Smoking weed every day: scientific study

Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Fox TV); Nina Zdinjak (benzinga.com via MSN.com, May 18, 2022); Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Hey, Elon, watcha puffin on, the Devil's Cabbage or Rogan's Gold? Watch SpaceX get high.

Listen up, potheads. This is your brain on science.

According to a comprehensive review published Wednesday (5/18/22) in the journal Addiction, cannabis use can lead to small to moderate acute cognitive impairments that can persist after the period of intoxication, reports MedicalXpress.

The study was conducted by the research center of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal in Canada.

The study was a meta-review, meaning a review of reviews -- merging the results of 10 meta-analyses with a total of 43,000 participants.

• Medical psychedelics series at Davos to showcase clinical efficacy of psychedelics to World Economic Forum attendees (Benzinga/MSN)

While a meta-analysis is a powerful tool, a National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) study cautioned that meta-analyses can be controversial tools which may lead to misleading conclusions in that "decisions made when designing and performing a meta-analysis require personal judgment and expertise, thus creating personal biases or expectations that may influence the result."

The results?

The study concludes that marijuana intoxication produces cognitive deficits in the following areas:

• decision making
• memory and concentration
• suppression of inappropriate responses
• learning through reading and listening
• the time required to finish a mental task.

According to the review, these adverse effects of cannabis consumption begin while it is being consumed and persist afterward.

"Our study enabled us to highlight several areas of cognition cannabis impairs by cannabis use, including problems concentrating and difficulties remembering and learning, which may have considerable impact on users' daily lives," said the study's co-author Dr. Alexandre Dumais, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Université de Montréal.

"Cannabis use in youth may consequently lead to..."

"...reduced educational attainment, and, in adults, to poor work performance and dangerous driving. These consequences may be worse in regular and heavy users."

Importance of the study

The study further highlighted how cannabis [THC and the plant's other intoxicating cannabinoids] is the third most consumed psychoactive substance in the world, after alcohol and nicotine, with adolescents and young adults being the most common consumers.

Because of the recent global cannabis legalization trend, which shifts the perceptions of the safety of the plant, the study's authors emphasized the importance of comprehending the cognitive risks associated with marijuana use, especially for adolescents whose brains are undergoing significant developmental changes.

This article was originally published in January 2022. Microsoft may earn an affiliate commission if any reader purchases something through recommended links in this article. Source

• Is smoking weed everyday harmful? Study claims it can hurt decision-making and concentration persisting beyond the state of intoxication
• Old Weed: What happens to pot after 5 years of storage?
• Awakn's study on psychedelics for treating addiction shows promise will undertake broader research
• Medical psychedelics series at Davos to showcase clinical efficacy of psychedelics to World Economic Forum attendees (msn.com)