There are four red flags
Drugs have an effect on your body and brain, even if they’re legal drugs like caffeine.
The same applies to marijuana, also known as weed, as an expert has explained the ways in which this substance impacts your brain.
According to Dr Bing, a TikTok neurologist, there are four ways in which cannabis affects you.
The doctor has also outlined the worrying long-term effects that you should be mindful of if you are a user of the drug, which is a Class B drug in the UK.
In the UK, these drugs are controlled substances considered dangerous but generally less harmful than Class A, with penalties for illegal possession including up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
Dr Bing, recently took to TikTok to answer the question: “What can cannabis or marijuana do to your brain?”
The neurologist, physician-scientist and epidemiologist said that marijuana “significantly increases your risk of having any type of stroke under the age of 50”.
In the viral TikTok explainer, he added that “it also significantly increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmia, the most common one being atrial fibrillation. And as some of you know, that is a significant risk factor for stroke.”
The Guardian also reports that, according to a global review of data, cannabis use may double the risk of dying from heart disease and increase the risk of stroke by 20%.
Dr Bing’s second warning was that marijuana “can reduce the volume and the function in many parts of the brain and it can disrupt the connections between different regions of the brain”.
The expert also outlined that it mostly affects parts of the brain which are responsible for attention, memory, problem solving, decision making, emotional regulation, and personality.
This is “especially important” in younger people, the doctor explained, because their brains continue to develop until the age of 25 and sometimes even later, and “therefore any disruption during that time could have permanent effects”.
As per a recent study, heavy lifetime use and recent cannabis consumption significantly reduced brain activity during working memory tasks.
SciTechDaily reports that “this impairment was linked to worse performance on tasks requiring focus, problem-solving, and instruction-following. Brain imaging revealed that key regions responsible for decision-making and attention were affected”.
Risk of schizophrenia is increased
Another very worrying warning is that, as per the expert, marijuana “increases the risk of developing psychosis and schizophrenia later in life, and it also increases the rate of relapses and hospitalisations for these disorders”.
WebMD warns that “the link between marijuana and psychosis goes beyond a short-lived high”.
“If you already have schizophrenia and use the drug, your symptoms may get worse. You may have more psychotic episodes and spend more time in the hospital.”
“Researchers also have found that if you carry certain types of specific genes that affect brain chemistry, marijuana use can raise the chance you’ll have schizophrenia. One of those genes is called AKT1. Another is called COMT.”
Dr Bing lastly concluded that “cannabis use in mothers who are pregnant is associated with problems with attention, behaviours, memory, and problem-solving skills in their children.”
And this is confirmed by the CDC, which notes that “although scientists are still learning about the effects of cannabis on developing brains, studies suggest that cannabis use by mothers during pregnancy could be linked to problems with attention, memory, problem-solving skills, and behaviour in their children.”
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