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Editorial: It Is Time to Treat Cannabis as an Important Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease

This editorial, co-written by Stanton A. Glantz, PhD and PHI’s Lynn Silver, MD, MPH and published in Heart, reviews a new meta-analysis of 24 recent studies, showing significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events among cannabis users.

doctor writing on paper with anatomically correct model of a heart

Cannabis legalization is spreading around the world, and frequent cannabis use has increased in several countries. Although many users believe that cannabis is a safe and natural way to relieve pain, a growing body of evidence suggests that cannabis use may be linked to significant health harms, including cardiovascular disease.

The editorial, “It is time to treat cannabis as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” co-written by Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, Professor of Medicine (retired), University of California San Francisco and Lynn Silver, MD, MPH Director of PHI’s Getting it Right from the Start, and published in Heart, reviews a new meta-analysis of 24 recent studies, showing significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events among cannabis users, including:

  • More than doubling of the risk of cardiovascular death
  • 29% higher risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack)
  • 20% higher risk of stroke
read the editorial
Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease. So too must cardiovascular disease prevention be incorporated into the regulation of cannabis markets. Effective product warnings and education on risks must be developed, required and implemented. Cardiovascular and other health risks must be considered in the regulation of allowable product and marketing design as the evidence base grows. Authors

“It is time to treat cannabis as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” Heart

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