Cannabis is on a roll

OPINION:

Reefer madness is back as yet another state has decided to allow pot shops to spring up on every corner. National acceptance of marijuana as a harmless means of feeling good has reached an all-time high, but, like the craving for tobacco of the past, love of the seven-pronged leaf could spur health-related regrets in later years.

Ohio became the 24th state to legalize cannabis on Election Day, when 57% of voters approved Issue 2, which allows recreational use by adults 21 and older. Buckeye State residents will be able to buy or possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow it in limited quantities at home.

Despite federal law still classifying the drug as a banned substance, the “legalize it” crowd now constitutes a preponderant 70% of U.S. adults, according to a recent Gallup Poll. As Ohioans celebrate their newfound progressive attitude, however, they should evaluate new reasons for resisting the stoner lifestyle. Fresh medical research indicates regular marijuana use is “strongly” linked to a deadly duo of maladies: heart failure and stroke.  

One study analyzed data from a National Institutes of Health-backed program that compiled medical histories of nearly 160,000 individuals aged 54 and older over a four-year period. Researchers found daily marijuana users — defined as recreational users or patients who took the drug in excess of a doctor’s prescribed dose — are 34% more likely to suffer heart failure than those who never partake.

Like the dangers of cigarettes, the study found, the combination of tar and carbon monoxide inhaled with marijuana smoke constricts blood vessels and reduces oxygen levels in the blood, placing strain on the heart that can lead it to fail.

A second paper analyzed the 2019 National Inpatient Sample, a compilation of data from hospitalizations across the nation. Focusing on patients over 65 with cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, researchers found that those who had used marijuana have a 20% higher risk of heart or brain incidents during their hospital stay.

In addition, a May study published in the journal Psychological Medicine found that 30% of Danish men experiencing cannabis use disorder, or addiction, also suffered from schizophrenia. The study bolsters findings reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Marijuana users are significantly more likely than nonusers to develop temporary psychosis (not knowing what is real, hallucinations and paranoia) and long-lasting mental disorders, including schizophrenia (a type of mental illness where people might see or hear things that aren’t really there).”

Cannabis legalization is not the end goal but simply a step in an endless search for human perception more entertaining than reality. Already a pot haven, Oregon reached the next phase on Jan. 1 when it gave residents the right to ingest psychedelic mushrooms.

A mushroom-ingesting pilot demonstrated the shortcomings of his “trip” when he allegedly attempted to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet in midflight, deluded into thinking he could “wake up” by crashing the airliner. Cannabis is on a roll, but pot fanciers should remain mindful that in the high life, what goes up must come down.