How Smoking Marijuana Damages The Adolescent Brain


Shaquille O'Neal won three NBA championships (2000, 2001, 2002) with the LA Lakers, coached by the "Zen Master" Phil Jackson. During Shaq's initiation into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, he credited Jackson with helping him attain a higher level of play. In fact, he recalled how Jackson would make the players meditate before a game, while some herb burned in the background. "I've never been high before," O'Neal recounted before asking Jackson if it was pot. Jackson assured him it was not. "It's sage, the cousin of cannabis."

Can you imagine Shaq with pregame munchies? Jackson wouldn't have risked that! He used burning sage to dispel negative energy; breathing marijuana smoke does other things.

Now, several research papers presented at the 2019 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting confirm that adolescents and young adults are highly vulnerable to drug-related disturbances in brain development.

Following almost 4,000 seventh-graders for four years, researchers found that smoking cannabis impairs working memory and recall, control of impulsiveness and perceptual reasoning. Other researchers working with lab animals confirmed the same findings: Cannabis causes adolescent rodents to experience deficits in social interactions, memory processing and anxiety regulation.

So, folks, explain to your kids (at any age) that the legalization of marijuana doesn't mean it's smart to smoke it. Weed that contained around 4% THC in the 1960s-1980s delivers 20% or more today - even more damaging to the brain. Point out to your kids that if they don't smoke pot, they'll have the brainpower needed to figure it all out!

© 2019 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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