In recent years, the image of marijuana has undeniably shifted under a more positive light, as its legalization for medical and recreational use has begun to surface throughout the country. Its decriminalization and lessened stigma are not unwarranted, as some of its medicinal benefits are no longer a subject of debate, but are now proven remedies for people with certain mental and physical health complications. The drug’s inability to cause overdose-induced deaths has helped it become a popular escape, especially among younger generations, since it seems “less harmful” than other substances. However, “less harmful” is not necessarily synonymous with “harmless,” particularly regarding adolescent use.
Before you roll your eyes and flip to a different article, I’d like to stress that I personally have no vendetta against the substance or its use, and I daresay there’s been some cause and effect that went into my choice of topic for this column. That said, I don’t agree with the idea that smoking blunts every day yields zero ill effects. It’s important to note that some of the more long-term mental and physical effects of cannabis are still relatively unknown. Additionally, the average THC concentration found in cannabis has tripled in the last 20 years and continues to grow, so our knowledge of its effects aren’t exactly set in stone either.
Since the widespread presence of the drug is still relatively new, our understanding of it is, too. There are some concerning studies that suggest that having the munchies or forgetting your keys might not be the only side effects of being an adolescent stoner, especially beyond the short-term realm. I stress the word “adolescent” because the human brain is said to fully develop around the age of 25. Until around this age, the brain is still in a relatively malleable state, so what you do to it in its maturing stages may have more lasting impacts than you realize. The frontal cortex is one of the last parts of the brain to completely develop, a key component of one’s judgement, decision-making and personality. I feel I can personally vouch for findings that suggest that persistent cannabis use may hold some responsibility in influencing these traits. In addition, emerging studies link chronic adolescent use of marijuana to cases of schizophrenia, which, perhaps not so coincidentally, directly affects the frontal cortex.
A study was conducted in New Zealand based on data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study that followed 1,000 New Zealanders born in 1972. The subjects were given neuropsychological tests at ages 13 and 38 and were questioned of their marijuana use at ages 18, 21, 26, 32 and 38. These tests revealed that the most consistent users, specifically those who reported using it at three or more age checkpoints of the study, were reported to have lost about six IQ points. Given how much the potency of THC concentration in the drug has increased over the years, it would not surprise me if tests done on subjects born in the 2000s would yield some more concerning results. Of course, these tests do not consider other life habits of the more frequent users that may account for the loss in IQ, but the correlation seems too glaring to ignore.
As previously stated, the mainstream presence of cannabis is still a considerably new part of our world, and there is still a lot we don’t know and can’t confirm, including the studies on its effects. I don’t believe this lack of knowledge should encourage youth to assume the benefit of the doubt and green out on a daily basis, but rather cause them to take a step back and consider the reality that marijuana is still a rapidly evolving mind-altering substance that is not understood well enough to determine the full realm of its effects on the human body. I believe too much of anything can be harmful, and that certainly doesn’t exclude a natural but heavily chemically enhanced psychoactive.
Sean Morton is a junior majoring in English.