You don’t have to argue with most people about cigarettes being bad for their heart. Marijuana has been a different story; it’s not viewed by the general population as a drug that causes cardiovascular damage.
That story is (thankfully) changing.
A new study from the University of California-San Francisco investigating the effects of marijuana on cardiovascular health shows that marijuana is just as bad for heart health as cigarettes.
Worse, preferred delivery system doesn’t seem to matter: Edibles are even worse for cardiovascular health than smoking. The study, led by Dr. Leila Mohammadi, found that vascular function was reduced by 42% in marijuana smokers and by 56% in THC-edible users compared to non-users.
What this essentially means is, yes, smoking is bad all around when it comes to heart health and consuming edibles isn’t some magical cheat code for users to dodge that damage.
The study unfortunately did not include a group that smokes marijuana and consumes edibles, but in the real world, users like that are legion, and their hearts are going to suffer for it. The study strongly suggests this, in that smoking marijuana and eating THC-edibles both impaired the ability of the arteries to dilate, a key indicator of cardiovascular health. The edibles did this to a greater extent, with 4.6% function compared to smoking marijuana’s 6.0% (nonusers of both were 10.4%). The study on users who both smoke and eat is yet to be conducted, but predicting its findings shouldn’t tax the imagination.
This is just the latest in a whole series of damning studies on the negative impact marijuana has on health. And it’s not even the only study to focus on the heart: A February 2024 study from Massachusetts General Hospital found that smoking, vaping, or eating marijuana led to a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke—even if a person had no existing heart conditions and did not smoke or vape tobacco.
Marijuana won’t only damage your heart. The drug is strongly linked to a higher risk of developing psychosis—including hallucinations, paranoia, and losing touch with reality. Another recent study looked into the “chicken and egg” problem of whether marijuana causes schizophrenia or people with schizophrenia use marijuana to self-medicate. Marijuana apologists claim the latter is right, and they’re wrong:marijuana use likely increases the risk of schizophrenia, not the other way around.
So much for the words of beloved astrophysicist Carl Sagan, who once claimed the drug grants us “serenity and insight, sensitivity, and fellowship.”
It is hard to overstate how damaging this ongoing set of medical exposés is for the marijuana industry. The studies don’t just poke holes in pro-marijuana advocates’ narrative: They demolish it. The idea that someone can get high without negatively affecting their physical and mental health is turning out to be the exact inverse of reality. The data around edibles deserves special attention, especially since they are marketed towards children.
A study from the University of Pennsylvania looked at the different marketing tactics marijuana companies use to reach children. It analyzed 256 photos from across the country of edibles packaging and found that 15% of packages were clear knockoffs of kid-aimed snacks. Think “Stony Patch Kids” instead of “Sour Patch Kids,” a dangerous riff on the popular gummy candy. Worse, recent reports from Europe have THC gummies getting mixed in with regular Haribos.
The Mohammadi study’s key message is that no matter in what form you consume marijuana and THC products generally, the harm inflicted stays the same. Despite what the packaging says.
Want to learn more about marijuana? Visit Smart Approaches to Marijuana for a wealth of resources and information to help you make better decisions and help those around you do the same.