Smoking marijuana is widely regarded by many to be safe, but research this week revealed that using the drug can be associated with having a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

The analysis examined data from 24 studies, which revealed that the use of marijuana doubles the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, reported The New York Times on Thursday.

The data, published in the journal Heart, didn’t prove conclusively that marijuana caused more deaths, but it has been long-established that using it can raise a person’s heart rate and blood pressure while changing the heart’s rhythm, Dr. Ersilia DeFilippis, a cardiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, commented.

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