(credit: flickr user: Frank)
The widely mocked stoner sloth anti-drug campaign typifies a long-held stereotype about marijuana—it makes you slow, stupid, dull. There’s been some research backing up the stereotype, suggesting that marijuana usage can be linked to declines in intellectual function.
But it’s hard to establish that marijuana is definitely the culprit. It’s not like conducting a clinical trial with marijuana would be feasible given the drug's status. So it’s necessary to look in other places for a ready-made control group that can help give a clearer picture of what’s causing the decline.
A paper in this week’s PNAS does just that by looking at marijuana use in twins. The research found that while there was a link between marijuana and lower scores on IQ tests, there seems to be another mystery factor underlying both the drug use and the cognitive decline.
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