Cannabis use doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, study finds

Euronews

18-06-2025

People who use cannabis or its synthetic cousin, cannabinoids, are twice as likely to die from heart problems as those who abstain from the drugs, new research has found.
Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in most of Europe, but it is the region's most commonly used drug. An estimated 8.4 per cent of adults – 24 million people – used cannabis in the past year, according to the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
Cannabis is generally stronger and more diverse than in past decades, with users having a choice between smoking marijuana, edibles, cannabis concentrates, and cannabinoids, which are synthetic psychoactive drugs with a high concentration of
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis that makes people feel high.
That has prompted concern about the potential health consequences of modern cannabis – and the new study, published in the journal Heart, is the latest to show they carry weight.
In addition to the doubled mortality risks, cannabis use is tied to a 20 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 29 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or other types of acute coronary syndrome, which is when blood flow to the heart is severely restricted, the study found.
The findings raise 'serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,' Stanton Glantz and Dr Lynn Silver, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who were not involved with the study, said in a written comment.
For the analysis, a French research team assessed real-world data from 24 studies conducted between 2016 and 2023.
Most participants were between the ages of 19 and 59, and cannabis users were more likely to be younger and male compared with people who did not use the drug.
Notably, most of the studies were observational, meaning researchers can't say that cannabis use causes heart problems directly. There was also a high risk of bias in most of the studies.
More research is needed to understand exactly how cannabis is linked to heart problems, and whether the risks differ based on the type of cannabis someone uses.
Despite the limitations, the study authors said their analysis is among the most comprehensive yet to probe the possible link between cannabis and heart problems in the real world.
Glantz and Silver pushed for health warnings on cannabis products and protections against secondhand smoke exposure, particularly as countries relax their cannabis laws and the drug becomes more easily available.
'Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease,' they said.
British lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies.
The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century.
Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors.
The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.'
The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked.
Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019.
Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception.
That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more.
Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy.
'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group.
The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy.
Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her.
Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks.
Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy.
'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices.