More research on marijuana health dangers

From Yahoo News U.K.:

Young adults who smoke marijuana may be at risk for serious or even fatal heart problems, according to a study by French researchers on Wednesday.

The findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association raises new concerns about the safety of marijuana, just as many parts of the world are relaxing laws on its use and medicinal marijuana is gaining popularity for treating certain health conditions.

The analysis also found that the percentage of reported cardiovascular complications more than tripled from 2006 to 2010.

"The general public thinks marijuana is harmless, but information revealing the potential health dangers of marijuana use needs to be disseminated to the public, policymakers and healthcare providers," said lead author Emilie Jouanjus, a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France.

"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people," Jouanjus said.

Doctors should be aware of the heart risks and consider marijuana use as a potential contributor to cardiovascular disease in some patients, said Jouanjus.

People with pre-existing conditions appeared most vulnerable, the study added.

Valentin Fuster, director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, said the study appeared to support some observations he has made at his own clinic in New York City.

"I am concerned about cannabis because we are running a clinic of young people who come to us with coronary artery disease. I have seen a number of cases in whom I was not able to identify any other risk other than the use of cannabis," said Fuster, who was not involved in the research.

"So I think this registry in France supports the issue that cannabis is not free of danger," he added.

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