Clear Up Weed Rumors With the Facts

There's a lot of talk out there about weed, but not all of it applies to teens. See why using weed in your teens can affect your mind and your life in many different ways.

Get the Facts Straight from the Source Below

Through years of research on brain development, scientists have found that the brain has the ability to change throughout life, especially during adolescence. Cannabis use can impact many parts of the brain.1, 2

Sources

  1. An advisory released by the U.S. Surgeon General
  2. An Evidence-Based Resource Guide produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Dig Deeper

Information about the impacts of cannabis on the health of teens is changing rapidly as new research emerges. Although scientific research on the effects of cannabis on brain development, mental health, and overall health is still under way, researchers and scientists agree that when it comes to teens, cannabis is not harmless and may negatively impact physical and mental health in ways that are not yet understood. In the short term, using cannabis as a teen has real effects on memory, mental health, motivation, concentration, motor coordination, and more. In the long term, cannabis use is associated with worse mental health and with cannabis use disorder. This page presents an overview of current scientific knowledge on the long and short term effects of cannabis on the health of users.

Statements on this page are compiled from sources cited in an advisory released by the U.S. Surgeon General called Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain and an Evidence-Based Resource Guide produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Sources include peer-reviewed scientific research articles and research synthesis reports.

  • Frequent marijuana use during adolescence is associated with changes in the areas of the brain involved in attention, memory, decision-making, and motivation. Deficits in attention and memory have been detected in marijuana-using teens even after a month of abstinence (Meruelo et al., 2017).
  • Frequent marijuana use during adolescence is associated with impaired learning in adolescents (Meier et al., 2012).
  • THC can also result in disruption of cognitive processes, like learning, memory, emotions, and attention, that are important for academic performance and activities like driving and sports (Albarugh et al., 2021; D’Souza et al., 2022).
  • In some studies, chronic, long-term marijuana use has been associated with altered brain structure and impaired cognitive functioning. There is debate about the clinical significance of these changes and whether they reverse with abstinence (Albarugh et al., 2021).
  • Other long-term associations include poor academic performance (Tu, Ratner & Johnson, 2008) and truancy (Henry, Thornberry & Huizinga, 2009).