Long-term use of either cannabis or cannabis-based drugs impairs memory say researchers.
The study has
implications for both recreational users and people who use the drug to combat
epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.
They found that mice exposed to the drug long-term had “significant …
memory impairments” and could not even discriminate between a familiar and
novel object.
There is little understanding of the potential negative side effects of
long-term cannabinoid exposure, though it is already known that heavy, regular
cannabis use increases the risk of developing mental health problems including
psychosis and schizophrenia.
More and more people are using the drug long-term due to its legalisation
in several countries, while more potent varieties are available for
recreational users.
Researchers from Lancaster and Lisbon Universities studied the effects of
the cannabinoid drug WIN 55,212-2 in mice and found that:
- Long-term
exposure impairs learning and memory in the animals
- Brain
imaging studies showed that the drug impairs function in key brain regions
involved in learning and memory
- Long-term
exposure to the drug impairs the ability of brain regions involved in
learning and memory to communicate with each other, suggesting that this
underlies the negative effects of the drug on memory
Dr Neil Dawson, the lead researcher from Lancaster University said “This
work offers valuable new insight into the way in which long-term cannabinoid
exposure negatively impacts on the brain. Understanding these mechanisms is
central to understanding how long-term cannabinoid exposure increases the risk
of developing mental health issues and memory problems.”
He also highlighted the relevance of the work to those using
cannabinoid-based therapies to treat medical conditions.
“Cannabis-based therapies can be very effective at treating the symptoms of
chronic diseases such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and dramatically
increase the quality of life for people living with these conditions. We need
to understand the side effects that these people may experience so that we can
develop new interventions to minimise these side effects”.
Professor Ana Sebastiao, lead researcher at the University of Lisbon, said:
“Importantly, our work clearly shows that prolonged cannabinoid intake, when
not used for medical reasons, does have a negative impact in brain function and
memory. It is important to understand that the same medicine may re-establish
an equilibrium under certain diseased conditions, such as in epilepsy or MS,
but could cause marked imbalances in healthy individuals.
“As for all medicines, cannabinoid based therapies have not only beneficial
disease-related actions, but also negative side effects. It is for the medical
doctor to weight the advantages of the therapy, taking into consideration
quality of life and diseases progression, against the potential side effects.”
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