Marijuana Memory Loss Is for Real, but It Could Be Fixed in the Future, Researchers Say
Have you ever been sitting around toking with friends and carrying on a really gripping conversation when, after a short pause, you forgot what the hell it was that was so interesting? You might have giggled and uttered these words: What were we talking about?
'That 70s Show'
Yeah, never happened to us either (at least not that we can remember).
And therein lies the rub: Despite tons of research about all the great things medical marijuana can do for you, the goodweed is not so good when it comes to ...
... memory.
So says a new study just published in the journal Cell. Academics including Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux, France, and Xia Zhang of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research say this isn't such a bad thing.
They found, according to a summary of their research, that " ... marijuana's major psychoactive ingredient (THC) impairs memory independently of its direct effects on neurons."
The findings raise hope that the medicinal values of pot can someday be separated from the memory depleting, stoner-like effects.
This is a good thing.
The results also show, the researchers state, that the parts of the brain that light up with marijuana smoking are parts of the brain the deal with every move you make. Really.
Marsicano:
Just about any physiological function you can think of in the body, it's likely at some point endocannabinoids are involved.
The academics say the research could eventually lead to insights into other types of memory loss and even Alzheimer's disease.
We'd just be happy if that day will come when you can remember anything about that awesome conversation you had last night.
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