Medical marijuana is legal in nearly half of U.S. states. In the past year, Washington and Colorado legalized its sale for recreational use. Recreational? What’s so fun about brain damage?
Doctors studying marijuana’s effects used MRIs to take pictures of the brains of 40 people aged 18 to 25. Half used marijuana at least once a week but were not addicted. The other half rarely if ever had used it.
Two areas of the brain were larger in marijuana users—but in this case, bigger doesn’t mean better! One part that changed is called the nucleus accumbens. This part of the brain is involved in motivation or the desire to accomplish things. The other part, the amygdala, helps control emotion. The more marijuana use young people reported, the more dramatic the brain changes.
Researchers published the study results in The Journal of Neuroscience.
“What we think we are seeing here is a very early indication of what becomes a problem later on with prolonged use,” says Dr. Hans Breiter, the study’s lead researcher. Problems might include a lack of judgment or inability to focus.
The human brain continues to develop until at least age 25. Researchers think marijuana use in these “unfinished” brains might be especially dangerous.
“Just casual use appears to create changes in the brain in areas you don't want to change,” Dr. Breiter said in an interview with USA Today. “This is a part of the brain you do not want to mess around with.”
Some television shows and movies make light of marijuana use. They make it look fun and cool. But as this study shows, even this seemingly “harmless” drug is doing damage inside that can’t be seen.
As believers, our bodies don’t belong to us. They’re God’s temples. His Spirit dwells inside of each of us. (I Corinthians 3:16-17)
You wouldn’t consider taking a sledgehammer to one of the walls of your church or lighting the carpet on fire. Shouldn’t your body have the same respect?
