Mixed Findings on Pot's Effect on the Developing Brain
Mixed Findings on Pot's Effect on the Developing Brain
One of two new studies suggests marijuana use in teen years might be more harmful for males
They found that men who reported using marijuana in early adolescence had a thinner cerebral cortex than those who did not, but only if they had a high genetic predisposition toward schizophrenia, Paus said.
The results indicate that marijuana might have some effect on the developing brains of at-risk male teenagers, the study concludes. However, no similar effect was found in low-risk men or in women.
"There is a lot of restructuring going on in the male brain between the age of 12 and 18," Paus said, noting that schizophrenia begins about five years earlier in men than in women and that early marijuana use might have some influence.
The cerebral cortex plays host to many receptors that bind with THC, the ingredient in pot that causes intoxication, he said. In addition, the male hormone testosterone influences changes in the cortex, and may interact in some way with substances in marijuana.
"It seems that whatever it is in men, it basically makes them more susceptible to it," Paus said.
An accompanying editorial by Dr. David Goldman, chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the U.S. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said these findings show that marijuana is not a harmless drug.
"The burden of cannabis' effects may fall more heavily on people who, because of genetic makeup or early life exposures, are at greatest risk for brain structural changes, psychosis or addiction," Goldman wrote. "It is safer not to expose people to psychoactive drugs."
But Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a group promoting marijuana legalization, said the studies indicate that pot is no more dangerous than other legal substances.
"These papers again affirm that cannabis use, at worst, poses far fewer risks to the developing brain than does alcohol, and that its potential role in the onset of, or the exacerbation of, psychiatric illness similarly remains marginal," Armentano said.
He noted that while marijuana-use rates have fluctuated over several decades, rates of psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia have remained static, providing little basis for claims that marijuana triggers such disorders.
"Nonetheless, cannabis -- like alcohol -- ought to be regulated appropriately and its use limited to adults, not because its consumption is innocuous but because it is a mood-altering substance that possesses risk potential, particularly for adolescents," Armentano added.
Pot and the Developing Brain: Mixed Findings
One of two new studies suggests marijuana use in teen years might be more harmful for males
They found that men who reported using marijuana in early adolescence had a thinner cerebral cortex than those who did not, but only if they had a high genetic predisposition toward schizophrenia, Paus said.
The results indicate that marijuana might have some effect on the developing brains of at-risk male teenagers, the study concludes. However, no similar effect was found in low-risk men or in women.
"There is a lot of restructuring going on in the male brain between the age of 12 and 18," Paus said, noting that schizophrenia begins about five years earlier in men than in women and that early marijuana use might have some influence.
The cerebral cortex plays host to many receptors that bind with THC, the ingredient in pot that causes intoxication, he said. In addition, the male hormone testosterone influences changes in the cortex, and may interact in some way with substances in marijuana.
"It seems that whatever it is in men, it basically makes them more susceptible to it," Paus said.
An accompanying editorial by Dr. David Goldman, chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the U.S. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said these findings show that marijuana is not a harmless drug.
"The burden of cannabis' effects may fall more heavily on people who, because of genetic makeup or early life exposures, are at greatest risk for brain structural changes, psychosis or addiction," Goldman wrote. "It is safer not to expose people to psychoactive drugs."
But Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a group promoting marijuana legalization, said the studies indicate that pot is no more dangerous than other legal substances.
"These papers again affirm that cannabis use, at worst, poses far fewer risks to the developing brain than does alcohol, and that its potential role in the onset of, or the exacerbation of, psychiatric illness similarly remains marginal," Armentano said.
He noted that while marijuana-use rates have fluctuated over several decades, rates of psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia have remained static, providing little basis for claims that marijuana triggers such disorders.
"Nonetheless, cannabis -- like alcohol -- ought to be regulated appropriately and its use limited to adults, not because its consumption is innocuous but because it is a mood-altering substance that possesses risk potential, particularly for adolescents," Armentano added.
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