A new small study found that healthy people who regularly smoked marijuana or ate Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) edibles showed early signs of heart and blood vessel problems, which were similar to those of people who smoke tobacco.
The research was done by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), including lead author Leila Mohammadi and senior author Matthew Springer.
Published in the medical journal JAMA Cardiology, the study looked at how using marijuana affects the inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium.
Springer explained that earlier studies had already shown that tobacco smokers, and even people exposed to secondhand smoke, had poor blood vessel function. He wanted to find out if the same could happen to marijuana users, since both tobacco and marijuana smoke contain many of the same harmful chemicals.
This study looked at 55 people and divided them into three groups: marijuana smokers, people who consumed THC edibles, and non-users. It found that both marijuana smokers and edible users had worse blood vessel function than non-users. In fact, marijuana smokers had a 42 percent drop, while edible users had a 56 percent drop.
The researchers also found that only the marijuana smokers' blood affected how cells produced nitric oxide, a chemical that helps blood vessels relax. However, this wasn't seen in the edible users, which suggests that smoking and eating THC might harm blood vessels in different ways.
"The consequences for individuals and widespread are that people who decide to smoke marijuana or use THC edibles should be aware that, at least at the relatively high usage in our study, neither of those behaviors should be considered harmless," Springer said.
"The widespread consequences relate to clean air laws and involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke: in my opinion, smoking cannabis should not be allowed where smoking tobacco is not allowed."
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