Learning and Behavior

"Dawn was 12 when she started smoking marijuana with her friends. 'It was just something the cool kids did to relax and forget their problems,' she says. But, after a while, the cigar-shaped 'blunts' she smoked also seemed to make learning difficult. 'I would just forget school stuff,' said Dawn, now 17. 'I'd learn something one day and the next day I'd have no idea what the teacher was talking about.'" (Marijuana effects: More than munchies, New York Times, January 29, 2002)

Studies now show that marijuana has both psysiological and phychological impacts on learning and motivation.  The effects of marijuana are often subtle and insidious and it is not uncommon for users to feel that this is a benign drug.  They may recognize the effects on short-term memory, that could be starting a sentence and forgetting half-way through what one is talking about, or cramming for a test, only to realize at test time that the answers aren't retreivable.

Sometimes these "impacts" of use may only seem embarrassing or insignificant, however, research is now providing valuable information on the psysiological changes in the brain, the actual regions affected, and the receptors that receive and process the chemicals.  This section evalutes the latest information we know about how marijuana affects the brain.

See the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) teaching packet:  Teaching Packet I, for Health Practitioners, Teachers and Neuroscientists, The Brain and Actions of Cocaine, Opiates, and Marijuana.

Source Documents:

Who Report on Brain and Behavior

"... they knew they were bad when they were driving down the road and they thought the car in front of them was following them because the car kept going. Those type of thoughts go through your head. You know every turn I make I'm following this car, who is this guy?" (Jim in the video 'What's Wrong with Marijuana?' -  Human Relations Media )

"Marijuana reduces your ability to do things that require coordination and concentration, like sports, dancing, acting, and studying." (10 things every teen should know about marijuana, The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information)