Weed isn’t actually ruining your brain, study says

420 forever.

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D.A.R.E. to believe new information about teenagers and weed.

A recent study from the University of Southern California and the University of Minnesota reveals that weed doesn't cause cognitive impairments in young smokers.

The study, authored by USC psychology graduate student Nicholas Jackson and University of Minnesota post-doctoral research associate at Joshua Isen, found "little evidence to suggest that adolescent marijuana use has a direct effect on intellectual decline."

Instead, Jackson and Isen concluded that factors related to family and home life are the cause of cognitive decline, regardless of marijuana use. 

Jackson told NTRSCTN that the paper's conclusion suggests resources should be focused on "stopping the underlying causes of drug use and addiction rather than focusing our resources on trying to mitigate the consequences of drug use."

The full study, which will be published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has not yet been made available to the public.

A similar study published last week supported Jackson and Isen's conclusion. The study, led by Claire Mokrysz of University College London, was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology; it found that marijuana use does not impact IQ or academic performance. 

These results stand in stark contrast to a 2012 Duke University study, which found that:

Individuals who started using cannabis in adolescence and used it for years afterward showed an average decline in IQ of 8 points when their age 13 and age 38 IQ tests were compared. Quitting pot did not appear to reverse the loss.

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