Thirty years ago, California legalized medical marijuana, sparking a nationwide revolution.
Today, more than 44 million Americans turn to cannabis as a natural way to relax or treat nausea and pain.
But new research reveals this popular pastime may come with a hidden cost, raising your risk of cardiovascular problems as consumption continues to sweep the country.
A study shows that even occasional cannabis use, including marijuana, was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease and and even stronger relationship with stroke.
It’s an important finding when cannabis use has reached historic highs in the US, with up to one in four adults using in the last year.
âAs cannabis use becomes more common, it is increasingly important that people and their healthcare professionals include it in conversations about cardiovascular health, just as they discuss tobacco, alcohol and other commonly used substances,â said study author and heart surgeon Aabha Divya.
Cannabis and heart risks
Researchers had access to an incredible amount of data from almost half a million Americans through the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
From 2020-2024, folks across the country were asked via phone survey how often they used cannabis â including marijuana â through smoking, vaping and edibles over the last month.
Cannabis is the plant itself, while marijuana refers specifically to the parts of the plant that contain levels of the psychoactive THC. Products like non-psychoactive CBD and hemp also come from cannabis, but not marijuana.
Participants were also asked if they’d been diagnosed with a heart attack, heart disease, heart-related chest pain or a stroke.
Researchers found that those who used cannabis occasionally (one to five days in the last month) had a 23% higher chance of reporting a history of cardiovascular disease compared to those who didn’t use cannabis at all.
Interestingly, those odds of cardiovascular disease didn’t increase as marijuana use increased. They also didn’t find any significant link between frequency of cannabis use and heart attack.
âWe were surprised to find that the link between cannabis use and cardiovascular disease was not straightforward,” Divya said.
“We expected that the chances of heart disease would gradually rise as people used cannabis more often, but that wasnât the case. Both low-use and heavy-use groups had higher odds of developing heart disease.”
Cannabis and stroke
Cardiovascular disease is a huge umbrella term for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. In this group, stroke showed the strongest link to cannabis use.
A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is interrupted or blocked, often from a buildup of fatty plaque in the blood, or if a blood vessel leaks or ruptures.
Stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the US.
Researchers found that low-frequency use (one to five days of use in the last month) was associated with a whopping 40% higher odds of stroke. Heavy use (16 to every day of the last month) was associated with 25% higher risk of stroke.
Cannabis is not an ‘innocent bystander’
These associations between cannabis use and cardiovascular risk were seen even after adjusting for risk factors like tobacco smoking, alcohol use, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, physical inactivity, level of education and income.
“Many patients who use cannabis may also smoke tobacco … Cannabis has always been considered an innocent bystander; however, this is not the case,” said Robert L. Page II, chair of the writing group for the American Heart Associationâs 2020 cannabis scientific statement.
âOverall, cannabis is beginning to emerge as a major contributor to premature heart disease in young and older adults, which can lead to serious cardiovascular events,” he said.
Still, the study doesn’t show that cannabis use causes cardiovascular issues. It only measured associations at a single point in time, and relies on self-reported information about cannabis use and heart disease diagnoses.
Authors also note they don’t have information about the potency of the cannabis participants used.
