Adverse Structural and Functional Effects of Marijuana on the Brain: Evidence Reviewed

anon79999497 · October 30, 2016, 10:51am

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Adverse Structural and Functional Effects of Marijuana on the Brain: Evidence Reviewed.

DE Mandelbaum and SM de la Monte, Pediatric neurology, Jan 2017

The growing use and legalization of cannabis are leading to increased exposures across all age groups, including in adolescence. The touting of its medicinal values stems from anecdotal reports related to treatment of a broad range of illnesses including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, arthritis, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, post-traumatic stress, inflammatory bowel disease, and anxiety. However, anecdotal data and the high level of interest in this treatment must not obscure objective assessments of any potential and realized short- and long-term adverse effects of cannabis, particularly with respect to age of onset and chronicity of exposure. This critical review focuses on evidence-based research designed to assess both therapeutic benefits and harmful effects of cannabis exposure and is combined with an illustration of the neuropathologic findings in a fatal case of cannabis-induced psychosis. The literature and reported case provide strong evidence that chronic cannabis abuse causes cognitive impairment and damages the brain, particularly white matter, where cannabinoid 1 receptors abound. Contrary to popular perception, there are few objective data supporting preferential use of cannabis over conventional therapy for restoration of central nervous system structure and function in disease states such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, or schizophrenia. Additional research is needed to determine if subsets of individuals with various neurological and psychiatric diseases derive therapeutic benefits from cannabis.

Full pdf: http://sci-hub.cc/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2016.09.004

Condition1 · October 30, 2016, 1:44pm

I’ve smoked pot since age 13. I do believe that smoking at that age has adverse effects including increasing the likelihood of a schizophrenic episode later in life but I think the claims of impairment to cognitive functioning is exaggerated. I smoked pot before every Algebra class in freshman year and scored a high A in every class. Schizophrenics with a history of cannabis use scored higher in every cognitive test than schizophrenics without a history of cannabis use, but they didn’t determine if it’s possible that smarter schizophrenics choose to smoke pot.

Condition1 · October 30, 2016, 1:44pm

Freshman year of college strong text

anon79999497 · October 30, 2016, 1:59pm

There does seem to be conflicting results on cognitive impairment;ie it helps in some ways and impairs in others. A lot may depend on the demographic of the controls and subjects used.

anon79999497 · October 30, 2016, 2:01pm

http://www.pnas.org/content/113/5/E500.full contradicts that.

Condition1 · October 30, 2016, 2:06pm

“Research is scarce and shows conflicting results.” I’m sure their are negative effects but they’re exaggerated imo.

anon79999497 · October 30, 2016, 2:13pm

I guess if you’re a hardened addict you’ll cling to anything that you think justifies you continuing to smoke cannabis.

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Adverse Structural and Functional Effects of Marijuana on the Brain: Evidence Reviewed

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