Consuming cannabis during adolescence does not affect brain structure in adulthood.
Published in the magazine Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the scientific research duration approx 20 years was conducted by researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
No difference in brain structure
The study took place in two phases. In the first they were selected a thousand teenagers between 13 and 19 years old, then divided into four distinct groups based on levels of cannabis use: from no use to daily use.
In the second, 181 participants selected from the first phase, once they were between 30 and 36 years old, underwent brain tests specific tests to check for any differences in brain structure.
The analyses, which analyzed 14 areas of interest in the brain, they recorded no difference in the brain structure based on levels of cannabis use in adolescence.
The scholars have in fact concluded that: "the use of cannabis by adolescents cannot be associated to structural differences in the brain in adulthood, so patterns of cannabis use do not appear to have long-lasting effects on brain structure."
A research which, although it restores value to a plant that has never been demonised, does not exclude i possible risks associated with the intake of cannabis in adolescence and therefore absolutely does not want to encourage its consumption.
* Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
