Recreational marijuana use causes brain damage, too -- new studies confirm it

Pot Prohibition 420.jpg
A woman smokes a marijuana joint during a pro-pot rally in Ottawa, Canada, last Sunday. (Associated Press Photo)
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on April 28, 2014 at 11:00 AM, updated April 28, 2014 at 12:00 PM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Say no to drugs. Short and to the point and something I drill into the heads of my three children on a daily.

"Drugs kill," I tell them, "and at the very least, they'll ruin your life and damage your brain cells permanently. Slowly your mind deteriorates until you're incapable of performing even the simplest of tasks. You will become a drug addict, a shell of your former self.

"You become incoherent and unable to do basic math and produce logical thought. You will ultimately be dismissed by your superiors, your peers and society in general, and your life will be ruined before it even started."

Okay, maybe I go a little overboard when I explain to my children why they shouldn't do drugs, but it's meant to drive home my "Drugs are bad" mantra.

Some naysayers may argue I exaggerate too much and something like, say, marijuana is not a drug at all. They may even maintain that recreational and occasional use of it is not harmful.

To them I say, poo-poo on you! Marijuana IS a drug and any use of it, no matter how infrequent, is VERY bad. Now, a new study backs me up.

Researchers at Chicago's Northwestern University recently studied the effects of casual marijuana use on the brain.

The study confirmed that young people who smoked "pot" (a.k.a. weed, dope, grass and Mary Jane) only a few times a week had noticeable brain damage and therefore should refrain from using it.

Umm, thank you, Captain Obvious. But it's still important to spell it out, especially for young people teetering on the drug brink of peer pressure.

Marijuana use, albeit infrequent -- just once or twice per week -- caused abnormal changes in two parts of the brain: the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and amygdala, important structures needed to make decisions and process emotions.

"Just once" is "just as bad" as all the time. Prior research has always mainly focused on regular, heavy pot use. But now we know any use at all causes brain damage.

Brain MRIs showed changes brain volume, density, and shape, thus affecting one's "working memory," which is the Big Cheese of our Brain, the Captain Kirk of the Starship Brain Enterprise.

Working memory is vital for practically everything we do, from simple math, problem solving, and holding a conversation. Everything. We need it to process information, approach a task or tackle a challenge.

We need it for concentration, you know, to do day-to-day basics, like listening to a story. We multitask: Store the sequence of events as it is given, concurrently visualize what the story is about, and predict what's going to happen next.

Pot disables that. Marijuana users cannot focus on a task and remain goal-oriented. They're unable to plan ahead. To resist temptation. To succeed.

They're destined for failure, not to mention predisposition to depression, panic attacks, anxiety, bronchitis, and exposure to to 75% more carcinogenic substances than tobacco.

The harm caused by one marijuana joint is equivalent to five cigarettes smoked in a row.

And if that doesn't scare your kids, tell them marijuana use not only affects them but also your future grandchildren! It is one of the fee drugs that causes severe hereditary defects.

Children of marijuana users have been born underweight, undersized size, and with lessened concentration, initiative, and mental function.

In short, marijuana use is bad, especially in young people who may not have the confidence or constitution to say no to drugs.

It is my observation that most kids are naive, inexperienced, and sometimes lack the confidence to do what they've been taught is right.

Our children may not yet realize the cause and effect of drugs and alcohol and a myriad other dangers to their health and their future. This is where we parents come in, why we're responsible for them until they're 18 and hopefully know better.

It's not an easy task, for sure. I'm trying my best, and hoping for the best. God help us all.