According to a CDC study, many cannabis users may be disappointed to learn that those who smoked the plant had a higher risk of fungal infections compared to those who do not smoke.
The CDC study has found that cannabis smoking could lead to potentially life-threatening fungal and mold infections, especially for people who are young or immunocompromised. This is not because of the smoke it creates, but from fungus and mold that grow on marijuana’s flowers.
The study was published on May 13th by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It builds on previous research in California and Colorado that found legal marijuana was contaminated with pesticides and mold which poses a risk to people prescribed marijuana for medical conditions.
The CDC researchers looked at 2016 health data from around 27 million people in an IBM database for the newest study and scanned it to see if there was a link between cannabis use and fungal infections.
The study found that 40 of the 53,000 people who used cannabis developed a fungal infection in 2016, which is about 0.07% of them. By comparison 6,294 of the 21 million non-cannabis users contracting a fungal infection, or, 0.02%.
The CDC has found that fungal infections were more 3.5 times common among cannabis users.
“In this large commercially insured population in the United States, cannabis use was associated with a higher prevalence of certain fungal infections,” the researchers wrote.
“Although these infections were uncommon, they can result in substantial illness and even death, particularly in immunocompromised persons.”
