Cannabis users encouraged to take a break over lockdown period due to COVID-19 health risks

NewsHub 31 March 2020
Family First Comment: The health risks were already there before the coronavirus! Users are now just more at risk. Time to go DrugFree – for health’s sake.

Stoners are being told to ease up on the weed over the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, with scientists saying the health risks are significant.

Dr Marta Rychert, a senior research officer at Massey University’s SHORE and Whariki Research Centre says around five percent of New Zealand’s population uses cannabis as medication.

“People who self-medicate with cannabis are the most vulnerable in the terms of COVID-19,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“They are older than recreational users and often suffer from multiple health problems.”

A recent survey by SHORE showed the most popular way to use marijuana was to smoke it.

“Smoking presents unique risks in the context of COVID-19 due to the impacts on lung function.”

People who self medicate using oils or tinctures will not suffer the same ill effects.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/cannabis-users-encouraged-to-take-a-break-over-lockdown-period-due-to-covid-19-health-risks.html