New research suggests that smoking weed is far from benign: Toking every day might raise your odds of heart disease.
The increased risk is not insignificant. Daily marijuana users are about one-third more likely to develop coronary artery disease, compared with people who have never used the drug, researchers say.
For anyone with a heart condition, he recommends avoiding cannabis altogether. "I would stay away from it," he said.
Kuvin is especially concerned for young people who believe that cannabis is harmless. But the effects of marijuana on the heart may not be seen for years, he said.
"There's a lot of potential risk for heart conditions as well as lung issues, and other bodily harm if it's used on a chronic basis. And I worry that with changes in legislation in terms of its legality, we will only continue the course," Kuvin said. "If we're not proactive in our approach we're going to end up in a similar situation that we have found ourselves in with tobacco, trying to figure out how to increase our awareness and our education about the harm that cannabis can do, just like we do with cigarettes."
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