How Marijuana Damages Young Brains

Despite the shift in attitudes regarding marijuana that have taken place in response to continued legalization, health professionals are reminding us that this does not change the fact that the drug is not safe for high school and college students. Kenneth L. Davis of the Mount Sinai Health System and Mary Kreek from the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases are sounding the warning that marijuana has a deleterious impact on cognitive development in adolescents. In fact, marijuana can impair executive function, processing speed, memory, attention span, and concentration. They say that the explanation is rather clear: the adolescent brain, especially its frontal cortex, is especially vulnerable. Simply stated, marijuana damages young brains. It’s important that we exercise our parental responsibility to nurture our children into a substance-free lifestyle. God calls us to care for our bodies that they may be used to serve and bring glory to Him.