Medicinal and Recreational Marijuana: What are the Risks? 07/31/2015 |
Brain abnormalities and memory problems were observed in these individuals in their early twenties, two years after they had stopped using marijuana. The cannabis users were noted to have striatal, globus pallidus, and thalamus changes showing these brain regions appearing to shrink and collapse inward. These individuals also had poorer working memory. The earlier the age of cannabis use, the more dramatic the brain changes and memory deficits were noted to be.
Not only does it appear that cannabis use itself is a potential precursor to future drug use, but the age of first use of cannabis and the frequency of cannabis use seem to also be predictors of future substance abuse issues. Studies have shown that over two-thirds of those under the age of 18 who have been admitted to a drug treatment program identify cannabis as their substance of choice.
” One important characteristic that defines a substance use disorder is “an underlying change in brain circuits that may persist beyond detoxification, particularly in individuals with severe disorder" Teens, Research, Studies, Brain, addiction, anxiety, depression, Resource Paper |
Medical Marijuana: The State of the Science 02/06/2015 |
Medical cannabinoids are here to stay, but intellectual honesty is imperative if we are moving toward exploiting their potential benefits. Owing to rising THC concentrations of products, "medical" marijuana is rarely good medicine. This review has identified the dangers associated with wholeplant marijuana, whether used for recreational or for supposedly medical purposes. Studies, Research, medscape, mental health, Side-Effects, heart, lungs, body, Brain, youth, cannabis, Resource Paper |
2020 Feb- Marijuana Update Florida 02/24/2020 |
The real cost in legalizing marijuana can be counted by the lives impacted- addiction, vaping, dispensing, traffic deaths, suicides, overdoses, …
Colorado, suicide, addiction, Florida, Brain |
What Do I Need to Know about Marijuana? 09/25/2019 |
What Do I Need to Know about Marijuana? Podcasts Answers all the myths with science and facts. Is it safe to drive using marijuana? If it is a medicine, how can it hurt me? What does marijuana use do to my brain? .... Podcasts, Brain, driving, Effects |
Largest brain study of 62,454 scans identifies drivers of brain aging 05/01/2019 |
The study found that a number of brain disorders and behaviors predicted accelerated aging, especially schizophrenia, which showed an average of 4 years of premature aging, cannabis abuse (2.8 years of accelerated aging), bipolar disorder (1.6 years accelerated aging), ADHD (1.4 years accelerated aging) and alcohol abuse (0.6 years accelerated aging). Interestingly, the researchers did not observe accelerated aging in depression and aging, which they hypothesize may be due to different types of brain patterns for these disorders. study, Brain, aging, science daily |
Marijuana and the Brain 07/02/2018 |
Brain, Drug Free America |
Carol Falkowski: Marijuana and adolescents: Caution 03/05/2017 |
Everyone should be concerned: Voters, not medical practitioners or scientists, have been able to determine medical practice.
Beneath it all, however, we must pause to seriously consider the known, detrimental effects of repeated marijuana use on the developing adolescent brain. We must act accordingly and responsibly in ways that promote the public health and safety, help delay initiation of use, and reduce, not increase, the accessibility of marijuana to this particularly vulnerable population. Public Health, Brain, Long-term, short-term, Falkowski |
Learn more about the risks marijuana use poses to your health. 01/29/2017 |
Here are just a few of the health effects you may want to know:
-
Marijuana use directly affects the brain—specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and attention.
-
The compounds in marijuana can affect the circulatory system and may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
-
Smoking marijuana can lead to a greater risk of bronchitis, cough, and phlegm production.
-
Marijuana users are significantly more likely than nonusers to develop chronic mental disorders, including schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness where people might see or hear things that aren't really there (hallucinations).
-
Eating foods or drinking beverages that contain marijuana have some different risks than smoking marijuana, including a greater risk of poisoning.
-
About 1 in 10 marijuana users will become addicted. For people who begin using before the age of 18, that number rises to 1 in 6.
-
Some research shows that using marijuana while you are pregnant[288 KB] can cause health problems in newborns—including low birth weight and developmental problems.
-
Marijuana use can slow your reaction time and ability to make decisions when driving[271 KB].
Brain, heart, lungs, mental health, poisoning, Pregnancy, driving, CDC, stroke, Side-Effects |
Marijuana use in early adolescence may affect verbal IQ 01/24/2017 |
"The study suggests that the effects of cannabis use on verbal intelligence are explained not by neurotoxic effects on the brain, but rather by a possible social mechanism," said lead author Natalie Castellanos-Ryan, Assistant Professor at Universite de Montreal in Canada IQ, youth usage, Brain |
Parsing the Contradictions: Marijuana and the Brain 12/07/2016 |
“We see specific morphological changes in the brain to important neurotransmitter systems, and individuals who are exposed to THC early in life show greater sensitivity to opiates than others do,” she said. “We know that the brain definitely adapts to marijuana. It is profoundly changing the receptors and receptor signaling that impact gene expression. And the changes it makes last through adulthood and even into the next generation. So we see that there’s something about the ongoing processes in the developing brain that this drug somehow sensitizes—in the cells, the receptors, and in the signaling cascades—that makes kids more vulnerable to addiction and other problems later.”
“There is a lot of optimism for what components of the marijuana plant may offer on a medicinal level but, like all other drugs, the caveat is that you have to know what it does, what population it can be used for, and who could be vulnerable to its effects. We need a lot more research before we can say anything concrete about its future as a treatment.”
Brain, dana foundation, Neuroscience |
What Educators Should Know About Marijuana 09/12/2016 |
KNOW YOUR A,B,C,D’s … Absent, Behavior, Course Grade = Drugs
Infographics, educators, Brain, youth, charts |
How marijuana affects the Brain 07/01/2016 |
An increased risk of psychosis, changes in the brain's reward system and the scrambled neuron signals that may underlie "the munchies" are just some of the many potential effects of marijuana use on the brain. Brain, live science |
Cannabis use during pregnancy may affect brain development in offspring: Thicker prefrontal cortex 06/20/2016 |
Summary: Cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with abnormal brain structure in children, according to a new study. Compared with unexposed children, those who were prenatally exposed to cannabis had a thicker prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in complex cognition, decision-making, and working memory. Pregnancy, Brain, science daily |
In Defense of our Brain 04/13/2016 |
“This is not a war on drugs , it is a defense of our brains!” Dr. Bertha Madras, PhD powerpoint, Brain |
Adolescent Cannabinoid Exposure Induces a Persistent Sub-Cortical Hyper-Dopaminergic State and Associated Molecular Adaptations in the Prefrontal Cortex 01/04/2016 |
Thus, adolescent THC exposure induced behavioral abnormalities resembling positive and negative schizophrenia-related endophenotypes and a state of neuronal hyperactivity in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway. Furthermore, we observed profound alterations in several prefrontal cortical molecular pathways consistent with sub-cortical DAergic dysregulation. Our findings demonstrate a profound dissociation in relative risk profiles for adolescent versus adulthood exposure to THC in terms of neuronal, behavioral, and molecular markers resembling neuropsychiatric pathology. Brain, adolescent, Research |
Study: High-potency marijuana linked with neural damage 11/28/2015 |
"We found that frequent use of high-potency cannabis significantly affects the structure of white matter fibres in the brain, whether you have psychosis or not,"
The main psychoactive ingredient in weed, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is much more concentrated in modern skunk strains as compared to traditional pot and hash -- up 14 percent as compared to 4 percent. Studies, Brain, Potency |
Everyone Praises the Healing Power of This Drug—but Many Don’t Realize the Damaging Effect It Has on Teens 09/12/2015 |
In 2014, Gilman published research on 18-to-25-year-olds that showed differences in the brain’s reward system between users and nonusers. Teens who smoked marijuana had significant abnormalities in the areas of the brain linked to emotion, motivation, and decision-making (see diagram above). “I got a lot of hate mail after that,” she says. Jangi, MD, reader's digest, Brain |
Six Ways Science Says Marijuana May Hurt Your Health 06/27/2015 |
Danger, science, car crashes 2, Brain, addiction, heart, car crashes |
Effects on Marijuana Use on Developing Adolescents 04/30/2015 |
adolescent, Brain, Effects, ATTC, video |
Marijuana users may have ‘false memories’ 04/22/2015 |
Participants in a study who had used the drug daily for around three years in their teens had an abnormally shaped hippocampus by the time they were in their early 20s.
They also performed around 18 per cent worse in long-term memory tests than individuals who had never touched the drug. Brain, Biomedical, youth, memory, Studies, Research |
How pot gives people the munchies 02/18/2015 |
Brain, Studies |
Marijuana Effects on Body, Brain & Behavior 01/30/2015 |
video, Volkow, NIDA, body, Brain, Behavior |
How Marijuana Affects the Brain 12/07/2014 |

“It’s a natural plant! What’s the big deal?” —A common declaration among youth who believe that the effects of marijuana are harmless and that the substance shouldn’t be regulated. Regardless of public opinion, the science is clear: Regular recreational use of marijuana during adolescence is harmful to the brain, which isn’t fully developed until the age of 25. Infographics, Brain, youth |
Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain 10/13/2014 |
Long-term, Side-Effects, Brain, Research, Studies |
The terrible truth about cannabis: Expert's devastating 20-year study finally demolishes claims that smoking pot is harmless 10/07/2014 |
Brain, Studies |
Pot studies suggest regular use is bad for teen brains 08/09/2014 |
Teens, Brain, Studies |
Patrick Kennedy: Legalizing pot endangers children 07/28/2014 |
youth, Brain |
Marijuana- 2014 Dr. Madras Presentation 07/01/2014 |
madras, opioid, Pregnancy, youth, powerpoint, Brain |
Six Ways Science Says Marijuana May Hurt Your Health 06/29/2014 |
addiction, heart, car crashes 2, Impairment, Death, Brain |
Smoking marijuana as a teenager lowers IQ for LIFE, scientists warn 06/07/2014 |
The damaging effects remain even if the person stops smoking the drug
· Teenagers are at particular risk because their brains are still developing
· Smoking cannabis affects critical thinking and memory
· Researchers warn that stronger varieties today are causing more damage Studies, Brain, youth, Impairment, memory |
Cannabis Use Is Quantitatively Associated with Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala Abnormalities in Young Adult Recreational Users 04/16/2014 |
Studies, Medical, Brain, youth |
Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities, study finds 04/15/2014 |
For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures. Research, Brain, young adults, Studies |
NIDA's Dr. Nora Volkow Discusses Marijuana's Effects on the Brain, Body & Behavior 02/10/2014 |
video, youth, Brain, body, Behavior |
Miswiring the brain 01/27/2014 |
cannabis use during pregnancy can increase the risk for ill‐behaviors (Goldschmidt et al, 2004; Day et al, 2011
Data suggest that administration of THC during pregnancy can induce long‐term structural and functional modifications of the cortical circuitry.
Maternal cannabis use during pregnancy reduces SCG10 in human fetal cerebrum Brain, Pregnancy |
Cannabis Use in Teens Linked to Irreparable Drop in IQ 04/26/2013 |
"Our results suggest that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to develop cognitive impairment from cannabis and that the drug, far from being harmless, as many teens and even adults are coming to believe, can have severe neurotoxic effects on the adolescent brain,".. Studies, youth, Brain |
Brain Facts- Society of Neuroscience 02/16/2012 |
In radioactive tracing studies, scientists found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, binds to specific receptors called cannabinoid receptors, many of which coordinate movement. This may explain why people who drive after they smoke marijuana are impaired. The hippocampus, a structure involved with memory storage and learning, also contains many receptors for THC. This finding provides some insight into why heavy users or those intoxicated on marijuana have poor short-term memory and problems processing complex information. Brain, society of neuroscience |
The Teen Brain and Marijuana 02/16/2012 |
Even after controlling for the confounding effect of mental illness symptoms preceding marijuana use, these studies showed an increased risk of developing schizophrenia or mood disorders (depression, anxiety) in adulthood if individuals regularly smoked marijuana during adolescence. The risk was particularly heightened if there was any family history of mental illness (i.e., “genetics provided the loaded gun and marijuana pulled the trigger”). Also, mental illness, among those at risk, tended to show up earlier with marijuana use.
Brain, mental health, Teen, CEASAR |
Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain In Teens, Young Adult 02/03/2009 |
Teen, Brain |