“While marijuana may also have some negative consequences, it definitely is nowhere near the negative consequences of alcohol.”
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder suggests that alcohol consumption has a more damaging effect on people’s brains than marijuana.
853 adults and 439 teenagers were examined, with the study designed to test the strength of association between alcohol use and grey matter volume and white matter integrity, while also applying the same test for cannabis.
Grey matter controls brain function, while white matter is responsible for communication between the nerves in the brain.
The study outlines that chronic alcohol use is associated with lower grey matter volume.
The results found that alcohol use among adults revealed large clusters of negative associations with grey matter volume compared with a lesser extent among adolescents.
It also argues that any reduction in volume could result in impaired functions, but records no such decreased volume in those who only consumed marijuana.
“With alcohol, we’ve known it’s bad for the brain for decades,” study co-author Kent Hutchison told Medical News Today. “But for cannabis, we know so little.”
“While marijuana may also have some negative consequences,” he added, “it definitely is nowhere near the negative consequences of alcohol.”
Earlier this month, Dublin was ranked in the top 10 cities worldwide in which to buy cannabis.
View the Colorado-Boulder study in full here.
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