Four ways marijuana rewires the teenage brain

"On April 23 the administration downgraded state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III. (Drugs in Schedule I have no medical use and high potential for abuse, and those in Schedule III have moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.) More regulation to lower barriers to researching cannabis for potential medicinal use could come soonincluding further investigating how marijuana products might affect teens."

"Accumulating research on cannabis use among teenagers suggests it may alter their brain's structure in measurable ways. Findings reported in June 2021 in JAMA Psychiatry suggest that when teens use cannabis, it causes increased thinning of the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, compared with those who don't use it or use it less. The cortex is composed of gray matter that's responsible for high-level thinking, which plays a role in learning, memory, problem-solving, emotions and consciousness."

"The study followed nearly 800 adolescents who had their brain imaged prior to using cannabis at an average age of 14, and then five years later after they reported hav"

The administration downgraded state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III, changing their classification from having no accepted medical use and high abuse potential to having moderate to low potential for dependence. Advocates support treating cannabis differently from more deadly drugs, while research raises concerns about effects on the developing teenage brain. Studies report that cannabis use in adolescence is associated with increased thinning of the cerebral cortex, a gray-matter region involved in learning, memory, problem-solving, emotions, and consciousness. Research following adolescents with brain imaging before and after cannabis use suggests measurable structural differences over time. Further investigation may focus on how marijuana products affect teens and on improving research access for potential medicinal uses.

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