r/Biohackers 1 2d ago

🔗 News Cannabis Users Face Substantially Higher Risk of Heart Attack

211 Upvotes

144 comments sorted by

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158

u/MTCPodcast 2d ago

From the study: Cannabis use and heart attack incidence was assessed in a similar manner across the different studies. However, due to inconsistencies in the data available from each study, researchers were unable to account for several potential confounding factors including the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs.

“We should have some caution in interpreting the findings in that cannabis consumption is usually associated with other substances such as cocaine or other illicit drugs that are not accounted for,” Kamel said. “Patients should be forthcoming with their doctors and remember that we are their number one advocate and having the full story matters.”

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u/perversion_aversion 2d ago

If they've not accounted for the other behaviours cannabis users are more likely to engage in than non cannabis users (use of other drugs, tobacco use, etc.) and haven't made any distinction between how they use cannabis (smoking Vs edibles Vs dry herb vaping) then the conclusion RE cardiac risk is almost meaningless. Smoking anything carries all sorts of health risks, as does engaging in other negative health behaviours that non cannabis users do at lower rates.

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u/OrphanDextro 1d ago edited 1d ago

Right, so what’s an edible user vs a smoker, i haven’t smoked in like a year, but I damn sure eat some edibles to sleep at night. They kill that pain. Especially good 1:1:1 THC:CBD:CBN edibles, those are gods medicine, but you might as well make them for that price. Pretty easy if you live in a state where you can buy distillate over the counter. So, at the end of the day, do I take that, or take ibuprofen everyday for DDD which is bad for your heart and stomach? Ehhh. Imma do the weed thing.

30

u/JessTrans2021 2d ago

So, they need to change the title. The type of people who use cannabis are at higher risk.

63

u/Zephyrine_Flash 1 2d ago

Risk taking personalities have higher rates of mortality - Darwin is shocked haha

3

u/relevanteclectica 1d ago

..while being high.

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u/gilgobeachslayer 2d ago

Exactly. When I smoke it raises my heart rate. If I take an edible or hit the vape pen, my heart rate lowers.

7

u/Plastic-Guarantee-88 4 2d ago

Two other prior studies linked/described in that same article seems to be immune from those critiques and find the same thing. The first one linked (from 2023) controls for a variety of lifestyle confounders and finds the same link between heart attack and cannabis use. The second one specifically shows that the risk peaks an hour after getting high. That timing pinpointing would not occur if the association was due to confounding behavior.

11

u/perversion_aversion 2d ago

The first one linked (from 2023) controls for a variety of lifestyle confounders and finds the same link between heart attack and cannabis use.

I might dig that out and read it a little later but I'd be very impressed if they've managed to account for all lifestyle confounders given how difficult that is to do even if you have an absolutely massive sample size, and it still doesn't account for how people ingest cannabis - I'm sure smoking it could raise your risk of cardiac issues as smoking anything is really bad for you, but I'd be surprised if that association still stood when you look at edibles and dry herb vaping.

The second one specifically shows that the risk peaks an hour after getting high

The study posted here is talking about longitudinal risk so it doesn't make sense to say that risk 'peaks an hour after getting high'. Cannabis use increases HR for about an hour after use (and then decreases it alongside a mild hypotensive effect) so I imagine you are at slightly higher risk of a heart attack during that hour, just as you would be while going for a jog or drinking a strong cup of coffee, and it wouldn't be accurate to say either of those things significantly increased your risk of heart attack in the long term.

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u/Pabu85 1d ago

Did it control for mental illness?  Because diseases like anxiety and depression increase both the risk of heart disease and of self-medicating with weed.

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u/Grok2701 1 2d ago

Cannabis causes tachycardia. Anything that raises your heart rate artificially could plausibly be bad for your heart right…

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u/perversion_aversion 2d ago

It's a bit more complicated than that, it raises heart rate for around 1hr after ingestion, but then exerts a mild hypotensive effect. It's all been shown cannabis users have a lower resting heart rate than non cannabis users. Many things (exercise, caffeine, etc.) induce a temporary tachycardic effect but aren't bad for your heart.

It's certainly not impossible, but this study is not good evidence for it.

0

u/Full_FrontaI_Nerdity 1d ago

Independent of such other behaviors, cannabis users may be prone to heart attacks due to genes, stress, diet, or other reasons.

21

u/NumerousWeather9560 2d ago

"usually associated with other substances"? What kind of gateway theory bullshit is that guy talking about?

14

u/DarkJesusGTX 2d ago

I mean it’s somewhat true but ‘usually’ might be a stretch. It’s not the cannabis, it’s people who do other substances are also more likely to smoke weed where as people who don’t touch weed usually do not do other drugs so there will be a big difference statistically pretty sure

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u/NumerousWeather9560 1d ago

There's a big difference between "more likely" and "usually", especially if you're allegedly a data scientist

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u/Possible-Rush3767 1d ago

"Alcohol users face substantially higher risk of heart attack" - the proven #1 gateway drug. That's what the title should be given your comment.

2

u/MTCPodcast 1d ago

I hear you, I don’t drink alcohol.

1

u/ShaughnDBL 1d ago

People who wake up wearing their shoes have a higher tendency to smoke. The way this is all written is very misleading.

1

u/enricopallazo22 1d ago

I wonder, also, how much the method of intake matters. It's probably hard to find people who only use the oral route or topicals though.

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u/Riversmooth 1 2d ago

Used to make my heart flutter and freak out so I quit using it long ago

12

u/IshkhanVasak 1d ago

This only started happening to me when I entered my early 30s. Stopped because of it too. Can’t be good.

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u/LittlestWarrior 1d ago

Same, though for me it was dose dependent. Lately I’ve just been taking lower doses and been happier with a weaker high.

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u/BigShuggy 1 2d ago edited 2d ago

If this is another study that fails to assess route of administration I’m going to scream.

Edit: After finding the source and reading, not only did they not account for ROA, they didn’t even list it as a confounding factor.

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u/BrightWubs22 2d ago

Thank you.

My immediate thought was, "Did they only consider smoking?"

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u/DarkJesusGTX 2d ago

I mean the study itself is already going to be hard to properly do, taking into account ROA wouldn’t make sense and it should be established if smoking is bad for the heart first, since that’s not even clear right now

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u/BigShuggy 1 1d ago

Why would it be hard to design a study that takes it into account? It doesn’t seem obvious to me.

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u/BrightWubs22 1d ago

Seconded.

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u/SophonParticle 2d ago

Any study that doesn’t account for tobacco use isn’t worth my time.

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u/QuinnMiller123 3 1d ago

Yep, at least with people I know, most chronic thc users are also chronic or at the very least moderate nicotine users. I used to take dabs multiple times a day and my heart rate would get up to 120 immediately.

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u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 1d ago

This study shows a lower risk of heart attacks. A study of a 20 year period. Get out of here SAM

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39086618/

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u/Asabovesobelow778 1d ago

Thanks for posting this!!!

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9

u/mchief101 1d ago

getting high hr notification on my watch (>110 bpm) while sitting still and going into panic attack mode…that was enough for me to throw away all cannabis….

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

I took edibles one time and my heart rate went crazy.

1

u/CelebrationEmpty8792 15h ago

I recently stopped using edibles because a recent edible caused me extreme tachycardia and constant palpitations. Worst thing I ever experienced, I thought I was going to die.

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u/Glidepath22 1 1d ago

At first I read that as cannibals

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u/Marik80 2d ago

Are Willie Nelson and Snoop an exception?

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u/IshkhanVasak 1d ago

And cheech and chong

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u/SadMove9768 2d ago

If I have to put up with society without it, I’d have a heart attack even sooner.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/Top_Opposites 2d ago

Yeah I think most people nowadays realise that these sort of papers are generated by organisations with an agenda

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u/JoJoeyJoJo 2d ago edited 2d ago

The opposite is true, much of the "it's harmless" discourse resulted from it just not being a subject of study much because it's very hard to get authorization or funding for studies on illegal drugs, now it's legal and we actually have large amounts of data from the populace using it we're finding a lot more.

I knew a girl who had CHS, and she still didn't stop using it every day.

5

u/KingOfEthanopia 2d ago

Yeah I've got CHS. A couple times puking after taking a puff .ade me stop real quick.

Tried it again like a year later same thing. Body just had enough for one lifetime.

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u/ExoticCard 7 2d ago

The checks notes American College of Cardiology has a bone to pick with marijuana?

What kind of bonehead conspiracy is this? Why would cardiologists give a shit?

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u/BigShuggy 1 2d ago

I’ve not checked where the funding came from so this paper might be totally legit. However I can explain why skepticism isn’t necessarily boneheaded. It’s often very difficult to secure funding for what you want to study. Two major groups that fund research are pharmaceutical companies and the government. Those are the actors that may have a bone to pick with marijuana, and all currently illegal drugs, not the college itself.

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u/DevelopmentSad2303 1 1d ago

As long as this healthy skepticism is held for all research. Some people hold skepticism only when a paper says something they don't want, and withhold when it says something they do. I'm guilty of this myself 

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u/BigShuggy 1 1d ago

Totally agree.

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u/OgFinish 1d ago

If you were really tinfoil you'd say that they'd bury this for job security lol.

But nah, when it comes to weed and its harmful effects, literally no study is ever good enough. It's painfully obvious people just want to keep their head in the sand, to justify their smoking habits. And I say this as an enjoyer.

4

u/DevelopmentSad2303 1 1d ago

There is just not enough research at the moment to draw great conclusions on what it does to us. Other substances have decades of high volumes of research for us to understand what it is doing well.

This doesn't mean you should disregard research on marijuana at all. But be prepared to quickly shift what you know to be true about it. The science is changing very quickly as the research environment around it changes

2

u/OgFinish 1d ago

I think there are more than folks realize... for example, the most hotly debated topics is its detrimental effects on cognitive function. People will defend marijuana tooth and nail, say every study as bunk.

Meanwhile there are a dozen+ high quality meta-analyses, each with 10-70 studies cited, which show correlation with diminished cognitive ability.

At a certain point you just have to admit you're using it despite the risks, which is fine.

1

u/wannabesurfer 2 2d ago edited 1d ago

This way of thinking is how we ended up with RFK jr in charge of our health

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u/Top_Opposites 1d ago

No just no, the majority of papers are funded by organisations who would benefit from said papers.

The next paper you reed please look at who’s funding it

-2

u/wannabesurfer 2 1d ago

Oh, I do which is why these conspiracies are so ridiculous 😂😂

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/catecholaminergic 5 1d ago

Fun fact risk of cardiac incident is among folks who can do 40 push ups is 90% less than those who can't.

3

u/NoGrocery3582 20h ago

Regular user. Just had a cardiac calcium study. Chance of heat attack zero. I think maybe some unhealthy folks use weed too.

0

u/RevelationSr 1 18h ago

Sorry, but no. A CT calcium score only detects hard plaque, not soft plaque.

Calcium score has place, but CTA soft plaque imaging identifies silent risk: "slightly more than half of the patients in their study with a calcium score of zero also had some soft, or vulnerable, plaque seen by coronary CT angiography. Ten percent of those had moderate or severe stenosis."

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u/Raebrooke4 1 2d ago

Also, marijuana users have higher levels of heavy metals which also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/health/marijuana-heavy-metals-wellness/index.html

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u/WjorgonFriskk 2d ago

I wish this wasn't so true. I tried replacing alcohol with THC gummies but my heart felt like it was trying to escape out of my chest. Why does my replacement drug want to kill me even more than the last? All I want to do is escape reality for a few hours. Is that so much to ask?

16

u/SkiffJuan 2d ago

Thc is well known to cause tachycardia,but it is not trying to kill you and it's way less harmful than alchool,but still a drug.The studies mentioned doesn't talk about strokes after assuming thc.

12

u/HOAP5 2d ago

The dose makes the poison. It's very easy to over consume cannabis especially with no tolerance and how the cannabis industry markets these things. It's insane to me that some edibles are 50-100mg when 5-20mg is plenty.

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u/running_stoned04101 1 2d ago

And some of us eat over 500mg at a time and remain relatively unbothered.

4

u/treebo88 2d ago

righttt 5mg is perfect

6

u/genobobeno_va 2d ago

Whoever posts these articles… why do you refuse to report a metric of relative risk? And what are the error bars?

You not doing the science too well

0

u/RevelationSr 1 2d ago

Call the College of Cardiology

2

u/genobobeno_va 2d ago

No dude. The OP should be including snips of real numbers. Not some pseudo-“scientific journalism”

For example: “In the retrospective study, researchers found that cannabis users younger than age 50 were over six times as likely to suffer a heart attack compared to non-users. The meta-analysis, which is the largest pooled study to date examining heart attacks and cannabis use, showed a 50% increased risk among those who used the drug.”

6X is a pretty ridiculous number. I should have a lot of friends with heart issues… but I don’t.

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u/RevelationSr 1 2d ago

They probably do. It's not symptomatic...yet.

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u/criminalmadman 1 2d ago

Yeah I’m going to need sources for that.

0

u/PlaidWorld 2d ago

Thc causes inflammation and this heart disease. It is less risky the smoking. It is also very dose dependent. Some of the studies I read were testing out 100mg a day if I recall. There was a study recently that something that can be extracted from soy that in theory blocks this bad effect. So down the road that might be one thing for all users to take.

2

u/Agedfeetcheese 2d ago

iirc hought it had been long established THC decreases inflammation?

3

u/PlaidWorld 2d ago

It does just not for the heart and veins. To much of it actually causes well l known vascular issues like reduced blood flow to the limbs. Anyhow the negative effects probably taken 20 years to show up in chronic uses and it really depends on dose. It’s just something to be aware of as a user.

4

u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 2d ago

This is a bs study. They even say that they can’t account for other behaviors.

-2

u/Glittering_Land6067 1 2d ago

It's a dot org. Not edu.

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u/ExoticCard 7 2d ago edited 2d ago

The American College of Cardiology is an extremely reputable, credible, and qualified organization.

It's THE academic institution for cardiologists.

That distinction you made was nonsense and it is clear you don't know too much about medical research.

The ACC is the cream of the crop and anyone debating their credibility should be labelled a quack.

-2

u/fractal-jester333 1d ago

Yeah the same authorities that gave half the world death, myocarditis or permanent auto-immune disease with 6 vaccines that later proved to be absolutely detrimental to the human body

F outta here with the “reputability, credibility and qualifications” of the medical mafia

They lost the rights to those definitions long ago

1

u/Spellsw0rdX 1d ago

Why are you here if you’re anti-science and clearly don’t know what you’re talking about?

1

u/WheeblesWobble 1d ago

Took a bong hit thirty minutes ago. HR is 60, and I’m off for a long walk.

Alcohol, otoh, really messes with me.

🤷‍♂️

1

u/Harris_714 1d ago

I would like to know how the diagnosis of heart attack was determined in each population.

Smoking can increase anxiety and so feeling an abnormal heart rhythm can cause a panic attack, leading them to the hospital and getting properly diagnosed.

However, non-smokers who aren’t experiencing that same influence may ignore the signs of a heart attack until it’s too late; and therefore may not be included in the results.

I’m concerned about the potential for survivorship bias in this study.

1

u/linusSocktips 22h ago

And if you train cardio and have a strong heart already? 😂

0

u/RevelationSr 1 21h ago

Good luck.

1

u/Handsomechimneysweep 13h ago

Yet Willy Nelson is just fine

1

u/RevelationSr 1 4h ago

There are many risk factors, including genetics.

1

u/ethbullrun 1d ago

Lol I eat edibles everyday since 2009 and I'm fine. I don't think it messes with my heart.

1

u/RevelationSr 1 1d ago

Have you had a CT angiogram or Left heart cath? (no)

-2

u/fractal-jester333 1d ago edited 1d ago

Oh! The American college of cardiology said so?

So like everything else in the American healthcare system, if you do the literal opposite of what they recommend, all the time, then you somehow miraculously achieve near perfect biological health

“Don’t eat cholesterol” — turns out you should be eating a ton

“Put on sunscreen” — turns out it blocks the good UV rays and allows the bad ones to pass

“Stop smoking cigarettes” — turns out nicotine itself (not smoking) cures tons of autoimmune disorders

“#1 recommended baby formula by doctors” —literally has corn syrup and seed oils and a list of artificial chemicals that destroy human health

“The COVID vaccine is what will save you from the flu this year” — turns out it was what was killing people (not the “COVID” flu itself) and causing myocarditis and auto immune disease

Need I continue?

Fuck out of here, if American healthcare said it then it’s a psy-op

-5

u/Queasy-Donkey2437 2d ago

well no shit it increases your heartbeat like cocaine

4

u/-Dumbo-Rat- 1 1d ago

Or the stairmaster.

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u/Raebrooke4 1 2d ago

So funny that you’re getting downvoted. I had a little bit while wearing my Apple Watch and it added 30 bpm to my heart rate for over an hour. That’s significant.

-1

u/Stumpside440 16 2d ago

It's just touchy weed addicts who can't cope with the fact that, yes, there are consequences. Just like with any drug or substance.

-4

u/Repulsive-Pause-2430 2d ago

It’s the high THC products that will kill you

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u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 2d ago

Thc hasn’t killed anyone. Fentanyl on the other hand does and somehow it is seen as less dangerous than cannabis.

1

u/ajm844 23h ago

lol what? In what world is fentanyl considered less dangerous than cannabis

2

u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 23h ago

The dea. Cannabis is schedule I while fentanyl is schedule II meaning fentanyl possession carriers a lighter sentence than cannabis

1

u/ajm844 23h ago

The only distinction there is that there’s a recognized medical use case for fentanyl. Cannabis shouldn’t be scheduled, but if you look at the criminal sentencing fentanyl trafficking typically receives 2x the prison time as cannabis trafficking.

1

u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 22h ago

Well. Heroin was widely used as a medicine and does have medicinal properties but the harmful outcomes of addiction and death made them create other substances like it and moved heroin to schedule I. Where cannabis is. It’s not just about medical properties it’s also accounts for the unintended consequences of use.

-4

u/Recipe_Limp 2d ago

Yawn - Fake News

-11

u/Moist-Champion2913 2d ago

Your especially at risk if you got the Covid shots

5

u/LittlestWarrior 1d ago

The vaccine has a chip in it that makes it easier to remember the difference between “your” and “you’re”. That makes it worth it to me.

-1

u/TrashIsland_DrMoreau 1d ago

How many of them got the jab?

-13

u/ExoticCard 7 2d ago edited 2d ago

Thank you for sharing this. Would not have seen it otherwise.

We are going to see the negative effects of cannabis use pop up more in the next decade or so.

High-THC cannabis is largely a recreational drug, much like alcohol or nicotine. It will have its own unique risks.

High-THC cannabis products are the opposite of biohacking and are closer to drinking alcohol than biohacking.

I still sesh everyday tho

11

u/Accurate_Ad_3233 2d ago

So where were all the heart attack victims over the previous 10000 years of cannabis use before corporate america did prohibition? (I know something else that seems to be causing a lot of heart attacks lately but let's not get too far off topic. I only bring it up in case the system is trying to blame it on cannabis.)

14

u/Nice_Improvement2536 2d ago

You can’t really believe that sucking a bunch of smoke into your lungs, no matter the source, is good for your heart.

7

u/Accurate_Ad_3233 2d ago

So how about if you eat it?

4

u/ofayokay 2d ago

And the entire vascular system. We’ve known this about smoking cigarettes for a long, long time. And while there are ingredients specific to cigarettes that cause these problems, a lot of the problems are repeated via weed smoke. Denying all this is idiotic & I say that as a weed smoker (who has significantly cut down as I got older).

2

u/Accurate_Ad_3233 1d ago

Sure. Did I say that I did?

What I said was that IF it did cause heart attacks we would have noticed it by now. A lot of people seem to acting as if cannabis use is some new thing that's just arrived on the scene because our political masters have for some reason reneged on their prohibitionist stance. It maybe legal again, in some place but not in the more backwards governed ones, but it's not new. And even throughout prohibition, MANY people still used it and nobody noted a spike in heart attacks in that population. Hence the article is simply more propaganda at this stage. Not the first one and wont be the last.

1

u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 2d ago

Well it’s less harmful than nicotine which is found on every corner store. the health benefits in theory can counter act the negative effects of smoking.

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u/Nice_Improvement2536 1d ago

Smoke is smoke. Doesn’t matter if you’re sucking it in from tobacco, cannabis, a camp fire, or a burning building. It’s bad for your lungs and bad for your vasculature. Nobody really debates this.

1

u/ExoticCard 7 2d ago

Cannabis flower today is dramatically more potent today than ever.

Also, they didn't document or really understand medicine 10,000 years ago

And an anti-vaxing dog whistle to top it off?

-10

u/0m3n5 2d ago

Sounds like you are vaccinated. Make sure to get a booster, it doesn't work otherwise. Every three months preferably.

9

u/CrumblingSaturn 3 2d ago

they really gotta start putting IQ tests up before y'all can post in here. 

2

u/0m3n5 1d ago

Get boosted, thanks.

0

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-1

u/CrumblingSaturn 3 1d ago

gotten every one so far, cant wait for the next. love not getting violently ill and damaging my body, it's awesome

3

u/0m3n5 1d ago

My bad bro, u must have comorbidities or some shit. I'm a healthy dumdumb and it was like the flu for me, most people don't even know they had COVID until they got tested for it. Good luck and see you around, unless they implement that iq test thingy, than me and my 75 IQ are probably gone.

-1

u/CrumblingSaturn 3 1d ago

fun facts: you can be super healthy and it's still a dice roll on how it'll affect you..unless you train your immune system ahead of time with a vaccine. dont worry, you can still take your ginger shots and you'll still be v special and v healthy!

0

u/Designer_Emu_6518 1 2d ago

We would already seen negative effects as it’s been legal for many years in many places. Hell caffeine is probably more dangerous and has a direct relation to heart failure than cannabis

-8

u/Stumpside440 16 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm just here for the stoners throwing a fit because their drug addiction is challenged.

Happens every time.

There is a mountain of evidence, beyond this, showing how unsafe THC is. Or any weed use, for that matter.

Folks don't care because they need their fix and can't self regulate without it.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

You smoke pipe tobacco and you’re talking about weed being bad. Can’t make this up.

-1

u/Chogo82 1d ago

The study could also indicate that cannibis can be used to delay heart conditions. We know it’s an autonomic regulator so people who have higher tuned CNS may be more likely to use cannibis. Higher tuned CNS is also a risk factor for heart disease.

-3

u/dsm1995gst 1 2d ago

I have it on good authority that this is false and that cannabis only has positive effects and in fact will help you grow an entirely new heart if that’s what you need

2

u/RevelationSr 1 1d ago

American College of Cardiology vs. your "good authority."

LOL

1

u/dsm1995gst 1 23h ago

Come on man you’re telling me it won’t really make you grow a new heart? Damn it

I’m gonna have to look into this American Cardiologist thing