Going ‘California Sober’ May Be Bad for Your Heart
More people are substituting cannabis for alcohol. Marijuana might not give you a hangover, but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
A plant-based diet?
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesThe evidence is mounting that your daily toke can be bad for your heart. A large new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that the more often someone partakes in cannabis, the higher their risk of heart disease, heart attack or stroke. Daily users had a 25% higher chance of having a heart attack and 42% higher odds of a stroke than non-users.
It’s the latest in a string of studies showing a connection between marijuana and heart health. An important caveat: All of the research is observational, meaning the findings rely on surveys that ask people to recall their habits and health conditions rather than following participants in real time. Our memories are fallible. People can also massage the truth. For example, the self-reported rate of cannabis use in the new study was below what has been seen in other surveys, suggesting some might not have owned up to their habits.