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Wednesday, 17 April 2019

Cannabis and the Heart

 
" Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number 1 cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions. Four out of 5CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age. Individuals at risk of CVD may demonstrate raised blood pressure, glucose, and lipids as well as overweight and obesity."
 
 - WHO
 
 
There is no tolerance with C[ocaine], and not much margin between a regular and a toxic dose. Several times I got too much and everything went black and my heart began turning over. Luckily I always had plenty of M[orphine] on hand, and a shot of M[orphine] fixed me right up.'
 
 - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
 
 
The human heart is the pump of the body machine. It ensures proper circulation of blood through all the veins and arteries, so that this life sustaining liquid reaches all the organs and tissues, delivering nutrients and oxygen, removing toxins and carbon dioxide. The main diseases of the heart involve weakening of heart muscles, or blockages in the passages through which blood flows in and out of the heart. Given that blood flows to all vital organs from the heart and then returns back to the heart, diseases in every vital organ have an impact on the heart. If the lungs are weakened, then the oxygen transfer and purification of blood suffers. Similarly if the liver does not function properly and remove toxins from the blood, they get transferred to all other parts of the body including the heart. The same too with kidneys and the rest of the digestive system. So everything from the quality of air we breathe, to the food and water we consume, the activities we pursue, the thoughts we think, affects the heart.

With the rise in air pollution, food and water contamination, consumption of alcohol and tobacco, sedentary lifestyles, consumption of unhealthy food and drinks, and the bingeing on illegal and legal synthetic drugs, the incidence of heart diseases has increased manifold in the recent past. Heart disease is the leading cause of death world wide . According to the WHO, " Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number 1 cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions. Four out of 5CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age. Individuals at risk of CVD may demonstrate raised blood pressure, glucose, and lipids as well as overweight and obesity."
 
Some of the common heart conditions are artherosclerosis, myocardial infarctions, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis. Contributing factors to heart attacks are hypertension, high blood pressure, high levels of total cholestrol, triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
 
How does cannabis directly aid in heart health? It is shown that cannabis use results in a healthy body mass index (BMI), helps keep obesity at bay and lowers waist circumference, conditions known to reduce heart disease. Cannabis also lowers metabolic syndrome, a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease which is defined as the presence of a cluster of >=3 of the following risk factors: elevated waist circumference, systolic or diastolic blood pressure (or both), triglycerides, fasting glucose, and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Studies suggest that activation of cannabinoid receptors may reduce high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and cannabidiol (CBD) may reduce inflammation in the body. Among persons who have experienced heart failure, when the heart muscles are weak and cannot pump enough blood, those who used cannabis were less likely to experience a complication called atrial fibrillation, or "A-fib," a type of irregular heartbeat that can worsen heart failure symptoms.
 
With regard to artherosclerosis, a report says that - 'Collectively, CO exerted anti-atherosclerotic effects by modulating serum lipid profiles and inflammatory responses and improving endothelial cell integrity and arterial lipid deposition. The results provide a promising preventive strategy for the early progression of AS [artherosclerosis].' Another report published by NORML, while highlighting the risk of tobacco use and its association with artherosclerosis says that - 'An international team of investigators from Switzerland and the United States assessed the relationship between the use of tobacco and/or cannabis and the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in a cohort of 3,257 subjects. Authors reported that lifetime exposure to tobacco over a 20-year period was “strongly associated” with subclinical atherosclerosis, whereas the cumulative use of cannabis alone was not – a finding that is consistent with prior research. They concluded, “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that there might be no association between the average population level of marijuana use and subclinical atherosclerosis.”' Another report by Springer says that - 'Cannabis whole extracts acted on both phases of lipid oxidation in copper challenged LDL. Those effects were just partially related with the content of cannabinoids and partially recapitulated by isolated pure cannabinoids. Our results support the potentially beneficial effects of Cannabis sativa whole extracts on the initial phase of atherosclerosis.'
 
With regard to hypertension, cannabis usage has been found to lower it. One report says that - 'amongst older adults with hypertension, cannabis treatment for 3 months was associated with a reduction in 24-hours systolic and diastolic blood pressure values with a nadir at 3 hours after cannabis administration.' Another report states that  - 'Lifetime cannabis use, 12-month cannabis use and 12-month cannabis use frequency were not associated with the incidence of hypertension.'
 
Cannabis ability to reduce the factors contributing to heart disease have been highlighted in a number of studies. NORML reports that - 'Compared to placebo, cannabinoid therapy was associated with a “statistically significant decline in total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, FBS [fasting blood glucose levels], Hb [hemoglobin] A1C, and insulin secretion … at the end of the 8- week treatment period.' The cardio-protective capabilities of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) in particular, are stated in a report by Hindawi. This states that - 'CBD therapy can greatly limit the production of oxygen/nitrogen reactive species, thereby limiting cellular damage, protecting mitochondria, avoiding caspase activation, and regulating ionic homeostasis. Hence, it can affect myocardial contraction by restricting the activation of inflammatory pathways and cytokine secretion, lowering tissular infiltration by immune cells, and reducing the area of infarct and fibrosis formation. These effects are mediated by the activation or inhibition of different receptors and target molecules of the endocannabinoid system.' Another report in MDPI says that - 'Many positive effects of CBD have been observed in experimental models of heart diseases (myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis), stroke, neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, sepsis-related encephalitis, cardiovascular complications of diabetes, and ischemia/reperfusion injures of liver and kidneys. In these pathological conditions CBD decreased organ damage and dysfunction, oxidative and nitrative stress, inflammatory processes and apoptosis, among others.'
 
The use of general anesthesia has been known to trigger cardiac arrests through drops in blood pressure. Prior use of cannabis, especially whole plant cannabis including delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been found to reduce the need for blood pressure support during general anesthesia. When adjusting for demographic variability, there were statistically significant differences in response to general anesthesia. Liebert Publications, comparing results between two groups, one a control group and another that was associated with THC, says that - 'The THC-positive (THC(+)) group was less likely to receive intraoperative vasopressors, had higher mean arterial blood pressure and mean diastolic blood pressure, needed less total fluid input and had a lower overall fluid balance. Chronic exposure to THC has been shown to downregulate cannabinoid 1 receptors and cause alterations in endocannabinoid tone. These are two potential mechanisms by which the THC(+) group in our study may have become more resistant to the typically observed hypotensive effects of general anesthesia.'  Another study reconfirms this. The study states that - 'The present study suggests that prior use of cannabis, objectively assessed by urinalysis, results in a decreased need for blood pressure support during general anesthesia. The physiological basis for this phenomenon is unclear, but possible causes might include the downregulation of vascular cannabinoid receptor 1 and/or altered endocannabinoid levels after exposure to cannabis.'

There is a common perception that smoking cannabis is as harmful to the heart as smoking tobacco. This perception does not take into account the harms of tobacco, or the benefits of cannabis, but focuses on the smoking aspect. Many people consider that smoking anything is harmful, even though one of the key processes of Ayurveda was the smoking of herbs to promote good health. Even though multiple studies have highlighted that cannabis usage is not associated with harms to the heart and lungs, this wrong perception exists. Opponents of cannabis legalization use this argument quite frequently. NORML says that - 'A team of investigators affiliated with Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine assessed the relationship between marijuana use and the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in a nationally representative cohort of nearly 57,000 adults. Authors identified no independent relationship between marijuana exposure and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease after adjusting for potential confounders, such as body mass index, tobacco smoking, and alcohol use.'  
 
Cannabis usage has been associated with shorter hospital stays and less chances of mortality in patients suffeing from congestive heart failure. NORML says that - 'Researchers affiliated with Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in New York City assessed marijuana use and in-patient hospitalization trends for patients with congestive heart failure over a four-year period. Authors determined that cannabis users had “less all-cause in-hospital deaths and shorter hospital stays compared to non-users.”
 
As important, or probably more so, are the indirect ways in which cannabis can improve global heart health and address this leading cause of mortality. Cannabis consumption reduces the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Cannabis reduces stress and anxiety, two conditions known to increase risk of heart damage. Cannabis' introduction into normal society reduces the pollution to the environment through the reduced manufacture and use of petrochemicals based products, unsustainable agricultural crops - such as paddy and its related stubble burning -, and the contamination to the environment caused by synthetic pharmaceutical drugs and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The adverse effect of common synthetic pharmaceutical drugs on the heart is underestimated. Wikipedia says - 'Chronic consumption of paracetamol may result in a drop in hemoglobin level indicating possible gastrointestinal bleeding and abnormal liver function tests. There is a consistent association of increased mortality as well as cardiovascular (stroke, myocardial infarction), gastrointestinal (ulcers, bleeding) and renal adverse effects with taking higher dose of paracetamol. The drug may also increase the risk of developing hypertension.'
 
Cannabis legalization for recreational use reduces the intake of vast amounts of synthetic illegal and legal pharma drugs that directly affect the heart, such as stimulants like cocaine and  amphetamines. Cannabis users have much more active lifestyle and less obesity compared to non-cannabis users.

In spite of the seriousness of the problem of heart disease and its increasing prevalence, the world does almost nothing to legalize cannabis as a  means of mitigating it. Legal cannabis would be affordable and accessible medicine for all, with only positive side effects compared to the deadly toxic, expensive and inaccessible pharma medications currently prescribed for hundreds of millions of individuals for heart disorders, who need to take these medications every day for fear of dying if they stopped it. The numbers who cannot afford or access even these dangerous synthetic pharmaceutical drugs is many times greater.

Related articles

The following list of articles taken from various media speak about the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of yours truly at the time of reading the article.
 
 
'Compared to placebo, cannabinoid therapy was associated with a “statistically significant decline in total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, FBS [fasting blood glucose levels], Hb [hemoglobin] A1C, and insulin secretion … at the end of the 8-week treatment period. … [T]here were no statistically significant differences in reported adverse effects between the two groups.”

Researchers concluded: “In the present study, we demonstrated that sublingual administration of [a CBD/THC] spray, … twice daily through an eight-week treatment period could effectively improve the patient’s lipid profile and glucose tolerance. … Based on these observations, the combination of CBD/delta9-THC regimen could be a new therapeutic regimen for controlling the lipid profile and glycemic state of DM [type 2 diabetic] patients.”'

https://norml.org/news/2023/03/30/clinical-trial-cbd-thc-combination-controls-blood-sugar-lowers-cholesterol-in-type-2-diabetics/

 
'The study in question appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal this week before being featured in a CNN piece, notably under a headline informing readers that “young adult cannabis consumers [are] nearly twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack.”

Those behind the study analyzed data from more than 33,000 “young adults” between the ages of 18 d 44, ultimately determining that of the 17 percent of adults who said they had recently used weed, 1.3 percent had a history of myocardial infarction (i.e. heart attack). Meanwhile, per the ensuing report, 0.8 percent of respondents who said they had not recently used weed reported a history of myocardial infarction.

Asked by Complex for his take on the coverage surrounding this study, Paul Armentano—the Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) nonprofit—noted that data of this type has been “frustratingly inconsistent.”'

https://www.complex.com/life/marijuana-law-reform-advocate-responds-to-report-weed-heart-attacks-data/cannabis-health-studies-norml


'Discussion: When adjusting for demographic variability, there were statistically significant differences in response to general anesthesia between these two groups. The THC-positive (THC(+)) group was less likely to receive intraoperative vasopressors, had higher mean arterial blood pressure and mean diastolic blood pressure, needed less total fluid input and had a lower overall fluid balance. Chronic exposure to THC has been shown to downregulate cannabinoid 1 receptors and cause alterations in endocannabinoid tone. These are two potential mechanisms by which the THC(+) group in our study may have become more resistant to the typically observed hypotensive effects of general anesthesia.

Conclusion: The present study suggests that prior use of cannabis, objectively assessed by urinalysis, results in a decreased need for blood pressure support during general anesthesia. The physiological basis for this phenomenon is unclear, but possible causes might include the downregulation of vascular cannabinoid receptor 1 and/or altered endocannabinoid levels after exposure to cannabis.'

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2021.0009


'An international team of investigators from Switzerland and the United States assessed the relationship between the use of tobacco and/or cannabis and the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in a cohort of 3,257 subjects.

Authors reported that lifetime exposure to tobacco over a 20-year period was “strongly associated” with subclinical atherosclerosis, whereas the cumulative use of cannabis alone was not – a finding that is consistent with prior research.

They concluded, “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that there might be no association between the average population level of marijuana use and subclinical atherosclerosis.”'

https://norml.org/news/2021/07/01/marijuana-use-not-associated-with-increased-risk-of-atherosclerosis


'The results show that CO administration reduced the levels of serum triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at week 6. Additionally, a decrease in serum tumor necrosis factor a and nitric oxide was also observed. Moreover, results from CD31 staining and scanning electron microscopy revealed that CO treatment alleviated the endothelial cell damage and lipid deposition induced by a high-cholesterol diet. The ratio of lesion area to the total aorta area was 19.57% for the CO group, which was lower than the PBS control group (24.67%). Collectively, CO exerted anti-atherosclerotic effects by modulating serum lipid profiles and inflammatory responses and improving endothelial cell integrity and arterial lipid deposition. The results provide a promising preventive strategy for the early progression of AS.'

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c07251


'A team of investigators affiliated with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University assessed the impact of medical cannabis administration on hypertension in 26 elderly patients (mean age: 70) over a three-month period. Study subjects ingested cannabis either orally (via oil extracts) or by smoking. Researchers performed the following assessments on the participants: 24-hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, ECG, blood tests, and anthropometric measurements prior to the initiation of cannabis therapy and three months afterward. The primary outcome was change in mean 24-hour blood pressure at three months.

Authors reported, “Cannabis treatment for three months was associated with a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as heart rate.” Several of the subjects in the study reported symptoms of dizziness following cannabis administration. Patients’ use of cannabis was not association with an elevated risk of arrhythmias during the study period. '

https://norml.org/news/2021/01/28/cannabis-use-associated-with-reduced-hypertension-in-elderly-subjects/


Chronic consumption of paracetamol may result in a drop in hemoglobin level indicating possible gastrointestinal bleeding and abnormal liver function tests. There is a consistent association of increased mortality as well as cardiovascular (stroke, myocardial infarction), gastrointestinal (ulcers, bleeding) and renal adverse effects with taking higher dose of paracetamol. The drug may also increase the risk of developing hypertension.

The recommended maximum daily dose for an adult is three to four grams. Higher doses may lead to toxicity, including liver failure. Paracetamol poisoning is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, and accounts for most drug overdoses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Source Wikipedia


'Interventions and outcomes: In conjunction with his standard cardiac care, patient had a gradual lessening of UA-related pain, including frequency and character, after using an edible form of MC (1:1 cannabidiol:?9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Following continued treatment, he ceased long-term morphine treatment and described the pain as no longer crippling. As demonstrated by his exercise tolerance tests, the patient experienced an improved functional capacity and reported an increase in his daily functioning, and overall activity.

Lessons: This case uniquely highlights MC in possibly reducing the character, quality, and frequency of UA, whereas concordantly improving functional cardiac capacity in a patient with CAD. Additional case reports are necessary to verify this.'

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33726006/


'Results
Cannabis use was associated with a decreased incidence of hypertension in the unadjusted analyses. However, the relationships were confounded by age. After adjustment for all confounders, neither lifetime cannabis use (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval 0.89, 0.77 to 1.02), 12-month cannabis use (0.78, 0.56 to 1.09) nor 12-month cannabis use frequency [at least monthly use (0.85, 0.57 to 1.28) and less than monthly use (0.67, 0.40 to 1.11)] were associated above chance with the incidence of hypertension.

Discussion and Conclusions
Lifetime cannabis use, 12-month cannabis use and 12-month cannabis use frequency were not associated with the incidence of hypertension.'

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.13266


'Results: Twenty-six patients with a mean age of 70.42 ± 5.37 years, 53.8% females completed the study. At 3 months follow-up, the mean 24-hours systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced by 5.0 mmHg and 4.5 mmHg, respectively (p<0.001 for both). The nadir for the blood pressure and heart rate was achieved at 3 hours post-administration. The proportion of normal dippers changed from 27.3% before treatment to 45.5% afterward. No significant changes were seen in the different metabolic parameters assessed by blood tests, anthropometric measurements, or ECG exam.

Conclusion: amongst older adults with hypertension, cannabis treatment for 3 months was associated with a reduction in 24-hours systolic and diastolic blood pressure values with a nadir at 3 hours after cannabis administration. '

https://www.ejinme.com/article/S0953-6205(21)00005-4/fulltext


'A team of investigators affiliated with Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine assessed the relationship between marijuana use and the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in a nationally representative cohort of nearly 57,000 adults. Authors identified no independent relationship between marijuana exposure and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease after adjusting for potential confounders, such as body mass index, tobacco smoking, and alcohol use.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/01/14/study-marijuana-use-not-associated-with-increased-risk-of-cardiovascular-disease


'Results: As a result, body weight gain, epididymal, and perirenal adipose tissue decreased in the CSSF (Cannabis sativa seed Flour) group in both doses (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) compared to the HCD. CSSF lowered serum glucose level elevated by HCD. For lipid
profiles, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides (TG) significantly decreased in the CSSF group. The histopathological results of this study showed a regenerative effect of CSSF on the kidney and liver tissues.

Conclusion: It is concluded from the present study that CSSF can be used as a natural anti-obesity agent.'

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bouarfa_Mouna2/publication/345396297_ANTI-OBESITY_EFFECT_OF_CANNABIS_SATIVA_SEED_FLOUR_FROM_KHLALFA_OF_TAOUNATE_REGION_NORTHERN_OF_MOROCCO_IN_HIGH_CALORIC_DIET-INDUCED_OBESE_MICE/links/5fa6f00092851cc2869d76ec/ANTI-OBESITY-EFFECT-OF-CANNABIS-SATIVA-SEED-FLOUR-FROM-KHLALFA-OF-TAOUNATE-REGION-NORTHERN-OF-MOROCCO-IN-HIGH-CALORIC-DIET-INDUCED-OBESE-MICE.pdf


'CBD therapy can greatly limit the production of oxygen/nitrogen reactive species, thereby limiting cellular damage, protecting mitochondria, avoiding caspase activation, and regulating ionic homeostasis. Hence, it can affect myocardial contraction by restricting the activation of inflammatory pathways and cytokine secretion, lowering tissular infiltration by immune cells, and reducing the area of infarct and fibrosis formation. These effects are mediated by the activation or inhibition of different receptors and target molecules of the endocannabinoid system. In the final part of this review, we explore the current state of CBD in clinical trials as a treatment for cardiovascular diseases and provide evidence of its potential benefits in humans.'

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2020/4587024/


'Conclusion
Cannabis whole extracts acted on both phases of lipid oxidation in copper challenged LDL. Those effects were just partially related with the content of cannabinoids and partially recapitulated by isolated pure cannabinoids. Our results support the potentially beneficial effects of Cannabis sativa whole extracts on the initial phase of atherosclerosis.'

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42238-020-00042-0


'Authors concluded: “This is one of the few studies analyzing the association of recent cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke using admission urine toxicology test independent of polysubstance use. Even though our study has limitations, we did not find an independent association between recent cannabis use and the incidence of acute ischemic stroke. Further studies utilizing urine toxicology tests with larger sample size and including dosage of cannabis exposure should be done.”'

https://norml.org/news/2020/10/08/study-recent-use-of-cannabis-not-associated-with-increased-risk-of-ischemic-stroke


'Thus, we reviewed the influence of CBD on this system in health and disease to determine the potential risk of cardiovascular side effects during CBD use for medical and wellness purposes and to elucidate its therapeutic potential in cardiovascular diseases. Administration of CBD to healthy volunteers or animals usually does not markedly affect hemodynamic parameters. Although CBD has been found to exhibit vasodilatory and antioxidant properties in hypertension, it has not affected blood pressure in hypertensive animals. Hypotensive action of CBD has been mainly revealed under stress conditions. Many positive effects of CBD have been observed in experimental models of heart diseases (myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis), stroke, neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, sepsis-related encephalitis, cardiovascular complications of diabetes, and ischemia/reperfusion injures of liver and kidneys. In these pathological conditions CBD decreased organ damage and dysfunction, oxidative and nitrative stress, inflammatory processes and apoptosis, among others.'

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/18/6740


'Researchers affiliated with Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in New York City assessed marijuana use and in-patient hospitalization trends for patients with congestive heart failure over a four-year period. Authors determined that cannabis users had “less all-cause in-hospital deaths and shorter hospital stays compared to non-users.”

Prior observational studies have similarly reported that marijuana use is associated with a decreased risk of in-hospital mortality among patients suffering from heart failure and heart attacks. Other studies have reported that cannabis exposure is associated with greater in-hospital survival rates among patients with cancer, pancreatitis, burn-related injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other types of severe trauma.'

https://norml.org/news/2020/08/13/study-cannabis-use-associated-with-reduced-in-hospital-mortality-in-patients-with-congestive-heart-failure


'C[ocaine] is hard to find in Mexico. I had never used any good coke before. Coke is pure kick. It lifts you straight up, a mechanical lift that starts leaving you as soon as you feel it. I don't know anything like C for a lift, but the lift lasts only ten minutes or so. Then you want another shot. You can't stop shooting C - as long as it is there you shoot it. When you are shooting C, you shoot more M[orphine] to level the C kick and smooth out the rough edges. Without M, C makes you too nervous, and M is an antidote for an overdose. There is no tolerance with C, and not much margin between a regular and a toxic dose. Several times I got too much and everything went black and my heart began turning over. Luckily I always had plenty of M on hand, and a shot of M fixed me right up.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953


'The stereotypical image of a cannabis smoker is someone who sprawls on the sofa for hours surrounded by a haze of smoke and half-eaten snacks. The scene is played up for laughs in films, but social psychologist Angela Bryan thought it could be cause for concern. After all, cannabis is known to increase appetite and aid relaxation, which might put people at risk of health conditions such as obesity, says Bryan, who is at the University of Colorado Boulder.

But digging into health trends revealed the opposite. Nationwide US studies report that, compared to non-users, cannabis users actually have a lower prevalence of obesity.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02529-0


'Neither the current nor the cumulative lifetime use of cannabis is associated with heart abnormalities at middle age, according to clinical data published in the journal Addiction.

An international team of researchers from Switzerland and the United States assessed the relationship between cumulative marijuana use and the prevalence of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities in a group of 2,585 middle age subjects. Researchers controlled for several potential confounders, including subjects’ use of alcohol and tobacco, as well as blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Investigators reported: “We found no evidence that current or lifetime cumulative use of marijuana was associated with a higher prevalence or incidence of major or minor ECG abnormalities in this cohort, … although major ECG abnormalities seemed to be less frequent in current marijuana users. … Whether participants used marijuana daily, in the last 30 days or intermittently over a lifetime, marijuana use was not associated with an increase in prevalent or incident specific ECG abnormalities by middle-age.”'
https://norml.org/news/2020/07/16/study-cumulative-use-of-cannabis-not-associated-with-heart-abnormalities-at-middle-age


'Findings
 Among the 2,585 participants with an ECG at Year 20, mean age was 46, 57% were women, 45% were black. 83% had past exposure to marijuana and 11% were using marijuana currently. One hundred and seventy-three participants (7%) had major abnormalities and 944 (37%) had minor abnormalities. Comparing current with never use in multivariable-adjusted models, the OR for major ECG abnormalities was 0.60 (95% CI: 0.32 to 1.15) and for minor ECG abnormalities 1.21 (95% CI: 0.87 to 1.68). Results did not change after stratifying by sex and race. Cumulative marijuana use was not associated with ECG abnormalities.

Conclusion
In a middle-aged US population, lifetime cumulative and occasional current marijuana use were not associated with increases in electrocardiogram abnormalities. This adds to the growing body of evidence that occasional marijuana use and cardiovascular disease events and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis are not associated.'
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.15188


'Researchers identified no link between recent cannabis exposure and either an increased or decreased risk of stroke after adjusting for confounders such as age, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

They concluded: "Studies that have analyzed the association between cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke have provided conflicting results. ... This is one of the few studies analyzing the association of recent cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke using admission urine toxicology test independent of polysubstance use. Even though our study has limitations, we did not find an independent association between recent cannabis use and the incidence of acute ischemic stroke. Further studies utilizing urine toxicology tests with larger sample size and including dosage of cannabis exposure should be done."'
https://norml.org/news/2020/06/11/study-no-association-between-recent-cannabis-use-and-increased-stroke-risk


'Researchers reported that those taking CBD experienced improved HDL (high-density lipoprotein aka "good") cholesterol levels as compared to controls. Subjects consuming the extract also acknowledged improvements in sleep and an overall improvement in their quality of life. No significant adverse events were reported.

Authors concluded, "Overall, these findings suggest that supplementation with this hemp extract at the provided dosage in the men and women studied exhibited improvements in HDL cholesterol, tended to support psychometric measures of perceived sleep quantity and stress response, perceived life pleasure, and is well tolerated in healthy human subjects."'
https://norml.org/news/2020/06/11/clinical-trial-hemp-derived-cbd-supplement-associated-with-improved-hdl-cholesterol-levels


'The results showed that, among those in the hemp group, “HDL cholesterol significantly improved.” HDL cholesterol, which stands for “High-density lipoprotein,” is recognized in the medical community as the “good cholesterol” because “it helps remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream” and is “associated with a lower risk of heart disease,” according to the Mayo Clinic. '
https://hightimes.com/news/recent-research-suggests-hemp-oil-may-improve-cholesterol-levels/


'Authors concluded, “We believe that our findings document that cannabis use improved BP stability in this patient by reducing the intensity and frequency of the visceral stimuli, such as pain and spasms, that are known to trigger autonomic dysreflexia.”

Emerging research indicates that the endogenous cannabinoid system plays a role in regulating blood pressure'
https://norml.org/news/2020/06/18/case-report-cannabis-use-stabilizes-high-blood-pressure


'People with drug use disorders are particularly vulnerable to comorbidities that can lead to a poor outcome if they become infected with COVID-19. The same is true for anyone who uses drugs regularly. People who use opioids have a high risk of comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, whereas stimulant users are particularly susceptible to inflammation of and damage to the lung tissue. Users of both drug types may already have a compromised immune system and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. These underlying conditions can put people who use drugs regularly at a high risk of complications and mortality if they become infected with COVID-19' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf


'There was a raw ache in my lungs. People vary in the way junk sickness affects them. Some suffer mostly from vomitting and diarrhea. The asthmatic type, with narrow and deep chest, is liable to violent fits of sneezing, watering at eyes and nose, in some cases spasms of the bronchial tubes that shut off the breathing. In my case, the worst thing is lowering of blood pressure with consequent loss of body fluid, and extreme weakness, as in shock. It is a feeling as if the life energy has been shut off so that all the cells in the body are suffocating. As I lay there on the bench, I felt like as if I was subsiding into a pile of bones.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953 
 

'Metabolic syndrome, a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is defined as the presence of a cluster of >=3 of the following risk factors: elevated waist circumference, systolic or diastolic blood pressure (or both), triglycerides, fasting glucose, and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Current and past marijuana use were both associated with lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome and most of its components.'
https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)01024-4/fulltext


'Greater cannabis exposure was associated with relatively lower BMI (ß=-0.31, p<.001), smaller WHR (ß=-0.23, p=.002), better HDL (ß=0.14, p=.036) and LDL cholesterol (ß=-0.15, p=.026), lower triglycerides (ß=-0.17, p=.009), lower fasting glucose (ß=-0.15, p<.001) and HOMA-IR (ß=-0.21, p=.003), lower systolic (ß=-0.22, p<.001) and diastolic blood pressure (ß=-0.15, p=.028), and fewer metabolic syndrome criteria (ß=-0.27, p<.001). With exception of BMI, cannabis users' mean levels on cardiometabolic risk factors were generally below clinical cutoffs for high risk. Most associations between cannabis use and cardiometabolic risk factors remained after adjusting for tobacco use, childhood SES, and childhood health. However, after adjusting for adult BMI, these associations were no longer apparent, and mediation tests suggested that cannabis users' relatively lower BMI might explain their lower levels of risk on other cardiometabolic risk factors.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30589665?dopt=Abstract


'Studies suggest that activation of cannabinoid receptors may reduce high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and cannabidiol may reduce inflammation in the body.'


'The researchers found that, among patients with heart failure — when the heart muscle can't pump enough blood to meet the body's normal demands — those who used marijuana were less likely to experience a complication called atrial fibrillation, or "A-fib," a type of irregular heartbeat that can worsen heart failure symptoms'
https://www.livescience.com/60988-marijuana-heart-failure.html


It looks like you win some, you lose some..

'In this large, multiregional analysis, marijuana use reported during hospitalization for AMI was associated with a significantly decreased risk of in-hospital mortality, IABP placement, and shock, and a significantly increased risk of mechanical ventilation post AMI.'
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0199705
 
 
'Withdrawal symptoms are allergic symptoms: sneezing, coughing, running at the eyes and nose, vomiting, diarrhea, hive-like conditions of the skin. Severe withdrawal symptoms are shock symptoms: lowered blood pressure, loss of body fluid and shrinking of the organism as in the death process, weakness, involuntary orgasms, death through collapse of the circulatory system. If an addict dies from junk withdrawal, he dies of allergic shock.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953


'All the symptoms of shock can be produced by an overdose of histamine. Histamine is produced by body tissue wherever injury occurs. Histamine enlarges blood vessels so that extra blood comes to the place of injury. When a blood vessel is enlarged, its walls are stretched thin and porous and so fluid escapes. Loss of blood leads to lowered blood pressure. Excess histamine leads to lowering of blood pressure and shock, as occurs in serious injury. Adrenaline is the body's defense against excess histamine, and before the specific antihistamine drugs, was the only chemical antidote for histamine poisoning.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953   


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