As we age, our cells experience chemical changes. One type of change occurs when a molecule called a methyl attaches to DNA. This methylation modifies the DNA, but doesn’t change its underlying chemical structure. However, it can turn off affected genes, or change how those genes work.… Read the rest
Cannabis disrupts brain activity in young adults prone to psychosis
It’s well established that cannabis use can trigger psychosis in young people susceptible to schizophrenia. Until January 2025,however, the origins of this trigger mechanism remained a mystery. With the publication of a new study by members of Canada’s McGill University Department of Psychiatry in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, this mechanism has become clearer — suggesting, among other things, new avenues for the development of medications to treat those with cannabis psychosis and related disorders.… Read the rest
NEW Presentation by Laura Stack for Older High School and Higher Education Students!
Laura has developed a new THC prevention presentation for young people ages 16 to 22, for junior/senior high school and college students. This was developed by popular demand due to the rampant use of THC in college and the misnomer that it’s safe (the brain is still forming until 25-30 years old).… Read the rest
TODAY IS ANTI-710 DAY
Today is ANTI-710 Day! What, you don’t know what 710 Day is? Ask your teens, and make sure you know where they are at 7:10 PM. Today, July 10, is Dab Day, because 710 turned upside down spell “OIL.” Why? Because participants are high on cannabis oil, which is one type of high-potency marijuana.… Read the rest
Cannabis Use and Neurocognitive Performance at 13-14 Years-Old: Optimizing Assessment with Hair Toxicology in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study is the largest long-term research study on brain development and child health in the United States. The study—which started collecting data in 2017—will follow nearly 12,000 American children from ages 9 or 10 into early adulthood.… Read the rest
The Teen Brain Is Especially Susceptible to the Harms of THC
Many parents and their children perceive marijuana as safe. After all, the drug is getting legalized across the United States, and many assume that all it did in years past was make users giddy.
The problem is that today’s marijuana isn’t like it was in years past.… Read the rest
Abnormal Developmental Structural Covariance Networks in Young Adults with Heavy Cannabis Use: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study
A study published in January 2024 is proving that there are real dangers associated with heavy and frequent cannabis use—like altered brain development in youth.
The study was published in Translational Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed medical journal from Nature Publishing Group.… Read the rest
At What Age Should Children Start Learning About Marijuana?
I recommend you begin marijuana education no later than age ten, and significantly younger if possible. Middle school is often the age of initiation into marijuana use. When I spoke at one high school recently, one student asked me, “But why aren’t you at the middle school instead of here?… Read the rest
How Does Marijuana Affect the Development of the Human Brain?
Over the past few decades, we’ve learned that some parts of the human brain continue to develop until at least the age of 25 in women and 28 in men. Heavy exposure to marijuana before this age can negatively impact brain development, resulting in damage affecting many bodily and mental functions.… Read the rest
At What Age Does the Brain’s Frontal Lobe Fully Develop?
One trade-off we humans suffer for our intelligence is brains that aren’t as well-developed as they could be when we’re born. Otherwise, our heads would be too big for the birth canal. Therefore, unlike most large mammals, many of which can walk and seek food within days or hours of birth, human infants are helpless.… Read the rest