Idaho Marijuana Users: Smoking Pot Increases Heart Attack Risks

The proponents of legalizing marijuana say that the drug is harmless and there is no danger in smoking pot responsibly. Several states have violated federal law by legalizing medical and recreational marijuana. 

It doesn't look like a version of any bill that would allow pot to become legal in Idaho will be heard by the Idaho Legislature. Oregon, which has legalized weed and other hardcore drugs, has declared a state of emergency due to the adverse side effects of drug legalization.

A new study by Massachusetts General Hospital reported by NBC News says that smoking weed just once a month could have serious health consequences. 

As reported by the American Heart Association, the study said folks who smoked marijuana have a twenty-five percent higher chance of having a heart attack. The risk of stroke was higher at forty-two percent. The study was conducted between 2016 and 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control. The ages of the subjects ranged from eighteen to seventy-four.

What happens if you're not a heavy pot smoker? Perhaps you only smoke the weed once a week? Just smoking marijuana once a week increases the user's chance of a heart attack by three percent and five percent for having a stroke.

Is pot the new big tobacco? One of the researchers told NBC News that he believes there is a troubling correlation between cigarette use last century and pot smoking this century.

Robert Page, a clinical pharmacist who specializes in heart disease at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy, said:

"I think we're beginning to see the same things we saw with smoking cigarettes back in the 50s and 60s — that this is a signal," said Page. "I feel like we're repeating history."

The study is just another reason to say no to legalized marijuana in Idaho. We'll continue to update you on this story as it develops.