Latest news with #DrLynnSilver
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Think Weed Is Harmless? This Study Might Change Your Mind
A new international study just delivered a wake-up call to millions of cannabis users: marijuana may be doubling your risk of dying from heart disease. Published in the journal Heart, CNN reported that the analysis pooled medical data from over 200 million people, most between the ages of 19 and 59. It found that marijuana users had a 29 percent higher risk of heart attacks and a 20 percent higher risk of strokes compared to nonusers. The most concerning finding? These risks were seen in young, otherwise healthy individuals with no prior heart conditions. "What was particularly striking was that the concerned patients hospitalized for these disorders were young," said senior study author Émilie Jouanjus, a pharmacology professor at the University of Toulouse. That ruled out tobacco or existing cardiovascular problems as the primary cause. This is one of the largest studies to date linking cannabis use with cardiovascular disease, and its timing is critical. As marijuana legalization expands, use has surged past that of tobacco in some demographics. Many believe marijuana is a safer, more natural alternative to smoking. Experts say that perception needs to change—fast. "Clinicians need to screen people for cannabis use and educate them about its harms, the same way we do for tobacco," said Dr. Lynn Silver of the University of California, San Francisco. Silver co-authored an editorial accompanying the study, calling for urgent updates to how marijuana is regulated and discussed publicly. The risks don't stop at inhalation. One recent study found that THC-laced edibles can impair vascular function just as much—or more—than smoking. In that study, vascular function dropped 42 percent in marijuana smokers and 56 percent in edible users. And the potency? It's not 1970 anymore. Today's cannabis is up to 510 times stronger than the joints of decades past, with some concentrates reaching 99 percent pure THC. That's raising alarms about addiction, psychosis, and now, potentially fatal heart problems. "If I was a 60-year-old with cardiovascular risk, I'd be very cautious," Silver warned. Think Weed Is Harmless? This Study Might Change Your Mind first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 18, 2025
CBS News
17-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Cannabis use linked to a doubled risk of heart disease death, new study finds
New study links marijuana use to increased risk of heart attack and stroke With growing marijuana use across the country, studies have looked at the link between cannabis use and cardiovascular problems — but new research is showing the magnitude of such risk. In the study, published Tuesday in the journal Heart, researchers found cannabis use is linked to a doubled risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 29% higher risk for acute coronary syndrome and 20% higher risk for stroke. The authors analyzed data from 24 studies published from 2016 to 2023. "Our results provide a fully comprehensive report of the recent situation towards the cardiovascular health of cannabis users," the authors wrote, but added there were some study limitations, including potential imprecise dosage measurements. With recreational marijuana legal in 24 states, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to reclassify the drug to a less dangerous category under the Controlled Substances Act. Daily marijuana users now outnumber daily drinkers for the first time ever, according to a Carnegie Mellon University report last year. The preference shift is largely being driven by young people. For example, 69% of people aged 18 to 24 prefer marijuana to alcohol, according to a 2022 survey by New Frontier Data, a cannabis research firm. Due to increased usage, the perception of risk around marijuana has declined, health experts Dr. Lynn Silver of the Public Health Institute and Stanton Glantz, emeritus professor of the University of California at San Francisco, write in an editorial note that was published alongside the research, but the results of the study highlight the potential health effects. In the note, the authors called for the drug to "be treated like tobacco: not criminalized but discouraged," including added protection of bystanders from secondhand exposure. They also called for more research on whether cardiovascular risks are limited to inhaled products, which made up the majority of cases in the meta-analysis, or extend to other forms of cannabis exposure.
