Adolescent Cannabis Use After Cannabis Legalization and the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2847868?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--LDKKRNWBTzWEfOx8-3Are9wO5lKYA47VGVW85WIJjRAiTselrOtwzOu7nTvD3Cw1mNBThKixqdNcqTO0MHB_2hgz8nA&_hsmi=414424977&utm_content=414424977&utm_source=hs_email How weed affects adolescent brains In a study of more than 11,000 kids and teens, those who use cannabis showed slower progression over time when it came to memory, attention, language, and cognitive processing speed. The difference was small at times, the researchers acknowledge, but could still be significant. Often, those who used cannabis displayed a cognitive advantage at early ages, only to be surpassed by those in the control group as they aged. The research, published yesterday in Neuropsychopharmacology, used data from the NIH-supported Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, following youth from around age nine through 17. Cannabis use was self-reported and confirmed with biological testing from hair, urine, and saliva samples. Relatedly, another study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found that rates of adolescent cannabis use increased after recreational use was legalized in California, but decreased after the Covid pandemic. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-026-02395-1