Negative Effects of THC

• The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in marijuana, is consumed by smoking marijuana or as edibles, oils, capsules, tinctures, and more.
• According to Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Health, "besides being addictive, marijuana is cognitively impairing even beyond the phase of acute intoxication and regular use during adolescence may cause a significant, possibly permanent IQ loss. Brain scans in users who started when they were young show impaired neural development, probably because cannabis interferes with normal brain maturation."
• According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), consuming THC can cause a relapse in schizophrenic symptoms.
• Consuming THC can lead to impaired motor skills. "Marijuana may impair driving or similar tasks for approximately three hours after consumption and it is the second-most common psychoactive substance found in drivers, after alcohol, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."
• Younger people can experience long-term problems due to their marijuana consumption. These effects include "a decrease in IQ, memory and cognition," according to Dr. Damon Raskin, medical director at Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center.
• According to a study published by the University of Montreal in the journal Development and Psychopathology, "early use of marijuana can affect teens. Smokers that start around age 14 do worse on some cognitive tests than non-smokers." Furthermore, the study found that higher school dropout rates were recorded in pot smokers.