[R]egular marijuana use can impede academic achievement, a researcher told students at the University of Vermont last week.
The effect of the drug on developing brains is significant, and the harmful impacts of marijuana are not widely recognized, according to Dr. Amelia Arria, a University of Maryland professor and the director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development.
Arria says marijuana use among high school and college students has “pretty substantial impacts” on concentration and attention, and ultimately can impact memory and other brain functions.
“Educational achievement is something that we need to worry about because there are societal consequences for people not achieving their potential,” Arria said.
UVM and the Vermont Department of Health sponsored Arria’s talk as part an effort to “broaden awareness and increase understanding of the negative effects of cannabis use on student engagement, learning, and success.”
Arria says there is a gap between the scientific community and the general public about the impacts of marijuana on academic achievement. The wide availability of pot has led to the perception that the drug isn’t harmful, she said.
“It’s really a shame that we are operating without a full deck of understanding that these things can really impact potential,” Arria said.
Dr. Jon Porter, director of UVM’s Center for Health and Wellbeing, said the university is grappling with increased awareness about the impact of marijuana on student engagement.
Porter said Arria’s research points to two “undersold” effects of marijuana use that he sees as particularly significant — the extent of the drug’s cognitive impact on users, and the patterns of dependence that develop among users.
Marijuana has subtle impacts on student users that can result in limiting attainment.
“You get that gap between what they’re capable of and what they’re doing,” Porter said.
Arria’s research also shows how occasional marijuana use can become a daily habit. She said there are links between marijuana use and mental health issues, like anxiety or depression.
Porter said that discussions of legalizing marijuana are not strictly black-and-white. There are complexities, and it is “a decision we need to make as a society,” he said.
The discussion itself, he says, could be contributing to the perception that marijuana does not have negative effects on users.
“If you go to a public session where the Legislature is accepting testimony, there’s just a real sense that it’s a harmless agent,” Porter said.
Last spring the Vermont Senate passed a bill that would have created a regulated marijuana system. The legislation stalled in the House.
A panel of lawmakers agreed to meet outside the legislative session for six daylong hearings to study marijuana legalization. That committee met Monday for the fourth hearing.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs the Judiciary Committee was a strong proponent of the bill earlier this year.
Sears was initially opposed to legalizing the drug, but came to support the idea last year after hearing extensive testimony from Vermonters and experts.
“I don’t think it’s good for you. I don’t think it necessarily helps your brain development,” Sears said. “But the fact is people are using it at a very high level.”
Sears says any bill to legalize marijuana in the next legislative session will need to start in the House. However, he is considering legislation that would address drugged driving and expand the medical marijuana system.
