Long-term study Does Kiffen stupefy?

Long-term study registered significant decline in the intelligence quotient among cannabis consumers who consumed daily and for years

08/28/2012

Regular cannabis use damages the brain and causes a decline in the intellect. In a long-term study, US scientists have found cannabis to irreversibly damage the central nervous system and reduce the IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Negative effects became particularly apparent in consumers who started using drugs at an early age.

The scientists led by Madeline Meier from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in Durhamn, USA, have evaluated the data of more than 1,000 study participants and found that continued cannabis use can lead to significant impairment of the central nervous system and the intellect. The earlier the onset of consumption began in adolescence, the greater the effect observed, according to Madeline Meier and colleagues in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS)..

Impairment of the brain and cognitive problems in cannabis consumers
The basis of the current study was the data from the so-called Dunedin study, in which 1,037 persons were observed since their birth in 1972/1973 and were questioned about their cannabis use at the age of 18, 21, 26, 32 and 38 years. Researchers also performed neuropsychological tests on study participants aged 13 (before starting cannabis use), which they repeated at the age of 38 (after a pattern of persistent cannabis use had developed). In the course of the almost 40-year observation period, the intelligence quotient of the long-term potheads had decreased significantly, the result of the test. "The earlier the subjects began to consume, the higher was the decline in IQ," continued Meier and colleagues. The neuropsychological test has also revealed that "the function of different brain areas has deteriorated significantly," write the US scientists. Long-term cannabis users also reported increased "cognitive problems," such as difficulty concentrating and impairment of memory, Meier and colleagues continue.

Cannabis with neurotoxic effect on the adolescent brain
According to the researchers, the observed negative effects of cannabis use on IQ and cognitive performance were still visible years after the victims stopped smoking. Her findings "suggest a neurotoxic effect of cannabis on the brain of an adolescent," says the research team led by Madeline Meier in the article "Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to mid-life". Their findings have far-reaching implications for prevention and should be the catalyst for increased political efforts against cannabis use among adolescents, according to US scientists. Because even after years of regular cannabis use, the adolescent brain does not recover from the negative consequences.

Education and prevention for the protection of adolescents
Apparently, the active ingredients of cannabis in the growth phase of the brain have a particularly serious effect. The observed effect, however, unlike most media reports, expressly refers only to "excessive cannabis use in adolescence". The consequences of occasional consumption on the brain can not be determined on the basis of the current study. It should be noted that the regular or even daily intake of an intoxicant is generally critical and threaten in most cases, significant negative effects on the health and / or the psyche of those affected. The adolescents are particularly endangered, since their organism reacts much more sensitive to the active ingredients, has been known for years. In the end, only improved education and prevention help to protect as many adolescents as possible from the negative consequences. Prohibitions or sanctions have not, at least in the past, effectively prevented the narcotic consumption of adolescents. (Fp)

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