Long-Term Effects of Marijuana On Memory?!
Question:
Long-Term Effects of Marijuana On Memory?
Hi, I'm an honour roll student and I hardly ever study, so needless to say I have a great memory. I've been smoking marijuana occasionally for the past 2 years (about once every 2-3 weeks) and haven't noticed any changes in my memory. However, some of my friends complain that marijuana is affecting their memories and they only do it a little more than me (about once a week).
I've heard that marijuana only affects memory for 45 minutes, or the duration of the high. And all of this conflicting information is driving me crazy. Does anyone have solid proof and an answer to this?
If so, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.
3 weeks ago
How much is "regularly"?
Have I been using it regularly, or occasionally, because I was under the impression that I was a pretty occasional user.
Answers:
It really just depends on your body type.
MJ can mess with certain people's short-term memories in some pretty hard-core doses. This has been proven through studies.
What is "regular" use? Once again, depends on your body. Somebody I know who's a PhD in his 50's smokes daily and is brilliant...no short term memory loss that I know of. Others smoke on a lesser basis and act like burned out hippies; though usually these people have some history of recreational hard drug usage. Personally, I've smoked on a weekly basis for the last five years (since I was 17) and I have always had a bad memory even before toking up...I've yet to notice any drop in memory. Actually, my memory improves greatly while I'm high.
Based on what you have said, I would bet you will have little memory loss over time...so if weed helps you out in productive ways, continue it. If its just something to do (or if you're reeeeeally worried about memory loss), cut back or stop. There's no point in doing a drug if it doesn't help you out.
As for your own usage? I would probably consider you a below-average regular user. It's not that bad...I know many who stay stoned all weekend! Most people who use weed tend to stop at a certain point in their lives after regular use, so if you're the norm you'll stop at some point.
Joe