Global Ganja Report

A British study discounts a link between occasional cannabis smoking or other light illicit drug use and the decline in mental functions that comes with middle age. The study, carried in the American Journal of Epidemiology, tested the mental function and memory of nearly 9,000 Britons at age 50 and found that those who had used illegal drugs as recently as in their 40s did just as well on the tests as peers who had never used drugs—or slightly better.

"Overall, at the population level, the results seem to suggest that past or even current illicit drug use is not necessarily associated with impaired cognitive functioning in early middle age," said lead researcher Alex Dregan, of King's College London. "However, our results do not exclude possible harmful effects in some individuals who may be heavily exposed to drugs over longer periods of time."

Dregan's team drew from data on 8,992 participants in a UK national health study that took place eight years ago, in which they were asked if they had ever used any of 12 illegal drugs. In the new study, they took standard tests of memory, attention and other cognitive abilities. (Reuters, Jan. 4)

Graphic: Lycaeum