--- title: Study Links Marijuana to Two Deaths description: Cuts against many other studies that have showed pot doesn't have fatal health implications canonical: https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-27T14:24:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:30:47.715Z article:section: Health og:title: Study Links Marijuana to Two Deaths og:description: Cuts against many other studies that have showed pot doesn't have fatal health implications og:url: https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfd904e58c033423/6986835c35ba6f4daac00b5f/148983820.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Close Up Of Marijuana Leaf og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study Links Marijuana to Two Deaths twitter:description: Cuts against many other studies that have showed pot doesn't have fatal health implications twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfd904e58c033423/6986835c35ba6f4daac00b5f/148983820.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study Claims to Find First Two Deaths Caused by Marijuana by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 27, 2014 2:24 PM UTC  Close Up Of Marijuana Leaf Close Up Of Marijuana LeafGetty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 27, 2014 2:24 PM UTC A recent German study claims to have documented the [first known deaths resulting from marijuana use.](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU%5FGERMANY%5FCANNABIS%5FDEATHS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) While researchers studied 15 people whose deaths were allegedly linked to marijuana use, 13 of those deaths were confirmed to be caused by other factors. Researchers said, however, that the drug was to blame in two isolated cases of two seemingly health people, one 23 years old and another 28\. Autopsies found that younger had a serious undetected heart problem, suggesting that people with cardiological issues should be aware of marijuana risks, and the older had a history of alcohol and drug use. “To our knowledge, these are the first cases of suspected fatal cannabis intoxications where full post-mortem investigations… were carried out,” [researchers said in the study](http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-0738%2814%2900054-1/abstract), published in _Forensic Science International_ this month. “After exclusion of other causes of death we assume that the young men experienced fatal cardiovascular complications evoked by smoking cannabis.” The new study cuts against [many others](http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/39256/title/Can-Pot-Be-Lethal-/) showing pot use [does not](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/marijuana-overdose%5Fn%5F4538580.html) have serious medical repercussions. The German Association for Drugs and Addiction [criticized the study ](http://www.thelocal.de/20140226/german-doctors-claim-cannabis-can-kill)on Wednesday, _The Local_ reports. “Cannabis does not paralyze the breathing or the heart,” said Jost Leune, who heads the group. He said the dangers of marijuana are “exaggerated” and that “deaths due to cannabis use are usually accidents that are not caused by the substance, but to the circumstances of use.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/"},"headline":"Study Claims to Find First Two Deaths Caused by Marijuana","datePublished":"2014-02-27T14:24:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:30:47.715Z","description":"Cuts against many other studies that have showed pot doesn't have fatal health implications","url":"https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/","keywords":["Drugs","Marijuana","Pot","Germany","cannabis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfd904e58c033423/6986835c35ba6f4daac00b5f/148983820.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfd904e58c033423/6986835c35ba6f4daac00b5f/148983820.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Close Up Of Marijuana Leaf","caption":"Close Up Of Marijuana Leaf","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/10372/marijuana-deaths-german-study/","name":"Study Claims to Find First Two Deaths Caused by Marijuana"}}]}] ```