The occasional use of cannabis during late adolescence is not independently associated with adverse effects on cognitive abilities in young adulthood, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. A team of investigators affiliated with the University of Colorado at Boulder assessed the impact of cannabis use on cognition, executive function, and working memory in 856 individual twins. Cannabis consumers were compared to their non-using twins in late adolescence and then again in their early twenties. Most of the cannabis consuming participants in the study reported occasional use of the substance, but not daily use. Authors found “little support for a causal effect of cannabis use on cognition. This conclusion is consistent with those from previous…
Category: IQ
Study: Adolescent Cannabis Exposure Not Associated With Structural Brain Differences in Adulthood
The use of cannabis during adolescence is not associated with structural brain differences in adulthood, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers concluded, concluded, “[T]he patterns of cannabis use typically seen in community-dwelling adolescents does not appear to have lasting effects on brain structure.”
Study: Frequent Cannabis Use Unrelated To Brain Morphology
The frequent use of cannabis is not associated with changes in brain structure, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction. Authors reported, “[N]ormal variation in cannabis use is statistically unrelated to individual differences in brain morphology as measured by subcortical volume.”
HUD Secretary Ben Carson Spreads Marijuana Myths
Giving remarks to the Native American Housing Association, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson strayed into the marijuana reform debate. Unfortunately, the doctor did not know his facts.
Yet Another Study Finds That Cannabis Use Is Not Independently Linked With IQ Decline
Cannabis use by teens is not independently linked with adverse changes in intelligence quotient or executive functioning, according to longitudinal data published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction. Investigators concluded, “Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence.”
Twin Study: Marijuana Use Has No Direct Effect On IQ
The cumulative use of cannabis by adolescents has no direct effect on intelligence decline, according to longitudinal data published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Investigators concluded: “In the largest longitudinal examination of marijuana use and IQ change, … we find little evidence to suggest that adolescent marijuana use has a direct effect on intellectual decline.”
Study: Cannabis Use Not Predictive Of Lower IQ, Poorer Educational Performance
Marijuana use by adolescents is not associated with lower IQ or poorer educational performance once adjustments are made for potential confounders, specifically cigarette smoking, according to longitudinal data published online ahead of print in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Researchers concluded, “In summary, the notion that cannabis use itself is causally related to lower IQ and poorer educational performance was not supported in this large teenage sample.”
NORML Responds To Latest ‘Pot Shrinks The Brain’ Fears
NORML’s Deputy Director today on Alternet.org addressed new media claims that cannabis use can potentially shrink the brain.
Study: Cannabis Use Not Associated With Deficits In Intelligence Quotient
Investigators at the University College of London analyzed data from 2,612 subjects who had their IQ tested at the age of eight and again at age 15. They reported no relationship between cannabis use and lower IQ at age 15 when confounding factors such as alcohol use and cigarette use were taken into account.
Latest Media Buzz Regarding Pot’s Potential Impact On IQ Misses The Bigger Issue
The mainstream press has been abuzz in recent days regarding the findings of a recent study suggesting that early-onset, persistent cannabis exposure by those under age 18 could potentially pose adverse effects on intelligence quotient. Yet, absent from the media’s discussion of the study — a discussion that has even included some fairly critical reviews of the study’s methodology (See here and here for just two examples.) — is any talk of the role that marijuana prohibition plays in inadvertently steering young people toward cannabis, an issue I address in […]