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Using marijuana doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, according to a new analysis of pooled medical data, which involves 200 million people, mainly between the ages of 19 and 59.
“What was particularly noticeable was that patients hospitalized due to these disorders were younger (and therefore likely to have clinical features due to smoking tobacco) and had no history of cardiovascular disorders or cardiovascular risk factors.”, An email from an associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Toulouse, France.
A study published in the Journal Heart shows that both cannabis and cannabis use a 29% higher risk of heart attacks and a 20% higher risk of stroke.
“This is one of the biggest studies on the relationship between marijuana and heart disease to date, and raises serious questions about the assumption that cannabis poses most cardiovascular risks,” said Dr. Linsilver, a clinical professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.
“We’re also a senior advisor to the Institute of Public Health, a nonprofit public health agency that analyzes marijuana policies and legalization,” said Silver, who is also a senior advisor to the Institute of Public Health, a nonprofit public health agency that analyses marijuana policies and legalization.
Silver is the co-author of an editorial published in a paper calling for change how cannabis is viewed by medical professionals, regulatory agencies and the public.
“Clinicians need to screen people for cannabis use and educate them about its harm because, just like with tobacco, it’s used more widely in some population groups than tobacco,” she said. “Our regulatory system is almost entirely focused on creating legal infrastructure and license legal, commercial (cannabis) businesses, and we need to focus more strongly on health warnings that educate people about real risks.”
A new systematic review and meta-analysis analysed medical information from large observational studies conducted in Australia, Egypt, Canada, France, Sweden and the United States between 2016 and 2023.
These studies did not ask people how they used cannabis, including smoking, steam, tatting, edible, tincture, topics. (Tapping involves evaporating concentrated cannabis and inhaling the vapor.) However, “based on epidemiological data, it is likely that marijuana has been smoked in the majority of cases,” Jouanjus said.
Smoking Smoking smoking is a well-known cause of heart disease. Both cigarette smoke and chemicals damage blood vessels and increase clotting, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Therefore, it is not surprising that smoking, vaping steaming, or tapping cannabis can do the same. “One of the many ways to inhale cannabis will take a risk to users.
Dr. Beth Cohen, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told CNN in a previous interview that smoking cannabis is not so harmful because it is “natural.”
“Whether it’s tobacco or cannabis, burning something produces toxic compounds, carcinogens and particulate matter that are harmful to your health,” Cohen said in an email.
However, a survey from May 2025 found that eating could also play a role in heart disease.
Those who consumed tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, knitted foods showed signs of early cardiovascular disease, similar to tobacco smokers.
“We found that vascular function was reduced by 42% in marijuana smokers and 56% in THC eating users compared to non-users.” He told CNN in a previous interview at the University of California, San Francisco.
None of the studies included in the new meta-analysis asked users about the efficacy of THC for the products consumed. Even if they had it, the information would soon become outdated, Silver said.
“The cannabis market is a moving target. It’s getting stronger every day,” she said.
“What is sold to Californians today is five to ten times stronger than those in the 1970s. The concentrate will be 99% pure THC. Vapes is over 80%.
“The various chemically extracted cannabinoids can be almost pure THC. All of these have a much different effect on people than smoking joints in the 1970s.”
Higher potency weeds contribute to many problems, including increased addiction. A July 2022 study found that high-grade weed consumption was associated with a four-fold increase in dependence.
According to the CDC, in the United States, about three in 10 people who use marijuana, have a cannabis use disorder, is a medical term for marijuana addiction.
“We know that stronger cannabis is more likely to become addicted,” Silver said. “We know that more powerful cannabis makes people more likely to develop mental illness and be seeing and hearing something that isn’t there or schizophrenia.
The increased efficacy is one reason why current research may not capture the full range of marijuana risks for heart disease, saying, “We fear that it may be even stronger than what the association has reported.”
While science continues to study risks, experts say it’s time to think carefully about the potential harms of cannabis use, especially when heart disease is a concern.
“If I were a 60-year-old at risk for heart disease, I would be very cautious about using cannabis,” Silver said. “I have seen older people using cannabis for pain and sleep, some of them have serious cardiovascular risks, or have strokes or have angina pectoris.
Fix: An earlier version of this story falsely stated the strength of the cannabis products sold in California today.
