Cannabis-friendly trauma patients are less likely to die in-hospital than age-matched controls, a new study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery found.
University of Arizona researchers examined in-hospital mortality rates of adults in the intensive care unit – of which 2,678 were matched (1,339 cannabis positive, 1,339 cannabis negative) – over the course of five years. They discovered that those who tested positive for cannabis upon admission were less likely to die while hospitalized.
“Patients with a positive marijuana screen had a lower mortality rate (5.3 percent versus 8.9 percent) compared to patients with a negative marijuana screen,” the researchers wrote.
This isn’t the first study to link cannabis use with a higher likelihood of survival. Past research has found that cannabis-positive patients admitted to the ICU for traumatic brain injuries and heart attacks have greater survival rates than matched controls.
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