Cannabis Use Linked to Elevated Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Risk
Cannabis use may increase the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke independent of tobacco use, according to recent findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Compared with nonusers, daily cannabis consumers had
25% higher odds of myocardial infarction and
42% higher odds of stroke.
More frequent use was associated with a greater possibility of adverse cardiovascular outcomes regardless of whether cannabis was smoked, eaten, or vaporized.
This recent ASCO guideline documents the evidence in support of the use of cannabis and cannabinoids in adults with cancer. The guideline highlights the lack of evidence for the use of cannabis and cannabinoids as a cancer-directed therapy and recommends discouraging their use in this regard. The limited evidence available supporting the role of cannabis and cannabinoids as an adjuvant supportive therapy is reviewed.
The guideline will help inform clear and nonjudgmental communication between providers and patients with cancer in regard to the use of cannabis and cannabinoid products.
Intentional, suspected suicidal cannabis exposures reported to US poison centers increased from 2009 to 2021. Increases during and after the pandemic were notable and greatest among children and females. Most involved other substances; due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, we could not identify a causal association between cannabis use and a suicide attempt. Associations between cannabis use and mental health, especially among younger users, have been reported. Our findings suggest that deleterious medical outcomes occur frequently among older adults. Explanations could include interactions between age-related conditions and medications.
As pot usage surges, sensible regulation is lagging behind
Cannabis-related traffic fatalities are a threat to public safety. Governments need to get serious.
Marijuana legalization is killing a lot of people. Not slowly — though some studies suggest that it may be doing that, too — but quickly, in car crashes. It’s one more symptom of the disastrous rush by lawmakers to capitalize on cannabis sales without doing the hard work needed to keep the public safe. In Canada, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, one study found a 475% increase in emergency-room visits for cannabis-related crashes in Ontario between 2010 and 2021. Many more cases likely went undetected, owing to a dearth of reliable testing for driving while high. In the US, the proportion of motor-vehicle fatalities involving cannabis use soared to 21.5% in 2018, up from 9% in 2000. One analysis found a 10% increase in vehicular deaths, on average, following legalization by states. In California, the increase was 14%; in Oregon, it was 22%. This suggests that more than 1,000 Americans could be dying annually because of marijuana-related accidents — and that’s just in states where legalization has occurred. Given the ease of transporting the drug across state lines, the real number could be far higher.
The cause of these deaths isn’t just the drug itself. It’s ignorance. A recent study found that about half of marijuana users thought they were OK to drive 90 minutes after inhaling or ingesting the drug, yet their driving performance in a simulated vehicle was as bad as it had been after 30 minutes. The best available evidence suggests that people should wait a minimum of four hours before getting behind the wheel; some experts recommend eight to 12 hours.
When you have ‘formulations’ not pharmaceuticals being peddled as medicine, then recreational cannabis use is easy to ‘hide’. In fact it was a key strategy of pro-cannabis lobby to get legalisation for recreational use of the highly engineer drug. (Source: SBS Story here)
World Federation Against Drugs (W.F.A.D) Dalgarno Institute is a member of this global initiative. For evidence based data on best practice drug policy in the global context.
The Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. is to reduce the use of illegal drugs. We work to achieve this mission by conducting research, promoting ideas that are affordable and scalable...
Drug Free Australia Website. Drug Free Australia is a peak body, representing organizations and individuals who value the health and wellbeing of our nation...
(I.T.F.S.D.P) This international peak body continues to monitor and influence illicit drug policy on the international stage. Dalgarno Institute is a member organisation.
The National Alliance for Action on Alcohol is a national coalition of health and community organisations from across Australia that has been formed with the goal of reducing alcohol-related harm.
RiverMend Health is a premier provider of scientifically driven, specialty behavioral health services to those suffering from alcohol and drug dependency, dual disorders, eating disorders, obesity and chronic pain.
