Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/ct13uGTrFlA Recreational cannabis use is on the rise as more and more states make it legal.  We can learn a thing or two from our neighbors to the north as weed for fun is completely legal throughout Canada and medicinal marijuana has been in widespread use for years. A just published report in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology reminds us that the new cannabis can be risky.  The case report recounts the story of a older man with stable coronary artery disease who decided to try a THC lollipop to relieve some pain and insomnia.  It contained 90 mg of THC and triggered a serious heart attack and reduced cardiac function.  Compared that dose to the 7 mg in a joint or the usual 2.5 mg dose of THC used for nausea in cancer and AIDS patients. Cannabis heart toxicity can be due to: 1. directed effects of THC on cardiac muscle; 2. effects of the various inhaled and toxic gases released when marijuana burn, and 3. the cardiac effects of weed-induced anxiety and hallucinations.   Over the pas