Only sort of related, but I'm almost completely unable to smoke anymore. I used to smoke heavily in my early 20s (33 now). Now if I take more than one hit of anything, I'm liable to have an anxiety/panic attack. I can hardly move and I get these awful chills. The way it's consumed hardly matters; even with edibles, I can only have 1-2mg. I've ceased entirely and I don't regret it at all.
I'm sure there are at least a couple of other causes (genetics, early life diet), but I think it did worsen some hormonal imbalance issues I've had too.
I read through it, but I couldn't figure out if it was (1) just smoked cannabis, or (2) general THC usage (from gummies or drinks).
I have no idea why we keep putting this stuff on HN. Common thing X causes/reduces 1 (out of 100) types of cancer or health issue.
Without looking at all the effects together, the comparison product (alcohol?), and the actual change in risk it’s as likely to confuse as inform.
My doctor sends out a monthly newsletter sharing things he finds interesting or useful, medical news, etc. Just this weekend he covered this study and shared his own thoughts on this, which I'll summarize since I haven't asked his permission to share verbatim:
This study does show a strong correlation but doesn't attempt to show causation. If cannabis users are significantly different than non-users in terms of activity levels or diet, or the ways they manage anxiety/pain/boredom, this could cause skewing. Since people use cannabis to treat (however effectively) various conditions, what is the risk of those conditions going untreated?
I thought this was a good analysis; glad to see a bit of desensationalism.
One thing I never see in these studies is control for all nicotine usage. Cannabis use is a massive indicator for that, and can very easily be under reported if it is not actually being tested for.
There's also a link between sugar and your teeth falling out, water and drowning, heat and burning to death, sunlight and cancer, etc. Cardiovascular disease presents in half of all American adults. This isn't interesting news.
People have really been lied to re: the risks of smoking pot. Especially the potency and dosage so many more people are using.
This could get dicey. I know there are a lot of users out there and I understand the various causes for use. However, for those of us who didn't because of concerns like this, it is a bit vindicating. Addiction is a disease, full sympathy, but please get help if you need it.
> Although the authors will not share the data directly, any interested researcher may apply the search strategy developed for this analysis, available in the online supplemental appendix.