Legal Cannabis Sales Tied to More Heart Failure and Heart Attack Hospitalizations
Cannabis legalisation and cardiovascular hospitalisations in the USA
Using National Inpatient Sample data from 2012–2018, researchers compared Western states, where recreational cannabis sales began in January 2014, with the rest of the country, where legal sales arrived only in late 2018. Each additional year of legalization was linked to higher hospitalization rates for atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and myocardial infarction, while control conditions showed no such rise. The authors warn that global legalization could drive meaningful increases in cardiovascular healthcare use.
Legalisation was associated with increased hospitalisations for AF, HF and MI. Global legalisation trends may result in epidemiologically and economically important increases in cardiovascular healthcare use.