During the past year, many concerns have been expressed with the use of marijuana and the vulnerability of the teen brain. One of the concerns that substance abuse prevention professionals have about marijuana is that among students the perception of harm is declining in regards to this drug. “Perception of harm” is the benchmark for drug use and a decline predicts the probability of future drug use.
Professionals feel that the approval of marijuana for medical conditions in New York State and the legalization of marijuana in some states have been contributing factors to the decline of the perception of harm by teens.
However, the ongoing research into this drug shows a very different picture regarding marijuana’s harmful effects. As was previously reported, there is an association between marijuana and psychosis and depression. Researchers are learning more about the negative impact of marijuana on the cognitive skills of memory and attention. Marijuana also decreases motivation and there are short and longer term effects of marijuana on the ability to learn.
One can go to the website www.powertotheparent.org to read more about the negative impact that marijuana can have on the teen brain.
Source: Patricia Murphy Warble, LMSW, CPP, Parenting for Prevention June 2017
