Elevated Risk of Kidney Disease Not Linked to Cannabis Use

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A recent study published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, further examined the health implications that may come from cannabis use specific to kidney disease (1). Researchers affiliated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, Maryland) and Tulane University (New Orleans, Louisiana), utilized longitudinal data stemming from Baltimore, Maryland regarding the connection between kidney function and cannabis use (2).

Data was collected from 1,521 participants with a mean age of 48 years old. The data pool consisted of 893 (58%) participants that were of Black race and 889 (58%) of participants were female (1,3). The study mentioned that (1) “Participants with current regular cannabis use were more likely to be younger, male, Black, and to concurrently use cigarettes, opiates, and/or cocaine.”

Researchers reported that data “Compared with those with no history of cannabis use, participants with current regular cannabis use were not at higher risk of incident CKD (OR: 0.79 [95% CI: 0.37-1.68]), rapid kidney function decline (OR: 0.80 [95% CI: 0.43-1.49), or incident albuminuria (OR: 0.84 [95% CI: 0.38-1.87]) after adjustment for sociodemographics, health factors, and concurrent use of cigarette, opiate, or cocaine,” (1,2).

“Regular cannabis use was associated with a similar risk of incident CKD compared with participants who never tried cannabis, over a mean follow-up time of 8.6 years. In addition, neither former nor current regular cannabis use was associated with rapid kidney function decline or incident albuminuria at follow-up,” researchers mentioned. “Our findings are consistent with several studies evaluating the association of cannabis exposure and CKD.”

After reviewing their results from participant data, researchers stated that (1-3), “In this Baltimore-based cohort of adults without CKD, there was no independent association between cannabis use and adverse kidney outcomes over time.” Researchers further added (3), “In conclusion, among a cohort of adults without CKD, we found that cannabis use was not associated with incident reduced kidney function, incident albuminuria, or rapid kidney function decline. Future studies should examine the potential kidney health impacts of various routes of cannabis consumption and dosage, particularly given that the variety of cannabis products has expanded in recent years.”

References

1. Alvarado F, Han D, Zonderman AB, Evans MK, Crews DC. Evaluating the Association of Cannabis Use and Longitudinal Kidney Outcomes. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. Published online July 30, 2025. doi:10.1177/25785125251363813
2. Norml. Cannabis use not associated with elevated risk of kidney disease https://norml.org/news/2025/08/07/analysis-cannabis-use-not-associated-with-elevated-risk-of-kidney-disease/ (accessed Aug 25, 2025).
3. https://handls.nih.gov/pubs/2025-Alvarado-CanCannabRes-epub.pdf (accessed Aug 25, 2025).