According to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, young individuals (those under the age of 45) who used cannabis in the previous 30 days had nearly double the frequency of heart attacks as adults who did not use the substance. As a result, when someone states “cannabis is excellent for your health,” it is not always true.
Cannabis, sometimes known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive substance derived from the Cannabis plant. It is ingested via smoking, vaporizing, ingesting it, or taking an extract. According to the World Health Organization, the psychoactive ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
Researchers discovered that of the 17 per cent of adults who reported using cannabis within the previous month, 1.3 per cent later had a heart attack, while 0.8 per cent of non-cannabis users reported the same after analyzing health data from over 33,000 adults ages 18 to 44 included in US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys in 2017 and 2018.
According to CNN, “there’s growing evidence that this may possibly be hazardous to you, both in the short term and the long term,” Dr Karim Ladha, clinician-scientist and staff anesthesiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto in Canada stated.
Cannabis has several side effects. For one thing, it causes an erratic heart rhythm. “When someone’s heartbeat becomes irregular, the quantity of oxygen the heart requires increases,” Ladha explained, adding that cannabis can also decrease the amount of oxygen given to the heart.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, some of the drug’s physical effects include euphoria, changed states of mind and perception of time, trouble concentrating, decreased short-term memory, bodily movement relaxation, and an increase in hunger.
Marijuana has an impact on brain development. The medication may impair thinking, memory, and learning skills, as well as the way the brain connects the regions required for these tasks.