The American Heart Association put out two research study findings related to marijuana or cannabis usage. Smoking weed is NOT good for your health – especially your brain and heart health.

The Research Highlights included: “In one study, daily use of marijuana raised the risk of developing heart failure by about one-third, even after considering other factors, compared to people who reported never using marijuana.”

I wonder how Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson will fare in light of this news? Will it change their usage habits? Will it influence how often others are using it?

There is a particular focus on older adults in one of the studies. The research pointed out that there was an “increased risk of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events in elderly non-smokers who used cannabis.” This reminds me that when I am asking clients about their alcohol use I also need to ask about their use of marijuana. The lead study author Avila’s Mondal, M. D., a resident physician, stated that, “Since 2015, cannabis use in the U.S. has almost doubled, and it is increasing in older adults, therefore, understanding the potential increased cardiovascular risk from cannabis use is important.”

Unfortunately, the research didn’t differentiate between eating and inhaling marijuana. I hope they can build upon these findings as we all know how bad smoking is for our health. But we don’t know if the edibles or ingesting it is also as bad.

For the full article, check out this link: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/marijuana-use-linked-with-increased-risk-of-heart-attack-heart-failure

Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW

(Shared with permission.)