Study: Smoking Marijuana Increases Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke

The analysis examined data from 24 studies, which revealed that the use of marijuana doubles the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, reported The New York Times on Thursday.

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Emilie Jouanjus, a pharmacologist at the University of Toulouse in France and a senior author for the new study, said there are many valid reasons for people to use marijuana, including for anxiety and stress, but people should use the substance with caution.

The greatest risk lies for older adults and people with preexisting conditions, like diabetes, high cholesterol or other heart problems, putting their cardiovascular systems in a more fragile state.

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Stanton Glantz, a former director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, commented that the risks of using marijuana are similar to those faced by light smokers.

The analysis did not examine how often people smoked marijuana but instead compared people who have smoked it compared to those who have not.

However, other studies suggested that people who smoke marijuana are more at risk.

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It also said that with daily use, people were 25% more likely to have a heart attack and 42% more likely to have a stroke.

Ziva Cooper, the director of the Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids at the University of California, Los Angeles, commented that there could be harm among people who have not been exposed to marijuana for long.

Cooper added that it’s difficult to determine, however, whether the amount of THC — the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis — makes a difference. That’s because most people don’t really know how much THC they’re ingesting, even with edible forms that may list inaccurate amounts.

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Most experts, though, suggested that people avoid inhaling when they smoke marijuana, as the chemicals will go deep into the lungs.

However, University of California biologist Matthew Springer commented that the regular use of edibles or smoking marijuana resulted in similar amounts of blood vessel issues.