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Mind

Cannabis can harm young brains but may improve learning in older age

There is growing evidence that cannabis use may disrupt adolescent brain development, but in older adults it seems to lead to more neural connections in brain regions associated with memory and learning

By Joanna Thompson

15 November 2023

man smoking medical marijuana

Marijuana might hold benefits for older users

adriaticfoto/Shutterstock

Cannabis might disrupt brain development in early adolescence – but it could actually improve memory and cognitive function in older adults.

In a 2021 study, Matthew Albaugh at the University of Vermont and his colleagues compared brain scans of nearly 800 teens taken five years apart. They found that adolescents who reported using cannabis during that time period experienced more shrinking in regions of the prefrontal cortex than teens who didn’t.

A follow-up study published last year, involving a different group of volunteers,…

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