Study Finds No Association Between Cannabis and Stroke Risk

Article by Brendan Bures, The Fresh Toast via Growth Op

Google “Does marijuana increase risk of stroke,” and you’ll likely become confused. Some research, released earlier this year, indicates heavy cannabis consumption doubles the risk of stroke for young people. Other studies have indicated that data used in this research  is closer to correlation than causation.

A new study published in the journal Neurology Clinical Practice aims to add to the understanding. American Academy of Neurology researchers claim there is no link between stroke risk and weed use, based on recent findings.

“Previous studies that investigated cannabis use and risk of stroke have had conflicting results, some showing a decreased risk and others showing a greatly increased risk,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Carmela San Luis, said in a statement.

“Our observational study looked specifically at recent cannabis use by reviewing drug-testing data for people admitted to the hospital. While more research is needed with larger numbers of people, our study lends support to the studies showing that cannabis use does not increase the risk of stroke,” Dr. San Luis said.

For their research, San Luis’s team collected data from 9,350 patients admitted to the hospital who also received a urine test for drug use. (Those who tested positive for drugs other than cannabis were excluded from the study.)

A total of 1,643 people of the group (18 per cent) had cannabis in their system, according to the drug test. They found those who tested negative for marijuana were twice as likely to have had an ischemic stroke than those who tested positive.

Read the full article here.