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Irish researchers say their findings that frequent or dependent cannabis use during adolescence could spur a two-point drop in IQ over time offers further insight into weed’s harmful neurological and cognitive effects on young people.
Carried out by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Beaumont Hospital, a new paper detailing the systematic review and meta-analysis was published last week in
Psychological Medicine.
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Researchers say frequent cannabis use when young could make a person dumb(er) over time Back to video
Researchers did related searches of several databases from their respective inceptions until January 2020, identifying seven longitudinal studies, all of which had a baseline IQ score prior to starting cannabis use and another IQ score at follow-up. Involving 808 young people who used weed at least weekly for a minimum of six months compared to 5,308 young people who did not use cannabis, participants were followed up until age 18 on average, though one study continued until age 38.