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Maybe it’s cope, but something smells fishy. From the article :
“The analysis, which examined data from 24 studies and was published in the journal Heart, also found that marijuana use was associated with a twofold increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. While this data only shows a correlation and cannot prove that marijuana caused these effects, it is well-established that the drug can raise blood pressure and heart rate and alter the heart’s rhythm,”
“The new analysis didn’t examine how frequently people used marijuana; it only compared people who had ever used marijuana with those who had never used it.”
Call me crazy but a study that qualifies one time use of a wee bit of jazz cabbage equating to a twofold likely hood of death from cardiac issues, (the most prevelant cause of death in the world mind you, NBD) makes my bullshit meter freak out like a drug dog at a Greatful Dead concert.
This could be true, but it comes off as shitty science trying to push an agenda. Maybe the 24 studies that they analyzed were not funded by shady money trying to keep the sticky icky out of the hands of the people, but my gut is that isn’t the case.
Man what’s that saying that scientist are always on about? Something about how correlation doesn’t imply causation…
Fuck this universe
Can someone hook us up with an unpaywalled link?
This seems like an extremely difficult connection to make.
this data only shows a correlation and cannot prove that marijuana caused these effects
Just as I suspected, haha.
From the actual study:
Results Overall, 24 articles were included from 3012 initial records, including 17 cross-sectional studies, 6 cohort studies and 1 case-control study. Exposure corresponded to the use of cannabis in all studies, with one focused on medical cannabis.
At the very least, these numbers include medical cannabis patients which in theory would be prescribed to people with what I would imagine is an above average MACE (major adverse cardiovascular event) risk. Anxiety, eating disorders, depression, whathaveyou.
And to be fair, the study itself only really says that their findings demonstrate enough of a correlation to warrant further research and they make no claim that the link is causation rather than correlation:
Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis uses an original approach centred on real-world data. The findings reveal positive associations between cannabis use and MACE. These findings should encourage investigating cannabis use in all patients presenting with serious cardiovascular disorders.
I gonna hazard a wild guess its more to do with inhaling smoke than the substance itself, but AFAIK the only thing permitted to be researched was pretty shit quality so maybe research is catching up with what people actually have access to?
Who is most at risk? Generally speaking, older adults and people with underlying conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol or pre-existing heart issues are at the greatest risk, experts said. That’s because their cardiovascular systems tend to be more fragile, and marijuana further stresses the heart.
At the most, it seems more honest to suggest that smoking marijuana with preexisting cardiovascular issues may be uniquely harmful. But even within that narrowly defined community I reckon it would be a tall task to isolate the effects of marijuana as a smoking gun (heh) with so many other potentially contributing factors.
Sounds like some good Ole reefer madness to me.
