Teen cannabis use linked to slower memory and thinking growth
A study from UC San Diego involving over 11,000 participants suggests that adolescent cannabis use is linked to slower development in memory, attention, and processing speed. Researchers found that cognitive gains in cannabis-using teens tended to plateau compared to their non-using peers.
Why it matters
These findings provide critical evidence regarding the long-term neurological impacts of substance use during the sensitive period of brain development in adolescence.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have found that teenagers who start using cannabis may develop memory and thinking abilities more slowly than teens who do not use it. The findings were published in Neuropsychopharmacology and were based on data from more than 11,000 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term investigation of brain development among young people in the United States.
"Adolescence is a critical time for brain development, and what we're seeing is that teens who start using cannabis aren't improving at the same rate as their peers," said Natasha Wade, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "These differences may seem small at first, but they can add up in ways that affect learning, memory and everyday functioning."
Tracking Cannabis Use and Cognitive Growth
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