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Latest study on the topic once again confirms: No correlation between moderate cannabis use in youth and poorer exam results or lower IQ

IQ and Cannabis, Study on IQ and Marijuanakonsu, Cannabis Blog, Grow Info

Cannabis opponents and cannabis activists constantly and still argue about whether marijuana use leads to a decline in attention, memory and limitations in learning.

In the past, there were various studies that came to the conclusion that long-term cannabis use leads to cognitive deficits, especially among young users. Likewise, some studies have already given clear indications that cannabis use does not lead to a reduction in intelligence.

However, a large and recent study from the UK in October 2014 now shows that habitual cannabis use in adolescents does not lead to lower IQ or poorer school performance. The study was presented at the annual conference of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) in Berlin.

However, the study warns that those who had already used cannabis at least 50x by the age of 15 may be prone to poorer exam results.

IQ Adolescents Cannabis

The Avon Long-Term Study examined 2612 parents and children born in the Bristol area in 1991 and 1992. Each child's IQ was tested at age 8 and then again at age 15. At the same time, the young people were asked about their cannabis use. With the help of scientific analyses, the extent to which cannabis use influences intelligence and academic performance was investigated.

Lead researcher Claire Mokrysz of University College London explains that the findings indicate that cannabis use has no adverse effects on cognition. The research was the first to include related factors such as cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.

The researcher sees this as an explanation why earlier studies came to the conclusion that cannabis use would lead to cognitive impairments in adolescents or even adults. In the earlier studies, factors such as lifestyle, personal life history and behavioural patterns were not taken into account sufficiently or often not at all. These factors, however, can in turn typically be associated with reduced cognitive performance.

Many people and especially cannabis opponents believe that long-term use of cannabis is very destructive to intellectual abilities, but in fact, according to the researcher, it is extremely difficult to separate the direct effects of marijuana from other possible and crucial life factors.

In many cases, cannabis use among adults goes hand in hand with the use of other drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes, as well as a risky lifestyle, the scientist reports. It is therefore hardly possible to clarify which comes from which: do young people do badly at school because they smoke pot or do young people smoke pot because they do badly at school? This study shows that it is not so easy to consider cannabis as a general cause for all cognitive impairments that can arise in adolescents or adults. At the same time, this is a criticism of all other studies in the past that have tried to uncover cognitive impairment due to cannabis use without taking into account social, biological and other factors and sufficiently contextualising the scope of their effects.

The public belief and focus on cannabis as a harmful drug, distracts awareness of other dangerous behaviours.

ECNP Chair Professor Guy Goodwin said: "This is a potentially important study because it shows that the current focus on the alleged harm of cannabis obscures the fact that cannabis is often used with other freely available medicines and may correlate with lifestyle factors. These factors may have much more and decisive influence than cannabis itself."

Quellen:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141020212410.htm
independent.co.uk: Marijuana use by teenagers does not result in a lower IQ or worse exam results.

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