A new study has suggested that using cannabis as an older person could be beneficial for the brain.
Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz have explored why nearly one in five people - aged 50 to 64 - used marijuana in the past year in the US.
With more middle-aged people using the drug than before, scientists were surprised to find the cognitive benefits that showed up in their new study.
After analysing the results of cannabis use on 26,362 adults aged 40 to 77 in the UK, the results overwhelmingly showed a positive impact on the brain.
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"More older adults are using cannabis. It's more widely available and is being used for different reasons than in younger folks—such as for sleep and chronic pain," said lead author of the study, Anika Guha Ph.D., during a Q&A with Medical Press.
The clinical psychologist at CU Anschutz noted that the 'overall finding was that greater lifetime cannabis use among middle-aged and older adults was generally associated with larger brain volumes and better cognitive function'.
"We did see that for many of our outcome measures, moderation seemed to be best," Guha said.
"For the brain regions and cognitive tests that demonstrated an effect, the moderate-use group generally had larger brain volumes and better cognitive performance."
She said that 'most of the brain regions we looked at demonstrated a positive relationship between brain volume and cognitive performance'.
Guha revealed that a key possible benefit of having a bigger brain volume is that a particular section contains many CB1 receptors that 'play an important role in memory, especially as we age, and is also implicated in dementia'.
However, she warns that 'the main takeaway is that the story is nuanced'.
"It's not a case of cannabis being all good or all bad," Guha said.
"I think sometimes people have seen my poster on this project or they see the headline and they say, 'Great, I'll just use more cannabis'.
"But it's more complicated than that. I think it depends on how people are using it and what outcomes you're looking at.
"What products are being used, for what reasons, and what part of the lifespan are we looking at? Those are important questions and we're still figuring them out."
She added: "For example, I'm interested in the effects of THC versus CBD. We don't have any of that information in the UK Biobank.
"Most people in this study were using cannabis quite a while ago, and cannabis at that time looked very different from what's available today.
"That context really matters. It's a complex picture."
Topics: Health
Anish Vij