Stopping Cannabis Use Is Associated with Improved Memory

The controversial subject of cannabis legalisation has led to the increased urgency in understanding the full health and social implications of the drug use. Cannabis use is particularly prevalent amongst adolescence - a period of time where young people are going through significant neural development. Cannabis use is thought to affect normal neuromaturation, increasing the risk of cognitive impairment. 

A recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, has investigated whether young people can recover from drug-induced cognitive impairment by stopping cannabis use for an extended period of time.

The study analysed 88 young people, aged between 16 and 25, who described using cannabis on a weekly basis. The participants were grouped into those who were asked to abstain using cannabis for one month and those who were allowed to continue use. The participants were also asked to complete multiple cognitive tests over the course of the month.

Results found that memory (specifically declarative memory - the ability to learn and recall new information) improved only among the group who stopped using marijuana for a month. The researchers concluded that cannabis use disrupts areas of the brain that are particularly involved in the memory-learning network and that abstaining from cannabis allows for more efficient processing of information. 

This research provides evidence that adolescents may experience improvements in their capacity to learn and recall new information when they stop using cannabis.