Does Smoking Weed Really Make Teens Dumber?
The verdict is still out, but scientific evidence points toward yes. The more weed that teens consume at a younger age, the more problems they tend to have later in life.
Why? Probably because the brain is still forming during teenage and young-adult years. The tissue itself is still developing connections between brain regions and producing the cells that process information. Neurodevelopment is particularly active during childhood and adolescence and continues until at least age 25. Heavy use of weed during that time has been linked to permanent problems with memory, learning, perception, impulse control, and more. But it’s important to know that cause and effect when it comes to cannabis are still an open question. Marijuana could make teens dumber, or dumber teens could be more likely to want to smoke a lot of pot…