Does Marijuana kill brain cells?

[jusplay4fun]

How Does Marijuana Affect The Brain?

As recreational Marijuana use becomes legalized throughout the US, many people now wonder how Marijuana affects the brain and whether or not it kills brain cells. Just as years of heavy alcohol, Meth, and Heroin use can cause some irreversible brain damage, prolonged Marijuana abuse can affect the ability of brain cells to convey messages (also known as brain activity). Using Marijuana can cause damage to brain cells that results in a number of concurrent symptoms throughout the body.

https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/marijuana/kill-brain-cells/

Whether cannabis, or marijuana, kills brain cells remains unknown, and current research studies have yielded conflicting results.

Keep reading to learn more about what current studies have to say about marijuana’s short- and long-term effects on the brain.

Does marijuana kill brain cells?

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-weed-kill-brain-cells

[mookiemcgee]

My view. Yes, it probably kills brain cells, but there are likely tons of things people are doing that also kill their braincells they maybe aren't even aware of.

Scientifically this will always be a tough thing to test for because you can't really control for all the other things test subjects will do over time which are also killing braincells.

[jimboston]

Breathing kills brain cells.

Living kills brains cells.

Dying kills brain cells.

[jusplay4fun]

My view. Yes, it probably kills brain cells, but there are likely tons of things people are doing that also kill their braincells they maybe aren't even aware of.

Scientifically this will always be a tough thing to test for because you can't really control for all the other things test subjects will do over time which are also killing braincells.

I have not researched** ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol, CH3COOH, or JUST alcohol to most of the non-chemists), but I am rather sure that alcohol has been documented to kill brain cells.

**OK, I did, a bit; this is from WebMD:

It is a myth that drinking kills brain cells. Instead, alcohol damages the brain in other ways, for instance, by damaging the ends of neurons. This can make it difficult for those neurons to send important nerve signals. Alcohol may also damage the brain by increasing the risk of strokes, head injuries, and accidents.

Accidents? ya THINK..!!....??

Anywayzzz, close enough, as there is serious brain impairment and/or damage, even after getting sober.

and one more sourced quote:

Sep 17, 2019 — The bottom line ... Alcohol doesn't kill brain cells, but it does have both short- and long-term effects on your brain, even in moderate amounts.

(from healthline dot com)

[mookiemcgee]

My view. Yes, it probably kills brain cells, but there are likely tons of things people are doing that also kill their braincells they maybe aren't even aware of.

Scientifically this will always be a tough thing to test for because you can't really control for all the other things test subjects will do over time which are also killing braincells.

I have not researched** ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol, CH3COOH, or JUST alcohol to most of the non-chemists), but I am rather sure that alcohol has been documented to kill brain cells.

**OK, I did, a bit; this is from WebMD:

It is a myth that drinking kills brain cells. Instead, alcohol damages the brain in other ways, for instance, by damaging the ends of neurons. This can make it difficult for those neurons to send important nerve signals. Alcohol may also damage the brain by increasing the risk of strokes, head injuries, and accidents.

Accidents? ya THINK..!!....??

Anywayzzz, close enough, as there is serious brain impairment and/or damage, even after getting sober.

and one more sourced quote:

Sep 17, 2019 — The bottom line ... Alcohol doesn't kill brain cells, but it does have both short- and long-term effects on your brain, even in moderate amounts.

(from healthline dot com)

I think there is some research that cleaning chemicals, certain shampoo's/soaps ect kill brain cells. It's not 'only' drugs that do it... so just enjoy your weed in moderation like everything else in life and you will be fine.

[bigtoughralf]

Breathing kills brain cells.

True. saxitoxin's been breathing for years, and look at the state of him!

[jusplay4fun]

Brain Health
Marijuana use directly affects brain function — specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotions, and reaction time. 1,2

What are the short-term effects of marijuana on the brain?
Recent marijuana use (defined as within 24 hours) in youth and adults has an immediate impact on thinking, attention, memory, coordination, movement, and time perception.1

What are the long-term effects of marijuana on the brain?
Marijuana affects brain development. Developing brains, such as those in babies, children, and teenagers, are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).1,2 Although scientists are still learning about the effects of marijuana on developing brains, studies suggest that marijuana use by mothers during pregnancy could be linked to problems with attention, memory, problem-solving skills, and behavior in their children.3-9

Using marijuana before age 18 may affect how the brain builds connections for functions like attention, memory, and learning.10 Marijuana’s effects on attention, memory, and learning may last a long time or even be permanent,11 but more research is needed to fully understand these effects. Youth who use marijuana may not do as well in school and may have trouble remembering things.1,6,12,13

The impact of marijuana use on the brain depends on many factors, including:

• Amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana (in other words, the concentration or strength),
• How often it is used,
• Age of first use, and
• Whether other substances (for example, tobacco and alcohol) are used at the same time.

Long-term impacts on the brain may also be caused by something other than marijuana, such as genetics, the home environment, or other unknown factors.14 The National Institute on Drug Abuse is conducting a large long-term study (the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, or ABCD study) to better understand the role marijuana and other substances play in adolescent brain development.

https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/brain-health.html

ALSO:

Research Report
Cannabis (Marijuana) Research Report
What are marijuana's long-term effects on the brain?

Substantial evidence from animal research and a growing number of studies in humans indicate that marijuana exposure during development can cause long-term or possibly permanent adverse changes in the brain. Rats exposed to THC before birth, soon after birth, or during adolescence show notable problems with specific learning and memory tasks later in life.32–34 Cognitive impairments in adult rats exposed to THC during adolescence are associated with structural and functional changes in the hippocampus.35–37 Studies in rats also show that adolescent exposure to THC is associated with an altered reward system, increasing the likelihood that an animal will self-administer other drugs (e.g., heroin) when given an opportunity (see "Is marijuana a gateway drug?").

Imaging studies of marijuana’s impact on brain structure in humans have shown conflicting results. Some studies suggest regular marijuana use in adolescence is associated with altered connectivity and reduced volume of specific brain regions involved in a broad range of executive functions such as memory, learning, and impulse control compared to people who do not use.38,39 Other studies have not found significant structural differences between the brains of people who do and do not use the drug.40

Several studies, including two large longitudinal studies, suggest that marijuana use can cause functional impairment in cognitive abilities but that the degree and/or duration of the impairment depends on the age when a person began using and how much and how long he or she used.41

Among nearly 4,000 young adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study tracked over a 25-year period until mid-adulthood, cumulative lifetime exposure to marijuana was associated with lower scores on a test of verbal memory but did not affect other cognitive abilities such as processing speed or executive function. The effect was sizable and significant even after eliminating those involved with current use and after adjusting for confounding factors such as demographic factors, other drug and alcohol use, and other psychiatric conditions such as depression.42

Some studies have also linked marijuana use to declines in IQ, especially when use starts in adolescence and leads to persistent cannabis use disorder into adulthood. However, not all of the studies on the link between marijuana and IQ have reached the same conclusion, and it is difficult to prove that marijuana causes a decline in IQ when there are multiple factors that can influence the results of such studies, such as genetics, family environment, age of first use, frequency of use, having a cannabis use disorder, duration of use, and duration of the study. Key research in this area to date is described below.

A large longitudinal study in New Zealand found that persistent marijuana use disorder with frequent use starting in adolescence was associated with a loss of an average of 6 or up to 8 IQ points measured in mid-adulthood.43 Those who used marijuana heavily as teenagers and quit using as adults did not recover the lost IQ points. People who only began using marijuana heavily in adulthood did not lose IQ points. Two shorter-duration prospective longitudinal twin studies found that youth who used marijuana showed significant declines in verbal ability (equivalent to 4 IQ points) and general knowledge between the preteen years (ages 9 to 12, before use) and late adolescence/early adulthood (ages 17 to 20); however those who went on to use marijuana at older ages already had lower scores on these measures at the start of the study, before they started using the drug. Also, no predictable difference was found between twins when one used marijuana and one did not.44

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain