A study has highlighted the potential risks associated with cannabis use during COVID-19, showing an increased likelihood of hospitalization and intensive care compared to non-users. Similar to smokers, cannabis users are nearly twice as likely to need hospitalization and intensive care when infected with the virus . A new study indicates that cannabis users face higher risks of serious COVID-19 illness requiring hospitalization and ICU care, similar to tobacco users.
However, their mortality rates do not increase. The findings highlight the need for more research on cannabis’s impact on health, especially in viral infections. As the deadly disease that came to be known as COVID-19 started spreading in late 2019, scientists rushed to answer a critical question: Who is most at risk? They quickly recognized that a handful of characteristics — including age, smoking history, high body mass index (BMI), and the presence of other diseases such as diabetes — made people infected with the virus much more likely to become seriously ill and even die.
But one suggested risk factor remains unconfirmed more than four years later: cannabis use. Evidence has emerged over time indicating both protective and harmful effects. Link Between Cannabis Use and COVID-19 Severity Now, a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis points decisively to the latter: Cannabis is linked to an increased risk of serious illness for those with COVID-19. The study, .
