Editor's Note: The first sentence of this article reads "If you're confused about what marijuana use really does to people who use it, you're not alone." And, guess what? Things won't be any clearer after you read the article. It would seem from this new study that marijuana users have a smaller orbital frontal cortex (which establishes "the reward system that helps us survive"). Is that bad? Well, it seems it could be; but while marijuana users' orbital frontal cortex is smaller, it also functions better. Yes, better.  (Although prolonged use from an early age seems to suggest the positive effects will diminish.) But wait: At the end of the article, we find out that it may not be the marijuana use that causes the smaller orbital frontal cortex, but, in fact, the other way around: "it is possible that the small orbitofrontal cortex observed in marijuana users predated their marijuana use. A 2012 study found that smaller orbital frontal cortex volume at 12 years of age appeared to predict the initiation of marijuana use later in life." So … really … this new study shows us, um, nothing.Â
If you're confused about what marijuana use really does to people who use it, you're not alone. For years, the scientific research on health effects of the drug have been all over the map.
Earlier this year, one study suggested that even casual marijuana use could cause changes to the brain. Another found that marijuana use was also associated with poor sperm quality, which could lead to infertility in men.
But marijuana advocates point to other research indicating that the drug isfar less addictive than other drugs, and some studies have found no relationship between IQ and marijuana use in teens.
