The research, led by Dr. Ibrahim Kamel from Boston University School of Medicine, examined the long-term cardiovascular effects of cannabis use in individuals aged 50 years and younger who were otherwise relatively healthy. The study compared cannabis users with non-users, using advanced statistical techniques like propensity score matching to ensure reliable comparisons between the groups.

The analysis covered more than 4.6 million adults, of whom 2.01 percent were cannabis users. After matching, 89,776 participants were included in each group. The results revealed a stark contrast in cardiovascular risks between the two cohorts.

Cannabis users had an absolute risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) of 0.558 percent, compared to just 0.09 percent among non-users. This translated to a risk ratio of over six times higher for cannabis users. Additionally, the Kaplan-Meier analysis, which measures survival probability over time, indicated a significantly lower survival rate among cannabis users, with a hazard ratio of 7.568.

The study also found that cannabis users faced a substantially higher risk of ischemic stroke. The absolute risk of stroke was 0.405 percent in cannabis users versus 0.094 percent in non-users — a risk ratio of 4.33. The Kaplan-Meier analysis again showed lower survival probabilities among cannabis users, with a hazard ratio of 5.151.

Researchers emphasized that these findings highlight cannabis as an independent and considerable risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes, even in populations without traditional risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, or obesity.

"This analysis provides evidence linking cannabis use to adverse cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, heart failure, and mortality," the authors noted. "Notably, cannabis use appears to pose a substantial and independent risk for these outcomes, even in a population without traditional cardiovascular risk factors."

The findings come at a critical time as cannabis legalization continues to expand globally. Experts warn that the perception of cannabis as a "safe" recreational drug could undermine public awareness of its potential cardiovascular dangers.

Health practitioners and policymakers are now being urged to integrate these findings into public health messaging and to consider cardiovascular risks in clinical evaluations of patients who use cannabis.