France Sees Small Increase In Pot-Related Heart Problems

[zachw]

 

The number of heart complications attributed to marijuana use increased slightly in France between 2006 and 2010, according to a new study. 

 

The number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems blamed on marijuana increased from five events in 2006 to 11 events in 2010. "It is true that we don't have a lot of cases, but it is important to keep in mind that cannabis use may be harmful," Emilie Jouanjus told Reuters Health. Jouanjus is the study's lead author from Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France. While using tobacco, not exercising and being overweight or obese are known risk factors for heart disease, Jouanjus and her colleagues write in the Journal of the American Heart Association that past studies have also pointed to pot use. The way pot may trigger cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and diseased arteries is still unknown, however.

 

While the drug is legal in many U.S. states for medical purposes, it remains illegal to use recreationally in all states except Washington and Colorado. There has also been concern over a possible link between pot use and schizophrenia. Researchers can't say pot causes mental illness, though (see Reuters Health story of March 1, 2010 here: reut.rs/UTytfx.)

 

For the new study, the researchers used information from centers around France that collect data on the impact of drugs on public health. The centers collect reports from doctors who are legally obligated to report serious medical events that are related to drug use. From 2006 through 2010, there were about 10,000 reports of medical events related to drug use in France. Of those, about one-fifth were attributed to pot use. Thirty-five were cardiovascular events related to pot use, nine of which ended with the person's death.

 

Jouanjus emphasized that the reports do not just mean the person was smoking pot at the time of the heart complication. It would also be reported if a drug was one of the only factors that could have caused the problem, for instance. In 2006, 1.1 percent of medical events thought to be caused by pot were cardiovascular events. That increased to 3.6 percent in 2010. Most of the heart-related events were heart attacks, and most of the cases were among men and younger people.

 

"The central message of this publication is that cannabis use is not harmless," Jouanjus said. "It can be harmful and can lead to serious complications among patients who are young." She added that the results may be an underrepresentation of the actual number of heart events related to pot use, because doctors may not report some cases and patients may be reluctant to admit that they use pot.

 

The researchers can't say exactly why there was an increase in marijuana-linked heart problems. Dr. Shereif Rezkalla, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the new study, told Reuters Health that patients should be forthcoming about any substances they are using. Doctors shouldn't be afraid to ask their patients about drug use either, he said. Rezkalla is a cardiologist at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. "We all know that legalizing marijuana is a controversial subject," he said. "We know when it's used as medicinal marijuana there is no problem with that with anybody. It helps some people with some conditions. The concern is for recreational use."

 

He said the U.S. should adopt a similar system as France to collect information on medical events related to pot - especially since it is now legal for recreational use in two states.

 

"We are not against people having fun, but I'd like them to have fun and live," Rezkalla said.

 

Original article here.

 

The link in the article to the AMA editor Recreational Marijuana Use: Is it Safe for Your Patient? can be found here.http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/3/2/e000904.full

[t-pain]

"but it is important to keep in mind that cannabis use may be harmful,"

 

this is utterly the wrong way to hypothesize a theory to study.

for shame junk science. for shame. statistically irrelevent for 5 more people.

 

""The central message of this publication is that cannabis use is not harmless," Jouanjus said. "It can be harmful and can lead to serious complications among patients who are young." "

 

an unproven theory is now fact? no. noooooo.

 

"most of the cases were among men and younger people."

 

this is one of the strangest parts of the propaganda war.

why do they focus so much on young men? testicular cancer propaganda? etc?

women use cannabis too. but always the propaganda focuses on the men.

[tooldini]

Didn't the study use people that had heart problems in their family? Maybe I read it wrong but if that's the case its a stupid study since those people already had a good chance of problems. Also it seems that many marijuana smokers also smoke cigarettes. this would also makes studies difficult.

[t-pain]

general rule when reading these studies is the link the researchers make is usually the opposite of reality.

so this study it says pot causes heart problems.

probably means marijuana is good for your heart.

 

same thing happened when they said you would get lung cancer. then they found out marijuana kills cancer.

they said marijuana would cause more accidents. then the stats come out that medical marijuana states have less accidents.

 

look heres 1 minute in google search for marijuana good heart

the result?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23537701

 

An ultra-low dose of tetrahydrocannabinol provides cardioprotection.

"All protocols of THC administration were found to be beneficial."

 

now you can say, its a rat study. sure.

but wheres the study on humans to see if marijuana causes heart attacks? there is none. theres a bunch of studies that show marijuana causes irregular heart beats and faster heart beats. and those studies then make the assumption that irregular or faster heart beats cause heart attacks.

 

no study showing rats with mj have heart attacks.

 

isnt that interesting? dont you think the rat gentlemen would try to give rats heart attacks with marijuana by now?

just more 'pot causes heart attacks' theories.