The most common cause of chronic liver disease is from infection with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The effect of cannabis (marijuana) use on chronic liver disease has been controversial, so this paper investigates the impact of marijuana use among individuals with HCV infection.
Between 2007 and 2014, hospital discharge records of those over 18 years of age who had been diagnosed with HCV were analyzed and evaluated. Patients with other forms of chronic liver disease were eliminated from the analysis.
4,728 HCV individuals who did not use cannabis were matched against 4,728 HCV individuals who did use cannabis.
Their study revealed that cannabis (marijuana) users had less prevalence of liver cirrhosis and lower health care costs than non cannabis users. There was no difference in liver carcinoma or in-hospital deaths between the two groups. As always, they state that further studies are warranted.
