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NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- People who need emergency care or hospitalization for cannabis use disorder are at an elevated risk of premature death within five years, a new Canadian study suggests. The study was published Thursday in JAMA Network Open.
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Significant increases in regular marijuana use and products' strength underscore the importance of recognizing cannabis use disorder as a public health concern. This issue is particularly worrisome in young segments of the population amid growing interest in legalizing marijuana and marketing it commercially, the researchers noted.
"Cannabis use -- and the number of people with a cannabis use disorder -- is rapidly increasing globally, and more people now use cannabis daily than consume alcohol daily in Canada and the United States," the study's lead author, Dr. Daniel Myran, told UPI.
Despite these trends, "We know very little about whether or not having a cannabis use disorder increases the risk of death," said Myran, the Canada research chair of social accountability at the University of Ottawa in Ontario.
Myran and his colleagues studied 11.6 million people for a median period of five years. They ranged in age from 15 to 105 years and lived in Ontario between 2006 and 2021.
Researchers found that those who received hospital-based care for the disorder were at six times the risk of death within five years compared to someone the same age in the general population.
After the researchers accounted for co-morbid health conditions, these people remained at almost three times the risk of death by suicide, trauma, drug poisoning and lung cancer.
The researchers also compared the risk of death in people with a cannabis use disorder to those with an alcohol use disorder. And while they found that those with alcohol use disorders had a greater risk, it wasn't much higher.
"Large segments of the public do not perceive cannabis to have major health risks," said Myran, who also is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a scientist at the Bruyère Health Research Institute, ICES and the Ottawa Hospital.
Changing this mindset would require comprehensive efforts to prevent the development of cannabis use disorders along with more treatment and support options for people with addiction.
"The findings highlight that lawmakers and policymakers need to be very cautious about how cannabis policy is implemented to ensure that it does not result in large increases in use," Myran said.
This study wasn't designed to determine if cannabis use disorder itself causes death. Continuing research is necessary "to tease out the degree that the findings are a function of cannabis use or from other lifestyle and medical factors like a higher rate of tobacco use," he said.
Nonetheless, Myran noted that the findings identify a very high risk group of people who most likely would benefit from further medical care and intervention.
Other experts commended the researchers for raising awareness of cannabis' habit-forming nature and the heightened risk of death.
"There is a growing public health threat with cannabis use," said Dr. Laura Jean Bierut, lead author of an editorial accompanying the study and an alumni endowed professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
"Cannabis use is addictive -- similarly as alcohol," Bierut said. "Some can use it with no difficulty and others will develop addiction. Don't let anyone tell you that cannabis is not addictive."
As cannabis use surges and an increased risk of death is linked to this disorder, particularly in younger populations, she added, "It is important that we recognize this science and begin to act on this public health issue."
Cannabis' legalization has led to some misconceptions about its safety, said Dr. Leigh Vinocur, a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.
However, "this study is about problematic, addictive cannabis use -- those most severely afflicted," Vinocur said. "So, there's a public health message, but you can't generalize this to everybody who's using cannabis."
After practicing emergency medicine for more than 30 years, she earned a master's degree in medical cannabis science and therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and opened an integrative health practice in Baltimore County.
"I've seen the benefits of medical cannabis when used properly with the guidance of a physician for certain medical conditions," such as chronic pain, Vinocur said, cautioning that "there is no medication or substance that's completely safe, especially when used improperly."
