WEED LEADS TO HEALTH CRISES!
Pot smokers more likely to end up in hospital
POTHEADS beware! Canadian researchers found weed users are almost 25 percent more likely to land in the ER or be hospitalized than people who don’t toke!
“Cannabis use is not as benign and safe as some might think,” warns
Dr. Nicholas Vozoris, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and lead respirologist at the city’s St. Michael’s Hospital. “Our study demonstrates the use of this substance is associated with serious negative outcomes.” The research team compared health data from almost 4,800 people who reported smoking weed in the previous 12 months with data from 10,000 who claim they did not partake.
They found admitted pot puffers were 22 percent more likely to need ER care or end up in the hospital — even after adjusting the analysis for over 30 other factors, including tobacco smoking and alcohol and illicit drug use. “Physical bodily injury was the leading cause of ER visits and hospitalizations, with respiratory reasons a close second,” says
Vozoris.
Researchers say marijuana could be causing sedation, leading to motor vehicle accidents and falls, or the drug may spark agitation or psychosis, triggering physical altercations and self-harm.
“Our study results should set off alarm bells in the minds of the public, health care professionals and political leaders,” says Vozoris.
“Cannabis use is on the rise around the world, and in some places, like Canada and certain U.S. states where it has been decriminalized, its use has been indirectly green-lighted.” In the U.S., 19 states have legal adult-use markets and 36 allow medical marijuana consumption. Other recent studies have shown marijuana smokers had higher blood and urine levels of several smoke-related toxins than nonsmokers, including naphthalene, which is associated with liver and neurological damage, and acrylamide and acrylonitrile, which have been linked to cancer.
According to another 2021 study, habitual pot users, including teens, are also increasingly arriving in
ERs with severe intestinal distress, abdominal pain and prolonged vomiting.
“Further research is needed, but our results suggest cannabis use needs to be discouraged and reduced in the general population to help prevent serious adverse health consequences,” says Vozoris.