Weed and Stroke: What the New Tulane Study Really Shows

What the researchers did

The work comes from Aabha Divya at Tulane University School of Medicine. The team used data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a large US health survey, covering 2020 to 2024. That adds up to 442,906 adults with an average age of 49. People were sorted by how many of the last 30 days they used cannabis: low (1 to 5 days), medium (6 to 15 days) and high (16 to 30 days).

The researchers then compared each group to people who did not use cannabis, and adjusted for tobacco, alcohol, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, physical activity, education and income.

The numbers

• Stroke: 40% higher odds in the low-use group, 25% higher odds in the high-use group.
• Cardiovascular disease overall: 23% higher odds (low use) and 21% higher odds (high use).
• Heart attack: no significant link.

The medium group was not reported in the release. Divya herself said the team expected the odds to rise step by step with more frequent use, “but that wasn’t the case.”

What this study does not prove

This is the part that matters most. The result is an association, not proof that weed causes strokes.

• It is a preliminary abstract. It has not been peer reviewed and has not been published in a journal.
• It is a cross-sectional survey: it captures one moment, not what happened over time.
• Everything is self-reported, including both the cannabis use and the stroke diagnosis.
• Dose and potency are unknown. One joint a week can mean very different things.
• Some people may have cut back after a health scare, which can make occasional users look riskier than they are. Former users may also sit in the non-user group.

“Odds” are also not the same as risk. A 40% higher odds ratio does not mean your personal chance of a stroke went up by 40 percentage points. Stroke is rare at most ages, so the absolute numbers stay small for most people.

Why it still deserves attention

It is not a one-off. A 2024 NIH-funded analysis of 434,104 adults found 42% higher odds of stroke and 25% higher odds of heart attack among people who used every day. The new study adds that the signal may show up even at low frequency. Robert L. Page II of the University of Colorado, an outside expert quoted by the AHA, suggested that cannabis should be treated more like tobacco for heart health.

Many people tell themselves that using only on weekends or a few times a month is automatically harmless. This study does not prove that wrong, but it is one more reason not to wave your use away just because it is not daily.

What this means if you are thinking about quitting

You do not need to be a daily smoker to have a good reason to stop. If you have noticed that cannabis is affecting your sleep, anxiety, motivation or health, that is enough. And if you have risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of stroke, it is worth talking openly with your doctor about your use.

If you smoke or vape, you also inhale combustion products, not just THC. Cutting down or stopping is good for your lungs and your blood pressure regardless of how this one study turns out.

Quitting is not easy, and the first weeks of withdrawal can be rough. But it is manageable, and you do not have to do it alone.

Bottom line

A large survey links occasional cannabis use to higher odds of a reported stroke. It is early, self-reported and not proof of cause and effect. Treat it as a signal worth watching, not a verdict, and as another reason to look honestly at your own use.

Source: American Heart Association Newsroom, “Cannabis use linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, especially strokes,” November 2, 2026.