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Stick this news in your pipe, but perhaps think twice about smoking it.
A new study, billed as the “largest of its kind,” examined the effects of recent and lifetime cannabis use on 1,000 adults — and the findings are totally illuminating, dude.
Using brain imagining technology, the smokers, between the ages of 22 and 36, were tested on their “working memory,” which is the ability to retain and use information to perform tasks such as solving math problems.
Neural response was measured through cognitive tests which probed working memory, reward, emotion, language and motor skills such as “tapping a finger to map brain control, relational assessment and theory of mind.”
Per the New York Post, the results, published in the journal JAMA Open Network, revealed that 63% of heavy lifetime cannabis users demonstrated reduced brain activity during a working memory task.
Researchers found 68% of recent cannabis users had similar problems.
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The researchers, from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, determined that cannabis had a “statistically significant effect” on brain function in working memory tasks, however, less of an effect on other assignments.
There was reduced brain activity in areas that were involved in key cognitive functions such as decision-making, memory, attention and emotional processing.
Joshua Gowin, the lead study author and assistant professor of radiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, stressed the importance of continuing to study of the health effects of cannabis use, which is growing globally.
“By doing so, we can provide a well-rounded understanding of both the benefits and risks of cannabis use, empowering people to make informed decisions and fully comprehend the potential consequences,” he said in a statement.
Gowin said refraining from cannabis use before a cognitive task could help improve performance.
“People need to be aware of their relationship with cannabis, since abstaining cold turkey could disrupt their cognition, as well,” he said. “For example, heavy users may need to be more cautious.”
“There are a lot of questions … regarding how cannabis impacts the brain,” he added.
Dr. Paul Saphier, a neurosurgeon, said that the overall study sample size is large, however, only about 8% of participants were deemed “heavy” users.
“While the study appears to be designed well … I’d like to see a larger sample size of heavy users compared to either moderate or non-users to draw any definitive data,” Saphier, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.