Dr. Mike Roizen
Dr. Mike Roizen is chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, an award-winning author, and has been the doctor to eight Nobel Prize winners and more than 100 Fortune 500 CEOs.

Dr. Mike Roizen

Tags: cocaine | amphetamines | stroke | dr. roizen
OPINION

Youth Won't Prevent Drug-Induced Stroke

Michael Roizen, M.D. By Tuesday, 14 April 2026 11:43 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

If you’re one of the more than 45 million Americans who have used marijuana, cocaine, or amphetamines in the past month, I'm afraid the party's over — or at least it should be.

A study in the International Journal of Stroke looked at data from 32 studies with more than 100 million participants and found that using cocaine increases your risk for a stroke by 96%; speed boosts the risk by 122%; and weed elevates it by 37%.

Cocaine is a trigger for cardioembolic stroke (caused by a blood clot that travels from the heart to the brain) and intracerebral hemorrhage, which happens when a ruptured blood vessel causes bleeding inside the brain.

Speed is implicated in the widest variety of events, including ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.

And although marijuana isn't as profoundly risky as cocaine or amphetamines, it is associated with large artery stroke (large vessel occlusion). That is caused by a blockage, often from atherosclerotic plaque, in the carotid or middle cerebral artery.

The study also showed that being under age 55 offers no protection from drug-related strokes, especially if you use amphetamines. They increases stroke risk for younger adults by 174%. Cocaine boosts it by 97%. And marijuana ups it by 14%.

And at any age, eating gummies and vaping are as risky as smoking a joint.

If you have a substance abuse problem, there's good information and services available through samhsa.gov/find-help.

© King Features Syndicate


DrRoizen
If you’re one of the more than 45 million Americans who have used marijuana, cocaine, or amphetamines in the past month, I'm afraid the party's over — or at least it should be.
cocaine, amphetamines, stroke, dr. roizen
234
2026-43-14
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 11:43 AM
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