Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.
A surprising study has revealed how smoking weed as a teenager can impact your brain.
This comes as a top psychiatrist claimed that smoking weed in your youth can basically doom your brain to stew in a ‘cannabis soup’.
However, a new study published in the National Library of Medicine suggests otherwise as, while there is ‘evidence of short‐term negative effects of cannabis use on cognition’, there is not much research into how it can affect people later on in life.
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So, the study looked into the mental state of 5,162 men born between 1949 and 1961.
Out of the participants, 39.3% of them had used cannabis at least once and 51.1% of these had started smoking weed before the age of 18.
In order to measure their cognitive decline as the men aged, experts assessed the difference in their IQ over the years.
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Interestingly, after studying the sample of more than 5,000 men over a 44-year period, the authors of the research said they did not find any ‘significant harmful effects of cannabis use on age‐related cognitive decline’.
In fact, men who regularly smoked weed weren’t any worse off cognitively than their counterparts who steered clear of the stuff.
The study said: “The estimated difference in cognitive decline between cannabis users and nonusers was modest and may not hold clinical significance.
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“Among cannabis users, no significant associations with age‐related cognitive decline could be demonstrated for age of initiation of cannabis use.
“Years of frequent cannabis use were generally associated with no significant difference in cognitive decline when compared with no frequent use.”
Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, previously told The Times: “When you start smoking with your mates at 14 or 15, you are literally growing your brain in a cannabis soup.
“People’s brains don’t stop growing until you’re an adult in your early to mid-twenties. The reality is - and this is evidence-based, therefore it’s the truth - cannabis is associated with a higher risk of anxiety, depression, and, unfortunately, a higher risk of psychosis.
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“Anyone who smokes cannabis regularly will admit that they’ve had a 'para', and what they mean by that is that they’ve had a paranoid fit. People laugh about it.”
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.