The usage of cannabis is not as harmless and risk-free as some may believe it to be. Recent research has indicated that using marijuana for recreational purposes is related with an increased likelihood of requiring treatment at an emergency department and being hospitalised for any cause.
The study, which was conducted over a six-year span and released on Monday in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research, analyzed data from national health records for more than 30,000 inhabitants of Ontario, Canada, between the ages of 12 and 65.
According to the findings of the research, persons who used cannabis had a 22 percent increased risk of going to the emergency room or being hospitalized when contrasted to individuals who did not consume marijuana. Even after correcting the data for over 30 additional potential confounding variables, such as the use of alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and the use of other illegal drugs, the conclusion remained unchanged.
Although no significant association was observed between cannabis use and respiratory-related ER visits or hospitalisations, the risk of an equally important morbidity outcome, all-cause ER visit or hospitalisation, was significantly greater among cannabis users than among control individuals. Therefore, cannabis use is associated with increased risk for serious adverse health events and its recreational consumption is not benign.
Previous studies
Research conducted in 2021 discovered that people who smoked marijuana had greater amounts of various smoke-related pollutants in their blood and urine than nonsmokers did. These toxins included naphthalene, acrylamide, and acrylonitrile. Anemia, damage to the liver, as well as neurological difficulties have been linked to naphthalene, whereas acrylamide and acrylonitrile were linked to cancer as well as other health concerns.
According to the findings of another research carried out in the previous year, adolescents who vaped marijuana were roughly twice as prone to experience wheezing in the chest as those who smoked cigarettes or used electronic cigarettes.
