The Effects of Marijuana on the Adolescent Body and Brain

The Effects of Marijuana on the Adolescent Body and Brain

        The effects of marijuana on the developing young brain vary between short term effects and long term effects.

        Some short term effects can include negative impacts on memory, judgment and perception, difficulty with problem solving, limitations on motor skills including driving and even simple movement, and an increase of chances of poor judgment when it comes to other high risk behaviors, along with many other negative effects.

        Long term effects often stay with the person throughout their entire life because the development of certain parts of the brain can be stunted and even permanently damaged if used often enough or in large amounts. These long term effects, among others, include respiratory issues, lowered mental functionality, decreased fertility, poor immune system health, and even a risk of cancer.

        Certain parts of the brain are inhibited while THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is present in the system. A part of the brain called the hippocampus controls memory, and also plays a role in emotion and motivation. This part of the brain along with many others doesn’t fully finish developing until the adolescent reaches their mid-20’s. The use of marijuana affects the way sensory information is processed by the hippocampus and learned behaviors break down and deteriorate, which means that the person using it can have a permanently damaged brain when it comes to memory, emotion and motivation.

        Studies conducted on rats exposed to THC before and after birth and during the developing stages of life show noticeable difficulty with learning and memory retention even later in life after the use of THC has stopped when compared to rats that were not exposed to it. The same concept applies to people exposed to the THC in marijuana who also experience these impaired cognitive functions later in life when the brain is fully done with developing. As a result people who used marijuana frequently experience these long term effects down the road, and the brain is unable to repair this since it is part of the nervous system. Once it’s damaged it can’t be fixed because the nervous system works differently than other parts of the body, it doesn’t regenerate brain cells or nervous cells to make up for the damaged or dead ones.