The findings of a study on marijuana’s neurocognitive effect “suggests that prescribed medical cannabis could have minimal acute impact cognitive function among chronic health condition patients” — which may come as relief to long-term patients of cannabis who are worried about potential neurological side effects of the drug.
The authors of the study, published in the peer reviewed journal CNS Drugs last month, stated that “there was no evidence for impaired cognition when comparing baseline scores with post-treatment results.”
Researchers in Australia asked 40 participants to self-administer medical marijuana, according to the instructions on the label, in a lab setting. The participants were tested on a variety of neuropsychological metrics, including multitasking and pattern recognition memory. They also had to demonstrate their reaction time, rapid information processing, spatial working memory, and other abilities.
The study states that “the absence of cognitive impairment following self-administration of medical cannabis was surprising”, given the prior and substantial evidence that nonmedical (recreational) cannabis use reliably impaired a range cognitive functions. These findings are also consistent with the two systematic reviews that were published last year, which suggest that regular and consistent use of medical cannabis for chronic health concerns may not have any effect on cognitive function.
The cognitive effects of medical cannabis when taken as prescribed were not negative.
Researchers found that there was “little evidence” to support the idea that cognitive function would differ between participants who consumed oil or flower.
The researchers did however find some difference in the effects of participants who consumed cannabis concentrate and flower. The study found that participants who self administered oil rated themselves more sedated and more stoned than those who self administered flower. The study says that participants who self administered flower were more confident than those self administering oil, although this difference was statistically significant only at the 4-hour timepoint.
The report highlights that cannabis tolerance increases over time. Citing a study from 2021, in which THC was given to occasional users and they “exhibited significant changes in reward circuitry”, as well as “impaired performances on a sustained-attention task.”
The authors reported that “chronic cannabis users who received the same doses of THC showed no neurometabolic changes or performance degradations,” despite reporting an increase in intoxication compared to placebo.
They continued by saying that “considering this emerging evidence of pharmacodynamic toleration of the effects of marijuana,” “stable doses of THC, (and gradual dosage titration until effective symptom relief has been achieved, but not beyond), is likely crucial for any mitigation of impairment.”
The report advises people to consider potential impairment, especially after increasing dosages.
It says that “driving is not recommended until the patient has reached a stable THC dosage.” And it should be avoided temporarily after any increase in THC.
It is possible that the lack of cognitive impairment was due to participants’ regular use of medical marijuana. The majority (92,5%) of participants had used medical marijuana for at least a month prior to the start of the study. All patients also reported using cannabis daily.
In contrast, previous studies that found impairment included “the requirement that patients refrain from cannabis for 30 day prior to participating.”
The authors write that “the fact that [these patients] in past research were not taking an stable dose of medicinal cannabis could explain why we did not find any evidence for acute cognition impairment” in this study.
The authors reported that participants self-reported an improvement of their condition by 78.6 per cent since starting cannabis treatment.
The study was limited by the lack of a placebo. This, according to the authors, “means that we are unable to distinguish the baseline performance from any residual impairment due to medical cannabis use on the night before.” Participants were also not screened for drugs prior to the test.
They also noted that controlled medical marijuana use may not reflect how patients actually use the drug. The study states that patients might only use medical marijuana in the evenings before going to sleep. These findings are not applicable to patients who have just started using medical cannabis, or those who change dosage/product type.
Although the effects of cannabis on long-term health are not yet fully understood, recent research suggests that some of these fears may be exaggerated.
In a report that was published in April, based on data from dispensaries, it was found, for example, that cancer sufferers reported that they were able to think clearly when using medical cannabis. The patients also reported that it helped them manage their pain.
In a separate study, teens and young adults who were at high risk for developing psychotic disorders discovered that regular cannabis use over a period of two years did not cause early onset psychosis symptoms. This is contrary to claims made by prohibitionists that cannabis causes mental illnesses. It was actually associated with modest improvements to cognitive function and a reduction in the use of other medication.
The authors of the study concluded that “CHR youths who used cannabis continuously had improved neurocognition, social functioning, and reduced medication use over time, relative to nonusers.” “Surprisingly clinical symptoms improved over the course of time, despite medication reductions.”
The American Medical Association (AMA), in a separate study, published in January and examining data from over 63 million health insurers, found that there was “no statistically meaningful increase” in psychosis diagnoses between states that legalized cannabis and those that continued to criminalize it.
In 2018, studies found that cannabis may increase working memory, and that using marijuana does not actually alter the structure of the mind.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse says that contrary to the claim made by then-President Trump, marijuana causes people to “lose IQ” points. Two longitudinal studies have “not supported a causal link between marijuana use and IQ losses.”
Researchers have found that cannabis users can experience a decline in verbal abilities and general knowledge, but “those who planned to use marijuana in the future already scored lower than those who did not plan to use it in the future.”
NIDA concluded that “this suggests that observed IQ decreases may be caused, at least throughout adolescence by shared familial factor (e.g. genetics, family environments), and not by marijuana use.”
Marijuana users have more empathy and a greater understanding of other people’s emotions, study finds
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The article Study Finds No Evidence That Medical Marijuana Causes Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Chronic Health Problems first appeared on Marijuana moment.
