Heavy Pot Smokers Plagued by False Memories
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Scientists have long known that people who smoke marijuana can become forgetful due to the drug’s effects.
While users’ short- and even long-term memories are usually impaired, a study published in the Journal of Molecular Biology says that when pot smokers are trying to remember an event, they’re more susceptible to conjuring up false memories.
Researchers demonstrated this by having people memorize a group of words and then minutes later, showing them the original words along with some new ones. Typically, chronic marijuana users were more apt to believe that the new words belonged to the original list than people who didn’t take the drug.
During the test, scientists also conducted brain scans of all the participants, none of whom were stoned at the time of the experiment.
What they saw was lower levels of activation in the parts of the brain responsible for memory and recall in the heavy pot smokers.
This was particularly concerning to the researchers because it indicates that memory was impaired and distortions were more likely even when the smokers had abstained from using marijuana before taking part in the study.
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