But alcohol beep boop beep but tobacco beep boop beep ... "

"Do hash cookies really raise the risk?"

Yes, of course. Eating HASH ANYTHING raises the risk of heart attack and stroke...ATTARIMAE JYAN!

Rubbish!

Publish your research, maybe win a price too

They’re just scared of the fact more and more people in Japan are using this, more than ever. It’s just a matter of time (decades). CBD finally made the scene.

Maybe another 20 years should do it, of course we have macArthur to thank for it being illegal in the first place…”Google” THAT

The typical pot fan: "But alcohol beep boop beep but tobacco beep boop beep ... "

I don’t drink or do any drugs I’m a teetotaller. But let’s be real. Alcohol is a rasp drug, and cannabis is a medicine.

Alcohol is a rasp drug

Err, hard drug

This whole effort to link cannabis usage to strokes and heart attacks is essentially Custer's Last Stand for the anti-weed crowd.

"Smoking marijuana is not good for you"

Like, hello? We already knew it technically wasn't healthy per se. That still doesn't change the fact that the people advocating for weed enforcement to be rolled back to the 70s have not, in the twelve years since legalization started, produced any evidence of actual signficant risk.

The article tries to establish a link between higher risk of stroke and heart attacks with marijuana usage, but immediately thereafter states the most common method of usage was smoking, not vaping or edibles. I would imagine if you were breathing in any type of smoke all day every day, that could cause health problems. But the technology and science of cannabis has improved drastically since legalization started thanks to new research and data being available. One hit off of a THC vape can induce the same effects as maybe ten or twenty hits of smoked cannabis. So if people have an alternative to smoking, are the same risks still present? I doubt it.

Not only that but now that the vapes are on the market, there is effectively no way to police cannabis use anymore. The only reason enforcing weed laws was possible was due to the pungent smell of cannabis when smoked. Vapes are much more discreet and easier to hide. On top of that, even in states were pot is illegal, THC-A, Delta 8, and HHC all remain fully legal alternatives, and they should rightfully be left alone. Unless people really want to waste taxpayer money playing whack-a-mole, like Japan does.

The typical pot fan: "But alcohol beep boop beep but tobacco beep boop beep ... "

It is not even necessary to make this argument to begin with.

No serious risks stem from cannabis use.

Is smoking cannabis unhealthy? Yes, but you could reduce risk by simply not smoking everyday, or switching to a vape.

Is cannabis addicting? Sure to a minor extent perhaps, but the reason we view drug addiction as dangerous is because meth, crack, and heroin addiction often happens immediately after people try it.

How debilitating is cannabis "addiction"? Basically not at all. The reason heroin or meth addicts are considered dangerous is because they have trouble functioning in society and thus can't work normal jobs, so when they run out of money, they will rob or steal for drug money. I'm aware of instances in which addicts of hard drugs have literally killed their family members in order to get drug money. Name me one weed "addict" who robbed or killed someone to support their habit - you can't.

Is cannabis "addiction" difficult or nearly impossible to overcome? Absolutely not. Addiction to hard drugs creates a strong physical dependency, and people suffering from withdrawal symptoms often have trouble even getting out of bed in the morning. This is not the case with cannabis.

Is cannabis a "gateway drug"? This one is so stupid I'm not even going to bother.

All arguments for cannabis criminality can immediately be dismantled with facts and reason. Thus you are left with the final one: you personally don't like it and want to control what other people do. Sorry, but I don't care about your feelings. You can keep screaming into the void all you like, but anti-weed politics is poor optics for your party of choice and a losing issue overall.

The cannabis industry has money now. Nobody cared in the past because they couldn't influence politics. But now they can. This is going to happen pretty much everywhere whether you like it or not.

The US is the first domino, next is Europe, then finally Asia.

Focus on less trivial matters.

The US is the first domino

Bolivia and Canada were the first dominoes.