Study shows marijuana use results in brain damage

Study shows marijuana use results in brain damage

Damage included memory structures in their brains that collapsed and shrank.

Around the U.S., views on marijuana are shifting, with a move towards support for legalization. Public Policy Polling conducted a survey that found that more than half of the surveyed population believes it should be made legal.  One-third of those surveyed feel strongly that it should be made legal.  More than one-third of those surveyed believe that marijuana is safer than alcohol and 50 percent think marijuana will be legal throughout the U.S. under federal law within the next 10 years.  In general, there were approximately equal numbers of men and women in favor of legalization, with more Democrats and Independents in favor than Republicans.

As a move away from criminalization, states are legalizing marijuana use and regulating it in the same manner as alcohol.  According to the Marijuana Policy Project, Massachusetts is the most recent of states to do so, following in the footsteps of states like Colorado.  Massachusetts is one of a handful of states to legalize medical marijuana use, while Colorado is one of two states that allow recreational marijuana use.

In the past, the belief was that treating marijuana like other illegal drugs was an overreaction because it did not have the same impact on the body.  For example, a 2003 WebMD article summarizes research findings indicating that long-term and even daily marijuana use do not appear to cause permanent brain damage.  In fact, there is even evidence that it can be a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of diseases.  The only adverse impact was a “very small” impairment for memory and learning.

However, a new study by a research team at Northwestern University indicates that this belief in safety may not be true, reports News Channel 4.  The researchers examined 100 people who smoked pot every day for at least two years when they were teenagers.  Scans revealed their brains had abnormalities that impaired their memory, even after they stopped using the drug.  The younger the teenagers were when they smoked, the greater the damage to their brains.  Damage included memory structures in their brains that collapsed and shrank.

Men’s Fitness explains that the brain damage found by the study resembles that of schizophrenia.  Using the drug had an effect on short-term memory and increased the severity of mental illness.  Even if it did not rise to the level of mental illness, researchers argue that smoking will affect the ability to process information, impairing performance at work or school.

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