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Monday, September 10, 2012

Health:  Pot Dependence in Adolescence Is Linked to a Long-Term Drop in IQ

With the Dunedin study data, researchers could compare subjects' IQ scores from age 13, before they began using any drugs, with their scores at age 38, and they could also eliminate confounding factors like education level and other drug and alcohol use. They found that those who used pot heavily showed a significant decline in IQ, particularly if they began during adolescence. The most frequent users experienced the most damage. And cutting down on marijuana after adolescence did nothing to alleviate the decline.

While these results suggest that developing adolescent brains are particularly vulnerable to the effects of marijuana and can suffer permanent harm from smoking pot, the drop occurred only in users diagnosed with cannabis dependence, which indicates more than just a fondness for marijuana, points out epidemiology blogger Suzi Gage. Such frequent users are not only more rare than casual consumers, they also tend to have other problems that getting high may help them face, such as depression.

For more, see Pot Dependence in Adolescence Is Linked to a Long-Term Drop in IQ by Sophie Bushwick, August 29, 2012 at 80beats.