As a long-term study on marijuana smoking was published a
week ago, does marijuana use – even for legitimate medicinal purposes – bad for
one’s I.Q. scores?
By: Ringo Bones
The 20-year long study was originally conducted in New
Zealand where it drew 1,000 people observing the long-term effects of marijuana
use. A significant number of the participants even started smoking marijuana
when they were as young as 13- years of age. According to the results of the
study, long-term cannabis use by adolescents whose brains have not yet fully
developed show signs of memory loss and up to an 8-point drop in their I.Q.
scores. And the worst cases of memory loss and I.Q. score reductions occur in
study participants who use marijuana before their 18th birthday at more
than 4 times a week. Given the sobering study results, will this be used by
some conservative right-wing politicians against the legalization of marijuana
for legitimate medical use?
Given the supposed “neutrality” of the study from the basis
of where it gets its funding and where it was conducted, medical marijuana
special interest groups will look at the results with suspicion – given the
long shadow cast by the Ronald Reagan era sham research on marijuana use exaggerating
its supposed dangers. In some jurisdictions in the United States, the legalized
medical marijuana industry is now so entrenched culturally, socially and
economically that further restricting its use using this study as a
justification will be seen nothing more than Reagan Administration era
demagoguery – as opposed to a peer-reviewed scientifically informed argument
against it.
