Cannabis Advocacy? Yes. Protecting Our Youth? Also Yes.
Written by: MADELINE FERGUSON
As cannabis legalization - both medicinal and adult use - spreads throughout the United States of America, we must think of how this impacts everyone.
The legalization of adult-use cannabis helps many people get the medicines they need. It also has a positive impact on our society by keeping people out of jail for cannabis-related offenses.
And even in states where it is not yet legal, cannabis use continues to rise as more and more people discover its benefits and are looking for something to replace drinking alcohol with.
With the known benefits of cannabis, it’s also important for advocates to uphold the responsibility of protecting our youth and provide information about the effects cannabis can have on our young people.
A study, posted online by the National Institute of Health, looked at how marijuana use can affect developing brains. The study found that cannabis use likely impacts developing brains by altering abilities such as memory, learning and neural functioning.
“The literature not only suggests neurocognitive disadvantages to using marijuana in the domains of attention and memory that persist beyond abstinence, but suggest possible macrostructural brain alterations (e.g., morphometry changes in gray matter tissue), changes in white matter tract integrity (e.g., poorer coherence in white matter fibers), and abnormalities of neural functioning (e.g., increased brain activation, changes in neurovascular functioning). Earlier initiation of marijuana use (e.g., before age 17) and more frequent use has also been associated with poorer outcome,” reads a pertinent paragraph from the study.
We often see advertising campaigns focused on preventing teens from drinking because the long-term impacts of alcohol on a teen’s brain are well-known. But one of the next steps in having a safe and healthy cannabis culture in America is making sure we educate kids and their parents on the effects of marijuana on a growing brain.
On its website, the CDC warns about kids and teens using cannabis.
“Using marijuana before age 18 may affect how the brain builds connections for functions like attention, memory, and learning. Marijuana’s effects on attention, memory, and learning may last a long time or even be permanent, but more research is needed to fully understand these effects. Youth who use marijuana may not do as well in school and may have trouble remembering things,” reads the warning.
While we are beginning to see studies on this topic, we still need more information, but it is best to go forward with caution while urging kids and teens to wait until they are adults to partake in cannabis.
We can both advocate for the legalization of adult-use and medicinal cannabis while being responsible guardians of our nation’s youth through education.
