The residual cognitive effects of heavy marijuana use in college students.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether frequent marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects.


METHODS
Single-blind comparison of regular users vs infrequent users of marijuana.


METHODS
Two samples of college undergraduates: 65 heavy users, who had smoked marijuana a median of 29 days in the last 30 days (range, 22 to 30 days) and who also displayed cannabinoids in their urine, and 64 light users, who had smoked a median of 1 day in the last 30 days (range, 0 to 9 days) and who displayed no urinary cannabinoids.


METHODS
Subjects arrived at 2 PM on day 1 of their study visit, then remained at our center overnight under supervision. Neuropsychological tests were administered to all subjects starting at 9 AM on day 2. Thus, all subjects were abstinent from marijuana and other drugs for a minimum of 19 hours before testing.


METHODS
Subjects received a battery of standard neuropsychological tests to assess general intellectual functioning, abstraction ability, sustained attention, verbal fluency, and ability to learn and recall new verbal and visuospatial information.


RESULTS
Heavy users displayed significantly greater impairment than light users on attention/executive functions, as evidenced particularly by greater perseverations on card sorting and reduced learning of word lists. These differences remained after controlling for potential confounding variables, such as estimated levels of premorbid cognitive functioning, and for use of alcohol and other substances in the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Heavy marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects even after a day of supervised abstinence from the drug. However, the question remains open as to whether this impairment is due to a residue of drug in the brain, a withdrawal effect from the drug, or a frank neurotoxic effect of the drug. from marijuana
Pope
H G
HG
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02178, USA.
Yurgelun-Todd
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D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000652:urine; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities
D002186:Cannabinoids