Pubdate: Wed, 26 Nov 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Greta Kaul

SECONDHAND POT SMOKE ALSO BAD FOR BLOOD VESSELS

Breathing secondhand cigarette smoke damages blood and heart vessels 
- - and so does marijuana smoke, UCSF scientists have found.

When researchers exposed lab rats to 30 minutes of secondhand 
marijuana smoke, they saw a 70 percent decline in the function of the 
animals' blood vessels. Blood vessel function was still subpar when 
there was no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which gives pot its 
intoxicating qualities, in the marijuana.

Studies have shown that blood vessels regain their normal function 30 
minutes after exposure to tobacco smoke. In the new study, blood 
vessels hadn't returned to normal 40 minutes after exposure to marijuana smoke.

The research is important because many people know secondhand 
cigarette smoke is bad - it causes about 34,000 premature deaths due 
to heart disease in the United States annually - but do not know that 
secondhand marijuana smoke has health consequences, too, said Dr. 
Matthew Springer, the study's senior author and an associate 
professor of medicine at UCSF. With more states legalizing marijuana, 
it could become a health concern, he said.

The study was presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's 
Scientific Sessions.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom