https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2834540
People who use marijuana are putting themselves at up to twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying from heart disease.
University of California researchers reviewed 24 studies involving 200million people to investigate the relationship between weed and cardiovascular disease, stroke and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) – a group of heart conditions in which there is reduced or blocked blood flow to the heart, such as a heart attack.
They found there was a 29 percent higher risk of ACS, a 20 percent higher risk for stroke and double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, which includes coronary artery disease, heart failure and irregular heartbeats.
Cardiovascular disease is America’s number one killer and nearly 1 million people die of it every year.
Because of its harmful side effects, the researchers are calling on regulators to treat marijuana like tobacco – not criminalized, but highly discouraged – and raise awareness of the risks to people who are exposed to marijuana smoke secondhand.