HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

How Marijuana Affects the Brain

Bailey Baughn

Special Topics Paper

Professor Ruth Plinke

Psychology 150
HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

Marijuana is legal in some states but does that mean that it is good for you? Marijuana is

a common street and recreational drug that comes from the marijuana plant. Marijuana is used to

heighten perception and affect mood. There are some positive effects that can come out of using

marijuana such as, it can help you relax and interact with others, it may make you feel less

stressed, it can also help you enhance some sensory experiences. Marijuana can also be used for

medical purposes (can reduce symptoms of disease and can be used to treat diseases). These are

only a few examples of how marijuana can affect you as a human and not all effects are positive.

Many people think that marijuana is harmless, but it is not. Signs of marijuana use include red

eyes, lethargy, and uncoordinated body movements. The long term effects may include decrease

in motivation and harmful effects of the lungs, heart, reproductive system, and the brain.

Marijuana is not only unhealthy and illegal in most states but it can have a huge impact on how

well your memory is.

Roger Roffman is a professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work

and he states that, “it’s fairly common for people who use marijuana to complain that their

ability to think clearly is impaired-- to remember, to organize their thoughts, to follow through

with multitasking.” This is caused by the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol

(THC). THC hijacks and corrupts the natural process of endocannabinoids, a key family of

chemicals that helps guide the brain in proper maturation. The National Institute of Drug Abuse

(NIDA) explains that marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient (THC) binds to cannabinoid

(CB) receptors, w​idely distributed throughout the nervous system and other parts of the body. In

the brain, CB receptors are found in high concentrations in areas that influence pleasure,
HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, appetite, and pain and movement

coordination. This is why marijuana can have effects such as impaired short term memory.

Memory impairment from using marijuana occurs because THC alters how information is

processed in the hippocampus, which is the brain area that is responsible for memory formation.

Earlier studies have found that heavy marijuana use in adolescence affects learning and memory

and teenagers thinking skills have become more impaired than those of adults. A recent study at

the University of Maryland School of Medicine, also proves that regular marijuana use in

adolescence (especially before the age of 16) may permanently impair brain function and

cognition, and may even increase the risk of developing serious psychiatric disorders such as

schizophrenia. ​Asaf Keller, Ph.D., (professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of

Maryland School of Medicine) and other scientists started studying this topic using mice. They

began studying the patterns of the activity of neurons in the brain and that are believed to

underlie the brain’s various functions, in other words they examined the cortical oscillations in

mice. The scientists exposed the young mice to low doses of the active ingredient in marijuana

for 20 days, then allowed the mice to return to their siblings and develop normally. Later,

scientists find that adult mice exposed to marijuana in adolescence exhibited impaired cognitive

abilities and they also discovered that the cortical oscillations had been altered. The most

interesting part about this experiment is the fact that even though the mice were only exposed to

a very low drug dose and only for a brief period of time, their brain abnormalities persisted into

adulthood. Another experiment had been conducted, the scientists this time administered the

marijuana ingredients to adult mice that had never been exposed to the drug before. This time the

mice had the ability to perform cognitive behavioral tasks normally, this indicated that it was
HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

only drug exposure during the critical period of adolescence that impaired the cognition through

this mechanism. The researchers decided to take another step and tried to figure out the

mechanisms underlying the changes and the time period in which they occurred. They took a

look at different regions of the brain. The back of the brain develops first, then the frontal parts

of the brain develop during adolescence. The frontal cortex is much more affected by the drugs

during adolescence. This just so happens to be the area of the brain that controls functions such

as planning and impulse control.

Most evidence comes from animal studies. Rats exposed to THC in the uterus, soon after

birth, or during adolescence show notable problems with specific learning and memory tasks.

Cognitive impairment in adult rats is associated with structural and functional changes in the

hippocampus from THC exposure. Rats exposed to THC everyday for 8 months showed a level

of nerve cell loss that equaled that of unexposed animals twice their age. When humans age they

lose neurons in the hippocampus which decreases their ability to learn new information. Chronic

THC exposure may advance age related loss of hippocampal neurons.

The impacts of marijuana can vary by person, it can vary by the age you start using the

drug, and it can also depend on how often marijuana is used. Those who started using marijuana

after 21 generally do not experience the same type of brain abnormalities as those who started

using the drug earlier. Long term users not only report that they have trouble thinking clearly and

memorizing information but that their reaction time has slowed down. In teen marijuana users

memory related structures in the brain appeared to shrink. These abnormalities remained two

years after a teen quit using marijuana, this indicates that the drug has long term effects and look
HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

thier brain’s similar to brains of those diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental

disorder that makes it hard to tell the difference between what is real and what is not real.

Most researchers have come to the conclusion that marijuana can definitely lead to

memory and learning disorders, they’ve done lab experiments to provide information with why

they think that. I feel that the experiments that were done were not biased and the lab

experiments helped the researchers come up with a conclusion. If you think about it, it makes a

lot of sense how marijuana can affect the brain not only short term but long term. It also makes

sense how younger people such as teenagers can be impacted more because their brain is not all

the way developed yet and the ingredient in the marijuana is corrupting the development of the

adolescent brain. The researchers have provided well studied information that is to be believed

unbiased. I personally have noticed patterns of how successful people are based on whether they

are active in drugs or not. I think that the amount of drugs you do and how often plays a major

impact on how severe the drug will affect you. I don’t think that smoking weed makes anyone a

bad person and I am not against the use of marijuana but I do think that marijuana affects the

development of your brain and there are studies to prove it. I personally know people that are

really into the use of marijuana, no it doesn’t make them a bad person, but I have noticed how it

has affected their learning and their memory.

Research with this topic should continue on because there are several chemicals that can

be added to the drug and I think more studies should be done age wise to see the different effects

of pregnant mothers who use marijuana and how it affects the baby, studies should be done to

see how older people react to the use of the drug, and I think studies should be done to see which

types of drugs cause the most harm to the brain. Researchers will continue to study the
HOW MARIJUANA AFFECTS THE BRAIN

underlying mechanisms that cause the changes in cortical oscillations. The purpose of continuing

the study is to see whether or not we can reverse these effects.

References

Payne, Cathy and Healy, Michelle. “Marijuana’s health effects: Memory problems, addiction.”

USA Today. 7 December 2012

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/06/nih-marijuana-effects/1751011/

National Institute of Drug Abuse. “How does marijuana use affect your brain and body?” NIH

website. July 2012.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/how-does-marijuana-

use-affect-your-brain-body

Shute, Nancy. “Heavier teen pot smoking linked to problems in young adults.” 89.3 KPCC

website. 10 September 2014.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/09/10/46611/heavier-teen-pot-smoking-linked-to-proble

ms-in-you/

University of Maryland Medical Center. “Marijuana use in adolescence may cause permanent

brain abnormalities, mouse study suggests.” Science Daily. 24 July 2013.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130724125028.htm
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Zimmermann, Kim. “Marijuana: Effects of Weed on Brain and Body.” Live Science. 23 July

2014. ​http://www.livescience.com/24558-marijuana-effects.html