Legalizing weed – no so fast folks

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
There are many arguments for the legalization of marijuana and the legalization of pot has become the latest conversation in the US and is reminiscent of Peter Tosh’s “Legalize it” tune way back in the eighties but new studies suggest that cannabis can indeed be more harmful than many who are arguing for legalization may have first thought.
Marijuana shrinks grey matter.
That is the contention of scientist from Universities of Texas and New Mexico who suggest that while white matter grows to compensate for the loss of grey matter, the white matter deteriorates with obvious consequences.
In fact, neuroscientists believe damage to the orbitofrontal cortex may be the underlying cause of psychopathological disorders and personality disorders in marijuana users. The study’s authors do not however wish to make a causal connection between drug abuse and the loss of grey matter without further research.
The study says that scientists examined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brains of 48 adult cannabis users aged 20 to 36 and compared those images with those of 62 non-users.
The researchers found that those who smoked three times a day reported smaller averages volumes of grey matter in the orbitofrontal cortex. This region of the brain is critical in decision making, mental processing and associated “skills”.
“What’s unique about this work is that it combines three different magnetic resonance imaging techniques to evaluate different brain characteristics. The results suggest increases in connectivity, both structural and functional that may be compensating for grey matter losses. Eventually, however, the structural connectivity or ‘wiring’ of the brain starts degrading with prolonged marijuana use,” said University of Texas’ Dr Sina Aslan.
Age as well as the number of years of smoking marijuana also play a role in the loss of grey matter and the replacement with white matter which deteriorates quickly.
In addition, those who started marijuana use earlier had more structural change to the brain matter with white brain matter being more voluminous with the connections also deteriorating. In fact, the study suggested that connections deteriorated within six to eight years with prolonged use of marijuana.
“We have seen a steady increase in the incidence of marijuana use since 2007. However, research on its long-term effects remains scarce – despite the changes in legislation surrounding marijuana and the continuing conversation surrounding this relevant public health topic…While our study does not conclusively address whether any or all of the brain changes are a direct consequence of marijuana use, these effects do suggest that these changes are related to age of onset and duration of use,” said Dr Francesca Filbey, University of Texas and co-author of the study.
The scientist suggested that while the information proved informative and instructive, they still needed more information to show drug abuse as being the cause of the shrinkage in grey matter.