There’s no large data set that tells us whether marijuana use in adolescence causes a change in brain structure. It could be that adolescence with different sizes of brain structures are more likely to use marijuana. That’s going to be the critical, critical question. That’s probably what we’re looking at: More pre-morphic differences than causal effect of marijuana.
For example, when you think about it, especially in states where it’s highly illegal, the adolescents who choose to do it, they’re taking a risk, a pretty big risk. … That’s obviously something that differentiates them from people who aren’t doing it. They are willing to engage in this risky behavior … so there must be something that’s different about them even before they use it and I think that’s the key factor we need to look at…
I wonder… Is that the difference between those who become addicted to drugs and those who don’t? The amount of risk each is willing to take?
But how much risk is too much? Is there too much risk in parachuting out of an airplane? Cliff diving or mountain climbing? Being a DEA agent or a pain doctor? A gymnast or a football player?
Well, I guess all that risk-taking is legal…
All Things Chronic 