Young people’s memories improved when they stopped using marijuana

(Science News, October 30) Young marijuana users’ memories improved after they stopped using the drug for a period of time, according to a study just published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Researchers recruited over 62 16 to 25 year olds, who reported being weekly marijuana users, for the study (55 of the 62 were able to abstain from marijuana for the entire 30 day study, according to urine tests).

They found that just one week into the experiment, the marijuana abstainers performed better on memory tests than they did when they were using the drug. Marijuana is hindering how young people process new information, according to the study results. Read more.