What are, if any, the negative effects of regular marijuana consumption?
Well, according to a comprehensive review published Wednesday in the journal Addiction, cannabis use can lead to small or to moderate acute cognitive impairments that can persist after the period of intoxication, reported MedicalXpress.
The study was conducted by the research center of the Institute Mental Health University of Montreal in Canada. The study was a meta-review, meaning a review of reviews – merging the results of 10 meta-analyses with a total of 43,000 participants. While meta-analysis is a powerful tool, a National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) study cautioned that meta-analyses can be controversial tools that may lead to misleading conclusions in that “decisions made when designing and performing a meta-analysis require personal judgment and expertise, thus creating personal biases or expectations that may influence the result.”
The results?
The study concludes that marijuana intoxication produces cognitive deficits in the following areas:
- Decision making;
- Memory and concentration;
- Suppression of inappropriate responses;
- Learning through reading and listening;
- The time required to finish a mental task.
According to the review, these adverse effects of cannabis consumption begin while it is being consumed and persist afterward.
“Our study enabled us to highlight several areas of cognition impaired by cannabis use, including problems concentrating and difficulties remembering and learning, which may have considerable impact on users’ daily lives,” said the study’s co-author Dr. Alexandre Dumais, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Université de Montréal. “Cannabis use in youth may consequently lead to reduced educational attainment, and, in adults, to poor work performance and dangerous driving. These consequences may be worse in regular and heavy users.”
To Read The Rest Of This Article By Nina Zdinjak on Benzinga
Published: January 24, 2022
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