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A new study says drinking alcohol may be worse for your brain than smoking weed is. But does that mean marijuana is safe? | Source: ShutterStock
You’ve probably heard that drinking alcohol and smoking weed are pretty bad for you, but is one worse than the other? Turns out, the answer is yes. And it’s probably not what you think.
A new study says that for teens, smoking weed is actually not as dangerous in terms of brain damage as drinking alcohol is. Researchers did a bunch of tests on 92 people between the ages of 16 and 20. Half of them already drank alcohol and used marijuana regularly, while the other half either abstained completely or kept their use down to a minimum.
Here’s what they found through brain scans over time: Teens who drank five or more alcoholic beverages twice a week or more–essentially binge drinking–had damage to their brain tissue that could cause memory loss, attention deficit problems, and issues with decision making not only immediately, but also later in life going into adulthood. (Ruh roh!) One of the researchers explained that it becomes a pretty vicious cycle when that happens: “If teens decrease their tissue health and cognitive ability to inhibit themselves, they might become more likely to engage in risky behavior like excessive substance use.” Yikes!
A separate study showed that drinking alcohol lowered test scores, and it happened differently for girls and guys. Girls had a harder time with reading comprehension and interpreting visuals, while guys just struggled to pay attention to what they were doing. (So if you planned on boozing up, we’re not going to tell you what to do–but you just might want to wait until after you take your SATs.)
Meanwhile, the test subjects who kept on smoking weed showed very little to no brain damage. Pretty interesting considering one is legal when you’re 21 and the other isn’t (depending on where you live, that is), isn’t it?
Still, don’t get too excited about the effects of marijuana (or the apparent lack thereof) just yet. The scientists in the study said that a lot of research results on marijuana haven’t been consistent because there are a lot of variables involved. “One reason is that marijuana can really vary. Different strains contain different levels of THC and other marijuana components,” one researcher explained. “For example, some studies have suggested one component, cannabidiol, may actually have neuroprotective effects.” (Basically, different types of marijuana can affect you differently–and one component of marijuana may actually be good for you, but they’re not sure.)
One could argue that if marijuana were legalized, it could be regulated the way alcohol is, so that the different ingredients and components could be recognized and understood better, but that may not happen. And while smoking weed may not have shown brain damage in this particular study, another showed that using marijuana for a long time can actually lower your I.Q., which is pretty scary.
Do you think drinking alcohol is really more harmful than smoking weed? Do you think smoking weed has long-term negative effects? If you drink alcohol or smoke weed, have you noticed a difference in your grades? Tell us in the comments!
Is smoking weed really so bad?
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Okay, weed is only found to harm you if you smoke it excessively while your brain is still developing; then yes, it can possibly lead to problems. But for adults it’s pretty much harmless in moderation. The reason it is illegal is due to a political scandal , no joke. I think there would be way less problems if people started using pot instead of alcohol. Alcohol causes you to do dangerous things and is all around dangerous to use, especially since you can overdose on it, while you actually cannot overdose on weed. Pluss when you smoke weed, you do not feel the need to cause danger to others, you just feel dreamy. Look up and watch the dcumentary “The Union” to see what I’m talking about…
Just to add something….
Just so all you kids know.
Hemp is a very safe product for the land and is pretty bio-degradable. The production of it is low pollution and its fairly cheap. There are so many uses for it and hemp is from a Marijuana plant.
AND—>ABRAHAM LINCOLN OUR FOUNDING FATHER SMOKED MARIJUANA.
duhh…”yeah your middle school and high school text books didn’t teach you that did they?”
Honestly I think all drugs should be illegal and correction to the girl who said pot hasn’t killed anyone, actually it has. Example: if someone smokes pot and and drives they could get away with it : fumes, they air out the car,: red eyes, can get eye drops. Then if they get stopped the cops would know so they could continue driving and while they’re driving, their so high they don’t know what their doing, so they get into wrecks and kill people. But if people drink and drive they could get stopped, and the police would smell the alcohol in the persons breath and beer bottles. I rest my case. OWNED!!!!!!!
This isn’t really news. It’s been known for a while now that smoking weed really isn’t that bad. The only reason we’ve had it in our heads that it is is because of all the stupid propaganda from way back when (‘Reefer Madness’ pretty much says it all).
Why do people get this idea that pot is this harmless fun substance? Yes, it’s not as bad as say coke or meth, but it’s a drug, no matter what studies say. It affects your brain development and makes you susceptible to mental diseases like schizophrenia, it’s been proven. It’s worse than cigarettes and gives you lung cancer, like any smoke does. Also, driving while stoned is worse than drunk driving. I’ve seen potheads in my school, they’re all idiots.
Actually pot is way better then cigarette’s. There isn’t any pesticides or additives or preservatives in pot. Have you ever fully researched what’s in cigs? Totally disgusting. No one has died from smoking pot and it does not or hasn’t been linked to certain cancers. Now pot in little doses is good for you can even help with certain brain disorders sub as dementia. Pot should be legal if cigarettes are allowed to be. If we legalized pot it would also help our eceonomy.
Actually, drunk driving is way worse than high flying. I mean i guess its your opinion but your vision is definitely not impaired after smoking weed, sure you may feel a bit light headed but its no where near pounding 5 beers and than driving. Hmm, maybe there has been some accidents caused by being high while driving but its definitely under 50. How many accidents and deaths have been caused from drunk driving -research it. And HAHAHAHAHA to your comment about “I’ve seen potheads in my school, they’re all idiots.” Well if they are all idiots apparently to you then you must be a genius. I used to be a regular smoker and now I don’t touch the stuff, only because of my job. It is legal in my home state as of this year and I agree with it. It is my opinion but i am pretty smart, I have a good grade point average and I have had jobs since i was 15 years old. I work at a car dealership and I certainly don’t believe they would hire a dummy. Maybe the people at your school are just naturally idiots, I don’t think its the marijuana making them stupid. I know math, computer, sports, and many more…GENIUSES that have been smoking for more than a decade.