Cannabis use can increase the risk of severe symptoms in covid-19. This is shown by a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in the USA.
In the study, which has been published in the scientific journal Jama Network Open, patient records from over 72,000 people who had covid-19 during the first two years of the pandemic were examined.
The researchers found that those who had used cannabis at least once in the year before they fell ill ran an 80 per cent greater risk of being hospitalised, and a 27 per cent greater risk of needing intensive care than those who had not done so.
According to the study, cannabis use poses roughly the same risks of developing severe covid-19 symptoms as regular smoking. However, it differs when it comes to the risk of dying from the disease.
Smokers run a significantly higher risk of dying from covid-19 than non-smokers, but according to Liu-Shiun Chen, professor of physiology, more research is needed to investigate the link between mortality risk and cannabis use in relation to the disease.
