Open AccessAcute Coronary Syndrome And Cannabis: Consideration When Decriminalizing And Legalizing
Author(s) -
Sateesh Bidaisee
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
caribbean medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2664-5599
pISSN - 0374-7042
DOI - 10.48107/cmj.2020.05.001
Subject(s) - cannabis , legalization , acute coronary syndrome , medicine , recreation , popularity , recreational drug , effects of cannabis , psychiatry , decriminalization , environmental health , psychology , drug , myocardial infarction , criminology , political science , law , social psychology , cannabidiol
The use of recreational cannabis has been rapidly increasing in the United States of America and it is heavily accelerated by recent decriminalization and legalization movements. It has been gaining greater popularity among adolescents and young adults due to the perception of low health risk of cannabis and improved accessibility. Consequently, there has been increasing number of cases being reported for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) related to recreational cannabis use in people who are otherwise healthy and do not have any cardiac history. The pathophysiology of cannabis-induced ACS is rather poorly understood, yet there is general agreement among physicians that cannabis-induced diffuse transient coronary vasospasm and sympathomimetic properties of cannabis are the underlying mechanism of cardiac manifestations. The purpose of this review is to discuss the relationship between ACS and recreational cannabis use and to raise an issue that its potential severe health outcomes pose a public health concern, which should warrant strengthening the regulations related to recreational cannabis use.