Chris: Okay, next question from Kyle on the live call: “What are your thoughts on recreational marijuana use?”
First of all, I think it’s sometimes hard to draw a line between recreational and medicinal. I think people who are using it recreationally are almost certainly using it for some medicinal purpose whether it be reducing anxiety or increasing their quality of life in some way. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it. Just experiencing pleasure and joy, which some people do when they use marijuana, acts, as you all I am sure know, has a medicinal and therapeutic effect in terms of releasing endorphins and other chemicals, which we know can affect kind of heart physiology directly. I think sometimes, it’s hard to draw a clear line between medicinal and recreational, first of all. It’s a pretty big question, though, because it really, of course, depends on the person and depends on their particular situation and their health status, their goals, the extent of the recreational use, and whether that recreational use is interfering with other areas of their life. Age, there’s some research that’s concerning, I think, about THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] in teens that doesn’t appear to be as much of an issue in adults once their brain has already developed and they’re hormonally immature. It’s difficult to answer that question without more specifics. [4:04]