Marijuana Mushes Memory in Teen Smokers – Dave’s Diary

Marijuana has been in the news of late.  Pierce County is facing a potential lawsuit for planning a ban. Yakima is seeking an Attorney General opinion for planning a ban.  Seattle has just voted to determine the amount of fines for smoking in public.  Amidst all the headlines and the hoopla about implementing the state’s new marijuana law comes this: The stereotypes are true.

Teenagers who smoke marijuana have poor memories and abnormal brain structures. A study from Northwestern University found that teenagers who smoked pot daily scored poorly on memory tests, despite not having used the drug for over two years.

MRI scans of the drug users also showed brain abnormalities similar to those with schizophrenia.  The younger the individuals were when they started chronically using marijuana, the more abnormally their brain regions were shaped.

But which comes first--the chicken, the egg or the joint? The study did note that they could not determine if the differences in user’s brains was caused by marijuana or if they existed before the drug use started.

Research suggests that it’s the differences that made the teens more likely to use marijuana in the first place. (Daily Mail)