A recent article published in the journal, Addiction, looked at the impact of adolescent alcohol and cannabis use on brain structural characteristics. The scientists used a brain imaging technique called MRI (yes, the same thing used to diagnose your torn ACL) and looked at numerous characteristics relating to number of brain cells and how they connect across different brain areas.

To the excitement of the cannabis community, alcohol use was associated with numerous abnormal structural characteristics, while cannabis appeared to have no effect. “See, cannabis is safe!” I read on numerous cannabis sites. I got emails, “what do you think of this? Exciting, huh?”

Let’s pump the breaks. Yes, adolescent alcohol exposure is bad. That’s not surprising. Not only does alcohol perturb normal brain function when it’s in the system, leading to shifts in the way brain cells act, but it also increases inflammation in the brain leading to a host of long-term consequences such as the changes in brain structure reported in this article. But THC, the high-inducing chemical in cannabis, is known to cause detrimental effects on the developing brain even in the absence of overt structural changes.

THC has been shown in numerous studies to affect the manner in which brain cells connect to one another and synchronize their activity. This shift in what’s known as “functional connectivity” can lead to long-term consequences on cognitive function and psychology health. Adolescent THC exposure is also associated with increased risk for developing schizophrenia. THC can cause 1) an acute psychotic episode, 2) one that persists beyond THC’s action in the brain, and 3) long lasting psychosis that requires clinical intervention.

Some of the negative effects of cannabis on the developing brain are thought to result from perturbation to the connections between the brain’s cortex, which controls everything from decision making to sensory perception, and the thalamus, which acts as an important relay station in the brain. By impairing the connections between the cortex and the thalamus, cannabis can lead to impairments in cognitive and executive functioning, and disorganized thinking associated with schizophrenia. It’s noted however that this particular mechanism is up for debate.

There are numerous disorders that often don’t have overt structural signatures including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Instead, many symptoms result an imbalance in the chemicals brain cells use to communicate, called neurotransmitters. Shifts in neurotransmitters levels, and the sensitivity of their receptors, can be altered by cannabis exposure. This effect has long-term consequences in the developing brain of an adolescent.

While we can be excited about cannabis’ wide scope of therapeutic benefits, let’s not let that cloud the reality of its potential risk. THC-rich cannabis may not have as detrimental effects on the developing brain as alcohol, but it’s not accurate to say that it’s safe. For both drugs, it’s best to wait until the brain is fully developed to mitigate any long-term adverse consequences.

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