Well this study goes against most of what we have previously thought to be the case when it comes to smoking weed.
The University of Colorado Anschutz published a study that looked at cognitive function and brain volume for marijuana smokers aged 40 to 77. It seems overly simplistic, but brain volume tends to correlate with better function, since smaller brain volume could link to atrophy and degeneration. So the size of the brain was the main factor that these authors looked at, and the results were surprising.
They found that those who consumed cannabis moderately “generally had larger brain volumes and better cognitive performance.” But some parts of the brain, like the amygdala and visual memory and learning, looked the best in the high marijuana use group.
The authors would have liked to have more concrete ways to group people in respect to the amount of marijuana they consume, but the correlation with brain volume is fascinating and unexpected. If anything, this certainly should encourage much more research to be done in the field.
Read the study here.
