Cannabis, or marijuana, is a controversial drug. Its proponents maintain that it can be harmless, but new research shows that it comes with health threats similar to smoking cigarettes.
The American Heart Association says smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to have a heart attack or stroke in middle age with no prior indication they had cardiovascular disease – sometimes with fatal consequences. Smokers also developed cardiovascular disease up to five years earlier than nonsmokers, which led to a significantly shorter lifespan, the research showed.
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Now a study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that people who smoke marijuana on a regular basis have a 25% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug.
The researchers surveyed 435,000 American adults who smoke marijuana.
The new study similarly found that smoking marijuana less frequently is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Weekly users of cannabis showed a 3% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 5% increased likelihood of stroke.
The researchers said that about 75% of the study respondents reported that they mainly used cannabis by smoking the drug. Approximately 25% of the respondents reported using cannabis by some method other than smoking, such as vaping, drinking, or eating the drug.
“We know that toxins are released when cannabis is burned, similar to those found in tobacco smoke,” said corresponding author Abra Jeffers, Ph.D., a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and formerly a researcher at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, where she conducted the study as part of her postdoctoral work.
“We’ve known for a long time that smoking tobacco is linked to heart disease, and this study is evidence that smoking cannabis appears to also be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States,” Jeffers said. “Cannabis use could be an important, underappreciated source of heart disease.”
The study’s authors explained that cannabis consumption in America has increased significantly within the past 20 years nationwide as negative perceptions of its use have declined, according to government surveys of drug use and health. In the United States, cannabis is now legal in 38 states for medicinal use and in 24 states for recreational use. Some studies have linked its regular use to impaired brain development and lung damage, as well as to certain cardiovascular diseases. However, there are gaps in knowledge about the adverse effects of cannabis on the heart.
