Aging adults with a history of cannabis use exhibit greater cognitive performance than those with no or little history of past use, according to data published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of Colorado and Georgia Tech assessed cognitive performance and brain volume in a nationally representative sample of more than 500,000 adults (ages 40-70) residing in the United Kingdom. Study participants answered detailed questions about their cannabis use history, underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and completed a series of cognitive tests.
Investigators reported: “Greater lifetime cannabis use was positively associated with brain volume in regions rich in cannabinoid receptors, including the caudate, putamen, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate. Greater lifetime use was also associated with better performance on cognitive tasks assessing learning, memory, processing speed, and task switching, aligning with growing evidence of potential neuroprotective effects of cannabis in aging populations.”
They concluded: “This study adds to a growing body of evidence that cannabis use may be associated with greater brain volume and cognitive performance in aging adults, especially in regions rich in cannabinoid receptors. … These findings are important because they point to the possibility that cannabis could play a protective role in aging, with implications for brain health later in life.”
Commenting on the findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “These results contradict one of the more prominent and longstanding stereotypes about cannabis and cannabis consumers. It is unfortunate that these stereotypes often go unchallenged in the media and elsewhere. It is even more unfortunate that studies refuting these long-held stereotypes seldom receive the type of mainstream attention they deserve.”
The findings are consistent with those of other recent studies assessing cognitive performance in older cannabis consumers. For example, an Israeli study of over 67,000 older adults reported that participants with a history of cannabis use “performed better across all cognitive domains: attention, executive function, processing speed, visual and working memory. … Additionally, past use was associated with a slower decline in executive function.”
A Danish study similarly concluded that cannabis consumers experienced “significantly less cognitive decline” over their lifetimes than did non-users.
A US study involving older patients with HIV also reported that subjects with a history of occasional cannabis consumption exhibit greater cognitive performance than non-users.
An abstract of the study, “Cannabis use is associated with brain volume and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults,” appears online in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, “Marijuana Exposure and Cognitive Performance.”
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