An oft-cited but seldom examined argument against the use and commonplace acceptance (screw legalization; I don't want Monsanto producing my cannabis) of weed is that it can damage the brains of people under 25 years of age. I assume there's some study somewhere that gives credence to this claim, but before I go and look it up, has anyone else conducted a critical examination of this claim? In particular, I'm wondering if they consider "brain damage" to include the things they normally diagnose perfectly healthy kids with and prescribe neurotoxins for.
Image source: Myself, using CC0 vector art from Pixabay
Have you specifically reviewed the studies behind the notion that cannabis can damage a young person's brain and found some problem in them, or some reason they might be misleading?
Awesome, thanks for the info! That study jives well with my own observations: people who drive high may be slightly impaired, but they're usually aware of it and much more risk-averse than usual. They never seem unsafe to me.
Oh, without a doubt, the double-standard is so blatantly obvious, it's a joke that forgot to be funny. Alcohol is known to damage the brain, but even that we now know is fixable if you're taking proper care of yourself.
Even so, when I tell friends and family that weed isn't bad, I do have to caveat that with "but think of the children" with current information. The more I dig into that, though, the less I find to substantiate even that special case.
Of course, delegating the right to determine my own risk profile is off the table. No one has a right to tell me what I can and can't put in my body, and I'm not going to give that right to them. Nevertheless, it's valuable to know what the real data and risks are.
For example, lemon essential oil is great for a lot of things, including mood lifting, anti-depressant, antibacterial, etc. but it may not be a great idea to put it on topically before going into the sun as it exacerbates sunburns. Knowing that is valuable in deciding whether I'm gonna use it or not. :)