Patients with THC in their system were less likely to die from traumatic brain injuries than those without it. Those were the findings of researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, released this week.
And according to the scientists, it’s not a coincidence.
Studying the injuries and outcomes of 446 patients who had suffered a severe brain injury along side urine samples showed that the 82 patients with THC in their system. Of that number, only 2.4 percent of patients had died, compared to 11.5 percent of the remaining 364 patients. Researchers say the findings back previous studies done on cannabis and brain injuries.
Researchers say that both groups were “similarly injured” enough to mae the findings substantial.
“Previous studies conducted by other researchers had found certain compounds in marijuana helped protect the brain in animals after a trauma,” said David Plurad, the study’s lead author. “This study was one of the first in a clinical setting to specifically associate THC use as an independent predictor of survival after traumatic brain injury.”