Does Cannabis Lower Blood Pressure?

I am not a doctor. This is not an official medical answer to the question, Does cannabis lower blood pressure?

I haven't found a lot of great research published on the subject, but the individual accounts are adding up so I thought I'd share a brief account of the results I got through personal blood pressure testing and trying to get an answer to this question.

At the end of the article I will show you my personal before-and-after-smoking blood pressure test.

My Typical Blood Pressure

For the past few years I have visited the doctor regularly, and have observed issues with my blood pressure.

I do not have chronically high blood pressure and it has not yet been diagnosed, but due to some serious side effects to pharmaceutical medications and chemo treatments, I have experienced some higher levels of blood pressure that have been quite scary.

Because of this, I bought a blood pressure monitor from the drug store and regularly track myself.

Generally, my resting blood pressure at home is around 129/89—which is a very high normal.

When I go into the doctor, I regularly experience an increase in blood pressure—typically called "white coat syndrome."

This is because the doctor is a stressful experience for me. So my average recorded blood pressure by my doctor is in the range of 135/93—still not too high to super worry, but something to put attention on.

As a note, I do not smoke or use edibles before going to the doctor or leaving the house in general.

I consume responsibly and legally for medicinal purposes, so it's generally after a doctor visit and when I'm at home.

So my doctor visits are still rather stressful.

Stress, Meds, and High Blood Pressure

Whatever the cause of my increased blood pressure, it's clear that stress is a big part of it.

When I'm stress out or in a lot of pain, my blood pressure always goes up.

The highest blood pressure I ever experienced was in an ambulance and it was 217/102.

The tech thought he made a mistake so he kept taking it over and over, and it was just really high.

This was a medication overdose and I didn't really feel anything in my body at the time.

The second highest blood pressure experience I had was with no medication, and was due to severe stress of being stuck in the hospital.

My blood pressure remained in the level of 175 to 190 for three days.

Every time my husband visited me in the hospital, it would go down by twenty points.

When I went home, it went down to normal, and I noticed from that point forward that the only reason it really went up was meds or stress, crying, anger, worries, etc.

My anti-psychotic medication does not help.

Smoking pot or taking edibles does.

Smoking Pot Lowers My Blood Pressure

I have repeatedly tested my own blood pressure before and after smoking pot, and it is ALWAYS significantly reduced.

My stress is reduced, my body relaxes, my pain is relieved, and blood pressure monitors reflect a lower blood pressure.

If you suffer from chronic high blood pressure this could be significant.

Before and After Blood Pressure Test

Here is my before and after smoking two bowls.