Does smoking marijuana increase the risk of heart disease or stroke?

A recent study by Dr. Jean Lud Cadet of the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that heavy marijuana use boosts the levels of a protein called apolipoprotein C-III in the blood by up to 30%, which increases the levels of triglycerides in the blood. Triglycerides contribute to the hardening and thickening of arteries and raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The study measured the protein levels in 18 long-term marijuana users who smoked an average of 78 to 350 joints a week — 11 to 50 joints per day — which, according to the NORML blog, is equivalent to 2 to 9 ounces per week. The study did not research whether or not the subjects actually had heart disease.

Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the The Marijuana Policy Project disputed the results:

We’re talking about people who are stoned all the time. We’re talking about the marijuana equivalent of the guy in the alley clutching a bottle of cheap wine. If you do anything to that level of excess, it might well have some untoward effects, whether it’s marijuana or wine or broccoli [...] Even if you take this finding at face value, it’s not at all clear that it has any relevance to the real world because there is still no data showing higher rates of mortality among marijuana smokers. If this was a significant cause of cardiovascular disease, where are the bodies?

In other words – If you’re not smoking upwards of two ounces of weed every week, you shouldn’t really have anything to worry about.

A 56-year-old man in Washington, suffering from Hepatitis C, died Thursday because he couldn’t get a liver transplant. The University of Washington Medical Center denied the man, Timothy Garon, potentially life-saving surgery based on the fact that he uses medical marijuana under his doctor’s supervision (and in accordance with state law.)

UWMC said it would reconsider its denial if Garon enrolled in a 60-day drug treatment program; when Garon tried again to change their minds, UWMC upheld it’s prior decision. The problem is, he didn’t make it that long.

Garon used marijuana to treat his Hepatitis C-related nausea, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. According to Dr. Robert Sade, director of the Institute of Human Values in Health Care at the Medical University of South Carolina, “Marijuana, unlike alcohol, has no direct effect on the liver,” and Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, “There are no pharmacological or physiological reasons why Tim Garon, or any medical marijuana patient, should logically be denied access to life-saving or life-enhancing organ transplants.” So why was this man denied?

Individual hospitals have the authority to create their own criteria for transplant eligibility; there is no national or statewide standard.

After hearing of the committee’s decision, Garon said, “I’m not angry, I’m not mad, I’m just confused.” Well, me too. If it is legal for him to smoke medicinal marijuana in the state of Washington, then the hospital should not have the authority to deny him surgery that could save his life based solely on that fact, especially with scientific evidence saying that it’s okay!

Lennon Garon, Timothy’s son, is also concerned about the future. “He’s not the first person that this happened to. He’s not going to be the last person until these policies are changed.”

I think it’s absolutely disgusting that they’d sacrifice Timothy Garon on the ‘altar of pot prohibition’ rather than treating him like they would any other suffering person! He’s a human being first and a pot smoker last (AND. ITS. LEGAL!) – People need to think about these things before they make such rash decisions!

You can read more about this case here, here, and here, and contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.