The ‘hits’ keep coming

Another day, another study that shows that marijuana isn’t exactly the easy-going, harmless drug that its supporters would have us believe. A study published in the European

Journal of Preventative Cardiology shows that people who smoke today’s grass have a three times greater risk of dying from complications of high blood pressure. And, to make matters worse, the risk grows with every year that goes by.

The study, as most professional studies will do, adjusted for factors such as sex of the person, age, ethnicity and even whether the person smoked cigarettes too. The results showed that those who smoke pot have a 3.42-times higher risk of death from hypertension.

The researchers sounded alarms. Marijuana “experts” not involved in the study said the results should be replicated in other studies. But even those in the know, and who were not involved in the research, say this study should be noted. For example, Ian Hamilton of Britain’s York University:

“Despite the widely held view that cannabis is benign, this research adds to previous work suggesting otherwise.”

More study, more evidence, more suspicion of this drug. Here’s hoping that, for Arkansas, it’s not too late.