Twins Study Finds No Evidence That Marijuana Lowers IQ In Teens (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: Roughly half of Americans use marijuana at some point in their lives, and many start as teenagers. Although some studies suggest the drug could harm the maturing adolescent brain, the true risk is controversial. Now, in the first study of its kind (abstract), scientists have analyzed long-term marijuana use in teens, comparing IQ changes in twin siblings who either used or abstained from marijuana for 10 years. After taking environmental factors into account, the scientists found no measurable link between marijuana use and lower IQ.

Comments

Great Parents!!

[JackieBrown]

I always wonder what kind of parent would allow their kids to be tested like this. If the study found that it did decrease intelligence, they just damaged their kid for the rest of his/her life. And for what? To justify teens using marijuana?

It's not just about IQ

[ScentCone]

There's a difference between IQ and giving a damn. How did they measure motivation, or paranoia, or the other things that anyone who's ever been around dedicated long-term stoners can plainly observe without needing any sort of formal study?

And, did this ten-year study make use of the contemporary high-test dope, or the sort of stuff that was more commonly used ten years ago?