US pediatricians' warning, marijuana dangerous to adolescent brains

The’warning, aimed especially at U.S. parents who use it, comes from the U.S. Academy of Pediatricians: beware of marijuana’s damage to adolescent brain development. “It has far more dangerous effects than on the gray matter of adults”. Triggering the note, according to the’organization, is the ‘laxity’ established after the liberalization in many states of recreational pot. “Parents who use it, notes study co-author Seth Ammerman, a professor at Stanford University, think it’s good for their children, too, but that”s not the case;. “Many, the researcher further notes, tell doctors, ‘I use marijuana moderately and I don’t have a problem with it; why not let my children use it too”.The report points out that the brain continues its development until at least age 20, and according to various studies, cannabis use would alter the regions of the brain responsible for planning and memory. The research was published in the journal ‘Pediatrics’ where specialists take a stand against the use of cannabis by children and teens, even for medical reasons.

The conclusion of this study highlights Giovanni D'Agata, president of "Sportello dei Diritti" is bouncing around in the international press these hours. The researchers point out that they have shown for the first time that the risk associated with marijuana is all the greater the earlier the age at which people try ‘joints’. And in the case of early consumption, the reported harms are higher and particularly severe in the long term.

The alterations found are unknown whether or not they are irreversible, but they certainly appear significant.