The brain damage from long term marijuana use is chronicled in this 2 minute video.
“This study shows long-term, heavy cannabis use causes significant brain injury, memory loss, difficulties learning new information, and psychotic symptoms, such as delusions of persecution, paranoia, delusions of mind-reading, and bizarre social behaviors in even non-vulnerable users.”
Data Show Anatomical Brain Abnormalities from Marijuana Use.
In the human brain, the hippocampus is associated with the regulation of emotion and memory, while the amygdala controls fear and aggression. Recently a study was conducted by Dr. Murat Yücel and associates from the ORYGEN Research Centre and the Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne in order to determine whether long-term heavy cannabis use is associated with gross anatomical abnormalities in two cannabinoid receptor–rich regions of the brain, the hippocampus and the amygdala.
In the study, Yucel’s team did high-resolution MRIs on 15 men who smoked more than five joints a day for more than 10 years with no history of poly-drug abuse. They compared those with scans of 16 men who did not use marijuana. In addition, all the men took verbal memory tests and were examined for symptoms of psychiatric disorders.
Results indicated that the hippocampus of marijuana users was 12 percent smaller, and that the amygdala of marijuana users was 7.1 percent smaller than among nonusers. Cannabis use also was associated with sub-threshold symptoms of psychotic disorders. Lead researcher Murat Yücel said, “This study shows long-term, heavy cannabis use causes significant brain injury, memory loss, difficulties learning new information, and psychotic symptoms, such as delusions of persecution, paranoia, delusions of mind-reading, and bizarre social behaviors in even non-vulnerable users.”
“The more marijuana was used, the more these individuals were likely to show reduced brain volumes in the hippocampus and amygdala, as well as being more likely to develop symptoms of psychotic disorders and to have significant memory impairment.” “There is ongoing controversy concerning the long-term effects of cannabis on the brain,” the authors write. “These findings challenge the widespread perception of cannabis as having limited or no neuroanatomical sequelae. Although modest use may not lead to significant neurotoxic effects, these results suggest that heavy daily use might indeed be toxic to human brain tissue.
Further prospective, longitudinal research is required to determine the degree and mechanisms of long-term cannabis-related harm and the time course of neuronal recovery after abstinence.” Author Affiliations: ORYGEN Research Centre (Drs Yücel, Whittle, and Lubman) and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health (Drs Yücel, Whittle, Fornito, and Pantelis), Melbourne, Australia; School of Psychology and Illawarra Institute for Mental Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia (Dr Solowij and Ms Respondek); and Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia (Dr Solowij). All text and images from Fair Use.
Regional Brain Abnormalities Associated With Long-term Heavy Cannabis Use. Murat Yücel, PhD, MAPS; Nadia Solowij, PhD; Colleen Respondek, BSc; Sarah Whittle, PhD; Alex Fornito, PhD; Christos Pantelis, MD, MRCPsych, FRANZCP; Dan I. Lubman, MB ChB, PhD, FRANZCP; General Psychiatry. 2008;65(6):694-701.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Well this is not encouraging, my nephew is smoking marijuana since the age of 14 he is now 23 , he does not seem to be affected by it, no memory loss, difficulties learning new information, paranoia or psychotic symptoms , but does he show reduced brain volumes ?
And is this for ever?
I love and enjoy reading you blog. I will keep visiting you post. Thanks for the information and advises.
Zeriva, you’re mistaken if you think your nephew hasn’t been affected by his long term use of marijuana. Have a full physical and medical evaluation and then I’m sure you’ll reconsider.
does the brain heal from these injuries? like delusions of mind-reading, and bizarre social behaviors in even non-vulnerable users.” please let me know
I find this interesting that an recovery web site shows long term Marijuana use cause brain damage,.Web Md says that Marijuana does not cause any long term brain damage. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20030701/heavy-marijuana-use-doesnt-damage-brain
Here is a even better one Marijuana may show Cancer curing properties. http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20070417/marijuana-may-fight-lung-tumors
Ill take the studies from WebMd over this quakes advice any day.
I find it very interesting that this study conflicts with every other study regarding the effects of marijuana on the brain. I also surprised that any study that uses only 15 people and no control group, and then makes the claim that the differences in the amount that each men used is directly linked to differences of brain structure within this group. How the hell did they measure that. Let me tell you as someone that does research for a living. This study is not science! And it should not be published as science. Every other brain study says that marijuana preserves brain tissue. So I’m convinced that this is probably propaganda.
Hi
I am the Mother of a 21 yr old son He has been smoking pot since 13 yrs old every day I dont know how much. He was Honors student till Gr 11 Then lost ambition to study Has lost most jobs he held
Because I see him all the time, I have not noticed a BIG change I know for sure his memory is SHOT The brilliant kid is now lazy, slleeps all day, no intention oif finding a job, and I cannot support him financially any more He had several severe anxiety attacks
His Dad in Australia said come for a visit AND we hoped he would go study something there
He has been there for 3 days and my ex husband has just informed me that Frank’s mind is gone – he has not seen him for 4 yrs so I guess it was instantly clear to him .
Frank was constantly losing important documents, could not remember to pick up more than 2 articles from a store etc
We are trying to get rehab facility? Any advice on what to look for
DOES one ever get the memory BACK?? Could you please respond to my email???
cmorton@globaltech.bc.ca
THANKS
We think that taking any drug that abuses the body is wrong.
.-= autoimmune disease symptoms´s last blog ..The Diversity of Lupus Symptoms =-.
zeriva, you are mistaken that smoking pot has not affected your nephew. If he is average right now, I’m sure he could’ve been a geneous if he had stayed off of drugs and acheived something significant in life.
Carene, I’m really sorry to hear about your son’s condition. It is really sad, but not really surprising. What is surprising though is the fact that even though it has been proved again and again how harmful smoking pot is, more and more kids are doing it these days. I think it is the parents’ responsibility to stop their kids from doing such things esp when they started so young (13?!?!?!).
So much for the studies that prove marijuana is a harmless light drug. I should show this article to my roommate, he is proactive for marijuana but obviously he only takes the positive sides of the drug being in completely denial on the negative effects and he’s just one example out of thousands people who think the same.
Hi.
There are also many MS patinents use marujhana, which is very dangerous i advice anyone with this disease to avoid that. More info can be found at Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms & Info
Have a great one..
With the amount of young weed smokers in the world this could be a very big problem, this info was new to me
.-= Ryan @ Driving Schools Orpington´s last blog ..Driving Schools Welling, Driving Schools in Welling =-.
Hi!
My son have smoked a marihuana, also skunk 6 years and at the 21 y he knows whit one girl and have a feeling that she read his thoughts….because between them occurred by chance
He didnt belive that she 100 % read his mind but he assumed
Any advice how to help him? is this because she smoked marihuana or something else – chance or both togheter??
really thanks for the answer
You could please respont to my mail: redtaste9@gmail.com
Will this go away?.. now he dont smoke marihuana about one year
REALLY THANKS
Hi really enjoyed reading your post.
Should I start a blog or website for addiction/recovery related information?
Barry
Interesting study, but I’m not sure it tells the whole story. Sure, too much of anything is surely bad for you, and nobody recommends the “heavy use of marijuana”. But isn’t there another side to the issue? The fact that many people use it (in small doses) for medicinal purposes quite successfully?
Using Marijuana can really damage the our brain because marijuana can dry our brain that why people who are using it is not on their right mind. I hope people especially the teens will stop using it.
“Discussing life and all our common goals, smart kids that smoke weed honor roll”. I’ve been smoking weed for 23 years and I’m a dentist. Started when I was 13 enough said.
Wow does anyone know if this experiment is replicable obviously there is some confirmation bias concerning the outcome of experiments by government scientists. Replicibility must come into play before something can be accepted as fact; ignoring the basic rules of logic and critical thinking leaves discussions mindless and fear(emotion) driven. I have been smoking pot since the age of 13 and I am now 18 and I am just as motivated as anyone elso who doesn’t smoke pot. I am an honor student, salutiorian of my class, and I won second in colorado divison AA 100 M dash after missing 3/4 of my season with an inury, all while smoking tons of pot. Fear is an excelent motivational tool in swaying peoples opinions concerning an issue. And pot is also a great EXCUSE to be lazy. but to all the people saying I have a shrunken brain, why do all other experiments contrast with this one as most actually state that weed INCREASES neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus; it has not been shown to be neurotoxic in any study.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School performed magnetic resonance imaging on the brains of 22 long-term cannabis users (reporting a mean of 20,100 lifetime episodes of smoking) and 26 controls (subjects with no history of cannabis use). Imaging displayed “no significant differences” between heavy cannabis smokers compared to controls, the study found.
Too much of anything is surely bad for you, and nobody recommends the “heavy use of marijuana. Using Marijuana can really damage the our brain because marijuana can dry our brain. Thank you for the article that you share on us. It will helps a lot for the people.
I think that marijuana can destroy mind when you in high of smoking the marijuana. This is not good for the people.
I find it very interesting that every person who disagrees with this study has provided logical evidence on how this study is biased and false. Also it is very interesting that the only people who commented against marijuana couldnt even spell correctly or make even the slightest amount of sense. Don’t beleive everything you read and hear.
This information is amazing.This can help to lessen marijuana users.And learning the effects of it.
Thanks for posting.This information is helpful.
I think that marijuana can destroy mind when you in high of smoking the marijuana. Also it is very interesting that the only people who commented against marijuana couldn’t even spell correctly or make even the slightest amount of sense. Thank you.
I find this interesting that an recovery web site shows long term Marijuana use cause brain damage. Also it is very interesting that the only people who commented against marijuana couldn’t even spell correctly or make even the slightest amount of sense.
Research studies like these are difficult to control and should be taken with a grain of salt. What other influences did these men encounter in their day to day lives and how did those effect their behavior. Were they accepted socially as marijuana smokers or did society sector them off into an adverse environment. And as most of us who have experience in the medical field know, doctors are all too happy to diagnose and “treat” (treatment has become a laughable term nowadays; it’s synonymous with drug or force to go to therapy and then create or construct symptoms) anyone who passes through their doors in this day and age. It’s ridiculous. These people are products of the pharmaceutical companies whether they are aware of it or not.
The marijuana smokers could have been heavy drinkers? we dont know what else these people did in there day to day lives. This study doesnt convince me.
and there is a big difference between a joint smoker and a bong smoker – bongs are the big brain killers – the pressure, the dirty toxic water that people dont change enough and the sharing of the mouth piece with others – Bongs are too heavy for the human head – like everything in life- if u overdo anything it will kill u and make brain scans look scary – even if u just drank cola every day u would be damaged!
@Dr. Flowers: No control group? Did you even read the article?
“In the study, Yucel’s team did high-resolution MRIs on 15 men who smoked more than five joints a day for more than 10 years with no history of poly-drug abuse. They compared those with scans of 16 men who did not use marijuana.”
Apparently pot smokers can’t even read…hope you aren’t a real doctor there, you’re lack of reading comprehension is disconcerting.
Hi . I am a self thought , i dont do any other drug or drink / i have been smoking pot from past 12+ years , and trust me marijuana is not good for brains ( its gonna dry your brain cells ) and its all about how you think about it, sure its a very good relaxation drug but seeing long term its gonna damage any human brain cells unknowingly as a smoker of pot 1 – 3 joints a day. depression, laziness, take life very simple, No String attachments, when smoked, (otherwise if not smoked i am normal ). Its just an addiction like any other drug ( One solution to solve all this Problems are which i follow on regular basis are : )
1. Drink as much as water u can 2 to 3 ltrs. ,
2. Exercise your body where Blood is pumped into the brain properly, ( Jogging is best at morning where oxygen level is high )
3. Eat Brain food like – Cacao Beans, pista, drink green Tea, fruits, peanuts, cucumber.
I suggest if you are a pot smoker, try smoking as much as less possible. that can save your brain for few more years