Smoking marijuana associated with higher stroke risk in young adults

This news release is featured in a news conference at 7 a.m. HT, Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Study Highlights:

• Marijuana use may double the risk of stroke in young adults.
• The New Zealand findings are the first from a case-controlled study to indicate a potential link between marijuana and stroke.

HONOLULU, Feb. 6, 2013 —Marijuana, the most widely used illicit drug, may double stroke risk in young adults, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2013.

In a New Zealand study, ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients were 2.3 times more likely to have cannabis, also known as marijuana, detected in urine tests as other age and sex matched patients, researchers said. Read More