OH NO, POT IS MORE DANGEROUS TO HEALTH THAN SMOKING TOBACCO

Marijuana use increases the risk of dying from high blood pressure by MORE THAN three times

By Alexandra Thompson

Daily Mail
August 9, 2017

Marijuana use increases the risk of dying from high blood pressure by more than three times, new research reveals.

This risk increases by more than one time for every year of cannabis use, a study found.

Results suggest marijuana use is more dangerous for heart health than cigarettes, despite certain campaigners insisting cannabis is safer than tobacco.

Experts argue the findings are particularly important given marijuana's legalization in eight US states, including Alaska, California and Colorado.

Lead author Barbara Yankey from Georgia State University, said: 'It is important to establish whether any health benefits outweigh the potential health, social and economic risks.'

How the study was carried out

The researchers analyzed 1,213 people aged 20 or over who had been involved in a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

In 2005 to 2006, the study's participants were asked if they had ever used marijuana and, if so, how old they were when they first started.

Information on cigarette use was also collected.

This data was merged with mortality statistics from the US National Center for Health Statistics.

Marijuana users have a 3.42 times higher risk of a blood pressure-related death

Results reveal marijuana users have a 3.42 times higher risk of a high blood pressure-related death than non-users.

This risk increases by 1.04 times for every year of cannabis use.

Marijuana was found to be more damaging for heart health than tobacco.

Ms Yankey said: 'Marijuana stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increases in heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen demand.

'We found higher estimated cardiovascular risks associated with marijuana use than cigarette smoking.

'This indicates that marijuana use may carry even heavier consequences on the cardiovascular system than that already established for cigarette smoking.'

No link was found between marijuana use and dying from heart disease.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

'It is important to establish whether any health benefits outweigh the risks'

Experts believe the findings could have particular implications in the US, where eight states have legalized marijuana and others are thought to be moving towards it.

Ms Yankey said: 'Support for liberal marijuana use is partly due to claims that it is beneficial and possibly not harmful to health.

'It is important to establish whether any health benefits outweigh the potential health, social and economic risks.

'If marijuana use is implicated in cardiovascular diseases and deaths, then it rests on the health community and policy makers to protect the public.'

Ian Hamilton, a mental health lecturer at York University, who was not involved in the study, added: 'Despite the widely held view that cannabis is benign, this research adds to previous work suggesting otherwise.'
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OH NO, OH NO, GOING FROM BEING AN OCCASIONAL TO EVERY DAY MARIJUANA USER INCREASES A PERSON'S PSYCHOSIS RISK BY UP TO 159 PERCENT

Going from being an occasional marijuana user to indulging every day increases the risk of psychosis by up to 159 percent, research revealed last month.

Marijuana is thought to cause psychosis-like experiences by increasing a user's risk of depression, a study found. The two mental health conditions have previously been linked.

Frequently abusing the substance also significantly reduces a user's ability to resist socially unacceptable behavior when provoked, the research adds.

Study author Josiane Bourque from the University of Montreal, said: 'Our findings confirm that becoming a more regular marijuana user during adolescence is, indeed, associated with a risk of psychotic symptoms.

'[Psychosis symptoms] may be infrequent and thus not problematic for the adolescent, when these experiences are reported continuously, year after year, then there's an increased risk of a first psychotic episode or another psychiatric condition.'