New Research Finds Marijuana Use Not Associated With Hypertension

A study from an international team of researchers has found that current or past use of marijuana is not independently associated with an increased risk of hypertension. Results of the study, “The longitudinal relationship between cannabis use and hypertension,” were posted online last month prior to publication in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review. 

To complete the study, researchers from the United States, Canada, Germany, and Russia investigated the relationship between the use of marijuana and hypertension in a nationally representative sample of subjects. Over a three-year period, researchers monitored the health of the participants, all of whom did not have hypertension at the beginning of the study. 

The investigators then performed an analysis of the data to quantify the relationships between lifetime cannabis use, 12-month cannabis use, and 12-month cannabis use frequency (at least monthly use and less than monthly use) and incidence of hypertension.