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Your Dental Patient Tells You They Use Cannabis … What Do You Need To Know?

Generic image of a dentist.

Bill Claytor, DDS, MAGD
Executive Director, NCCDP

In 2025, cannabis use among our patients is becoming more commonplace in our dental practices. The cannabis of today is not the cannabis of the 1970s. Today’s cannabis has been genetically modified to get people high, very high! Issues with frequency of use, purity of product, amounts used, and consequences of their use are often not asked in healthcare settings, especially in some medical and dental offices. Also, how should we respond if a patient told us they used Cannabis today? Should we treat them today? If not, how long should we wait before treatment? Two or three hours, one day, three days, a week? What are the potentially detrimental effects if we treat them today? These concerns need to be addressed now before potentially detrimental events occur in our offices.

Why?

The reason is that the environment to legalize national and state recreational use has never been more favorable than now. 

Is Cannabis really “safer” than tobacco and alcohol? Misinformation abounds in the public eye and on multiple media outlets about the safety of today’s Cannabis. 

What do we really know about Cannabis in 2025?

Recent research reveals several concerning facts:

  • 1 in 6 patients use Cannabis, with 35% of those using at levels indicating moderate to high-risk for Cannabis Use Disorder (i.e., addiction). (1)
  • In 2024, a report from 176,000 patients surveyed indicated that 40% use cannabis 1-2 times in the previous month, monthly 17%, weekly 25%, and 19% daily or almost daily. (1)
  • In the U.S., the modes of Cannabis use by the general public include: Vaping = 29%, Inhalation = 65%, and Ingestion = 64.7%. (1)
  • Most recreational users have used in the past to manage a symptom. Reasons for Cannabis use include: Mental health issues = 76%, Medical = 47%, Stress = 56%, Sleep = 56%, and Pain = 37%. (1)
  • Primary use of Cannabis in the U.S. Adult population is for recreational (non-medical) use (According to the NIH, 83% recreational use and Pew Research, 76% recreational use). (2)
  • In 2022, research indicated for the first time there were more Cannabis daily or near daily users (17.7 million) vs. daily or near daily alcohol users (14.7 million) (3)
  • Cannabis users used 15-16 days in the previous month, while median drinkers drank 4-5 days in the previous month. (3)
  • More than 40% of North American non-medical (recreational) cannabis users consume edibles (e.g., Gummies, brownies). (4)
  • Edibles have a long latency period and duration of action. (4)
  • Unfamiliarity with edible dosing can result in unintentional overdose. (4)
  • Psychiatric and cardiovascular complications are more likely with edibles. (4)
  • Any Cannabis Use (smoked, eaten, vaporized) has been associated with, as compared to non-cannabis users: (5)
    • Heart Attack: 25% higher odds.
    • Stroke: 42% higher odds.
    • Coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke: 36% higher combined odds.
    • Cannabis and tobacco have significant cardiovascular risk.
  • In 2002, 25.8 million people over the age of 12 used cannabis at least once during the year as compared to 2019 where 48.2 million people over the age of 12 used cannabis at least once during the year. (6)

In fact, on March 18, 2025, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reported that among individuals without significant cardiovascular morbidity under the age of 50, the use of cannabis is linked to adverse cardiac events, resulting in: (7)

  • 6X higher risk of myocardial infarction (within one hour of use)
  • 4X increase risk of ischemic stroke
  • 2 X increased risk of heart failure
  • 3 X increased risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke

The findings suggest cannabis as a novel and under-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease. (7)

Dentistry needs to start (if we aren’t already) asking patients on our Health Questionnaires if they use Cannabis. If they answer in the affirmative, it is incumbent on us to start a conversation about the potential issues that may surface about their health and events that may occur in our dental office. Legalization is not going away and it will eventually surface in North Carolina in one form or another. We must be ready as practitioners to address these issues and be constructively proactive, not reactive, in addressing these pending issues.

I would be interested in hearing about your experiences with patients using Cannabis products and how you are currently addressing them. If you would like to share with me anonymously or by your name, please share your experiences at: bclaytor@nccaringdental.com.

Thank you!

Bill Claytor, DDS, MAGD
Executive Director, NCCDP

References

(1)  Gelberg L, Beck D, Koerber J, et al. Cannabis Use Reported by Patients Receiving Primary Care in a Large Health System. JAMA Netw Open.   
      2024;7(6):e2414809. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.14809.

(2)   Lin LA, Ilgen MA, Jannausch M, Bohnert KM. Comparing adults who use cannabis medically with those who use recreationally: Results from a national 
      sample. Addict Behav. 2016 Oct;61:99-103. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.05.015. Epub 2016 May 17. PMID: 27262964; PMCID: PMC4915997.

(3)   Summarized from an article in Addiction, Changes in Self-Reported Cannabis Use in the United States from 1979 to 2022, by Caulkins, JP (Carnegie Mellon
      University). Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

(4)  Cannabis Edibles Market Size, Share and, Industry Analysis By Component (THC Dominant, Balanced THC & CBD, and CBD Dominant), By Application
      (Confectionery, Baked Products, Beverages, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2025-2032; Region : Global | Report ID: FBI109312 | Status :   
      Ongoing;Source: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/cannabis-edibles-market-109312.

(5)  Shehata, S. A., Toraih, E. A., Ismail, E. A., Hagras, A. M., Elmorsy, E., & Fawzy, M. S. (2023). Vaping, Environmental Toxicants Exposure, and Lung Cancer
      Risk. Cancers, 15(18), 4525. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15184525.

(6)  Journal of the American Heart Association: February 28, 2024. 2019 NSDUH from SAMSHA of the US Department of HHS.(7)  Report published March 18, 2025, in JACC: Advances and being presented at ACC.25 in Chicago.