Troubled Teens Resources

A common debate found in discussions of teen age drug abuse is how harmful pot may or may not be. There are copious defenses written of it’s use - on the internet, in medical literature and in various arguments before the court. And as is always the case with pot, you have one side who dismisses the negative health and psychological ramifications and the opposing view who paints pictures of marijuana users becoming psychotics unable to cope with life.

Where the truth lies is still up for debate, but a recent study asserts that there is no long term brain damage indicated in even the most dedicated pot smokers.

“A new study of cognitive changes caused by heavy marijuana use has found no lasting effects 28 days after quitting. Following a month of abstinence, men and women who smoked pot at least 5,000 times in their lives performed just as well on psychological tests as people who used pot sparingly or not at all, according to a report in the latest issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.”

“The down side of pot use is that though it may leave brain cells intact, it may not allow the teen user to keep his emotions or life in the same pristine shape.

Although researchers found no irreversible cognitive defects from a lifetime of marijuana consumption, pot users are not a happy lot… most heavy users admitted that the drug has a negative impact on all aspects of their lives from job performance and physical health to mental well-being and satisfactory socializing.

Heavy smokers also have substantially smaller incomes and lower levels of education than nonusers or light users, despite the fact that the education and income levels of their families are the same….”

(source)