30 Year Study: Daily cannabis users have lower heart rates

Resting heart rate can predict cardiovascular disease. This study examined data on 5,115 men and women over 30 years. The data came from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. The research was published in The American Journal of Medicine in March 2022.

They found no cumulative effect in that long-term cannabis use made no difference. What made a difference was recent and regular cannabis use. Those that used cannabis 5 times a month showed a lower heart rate by 0.7 beats per minute, and those that used cannabis daily showed a lower heart rate by 2.1 beats per minute.

"Recent current cannabis use was associated with lower resting heart rate. The findings appeared to be transient because past cumulative exposure to cannabis was not associated with heart rate. This adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting a lack of deleterious association of cannabis use at a level typical of the general population on surrogate outcomes of cardiovascular disease."

Unfortunately, they did not collect data on the methods of consumption (ingested, inhaled, etc.).

The full-text analysis is here at The American Journal of Medicine site.