Cannabidiol Protects Teen Brains – Alcohol Destroys

By admin on December 24, 2012

While everyone within the marijuana community (I would assume) already knows that smoking pot — is better than drinking alcohol — at least for the young developing mind. It’s always great to see scientific evidence coming from first-rate research, in state-of-the-art facilities. A recent study conducted last April by researchers at the University California San Diego, found some startling facts – at least for the old school alcohol supporters of booze over buds.

A study conducted by researchers at UC San Diego to be published in the April issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research finds that teens who drink get brain damage, while teens who smoke do not.

Scientists think this may be because alcohol’s active ingredient, ethanol, is a known neurotoxin, while cannabis has proven neuroprotective ingredients like cannabidiol.

UC San Diego researchers scanned the brains of 93 youngsters ages 16-20, before and after an 18-month period. Half the teens didn’t use pot or alcohol before, during or after the study, while the other half continued their normal habits. Teens consuming five or more drinks at least twice a week showed reduced white matter brain tissue, which can lead to declines in memory, attention and decision-making in adulthood. Teens who smoked pot did not show a change in brain tissue health, according to scans.

Alcohol has long-been known to cause nerve damage, in addition to cancer, stroke, and increase the risk of suicide. Conversely, ingredients in pot like CBD have been patented by the federal government as neuroprotectants during stroke, or to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Sure developing brains shouldn’t be exposed to either alcohol or pot, as use may have lifelong effects. But if we’re picking poisons, marijuana is clearly less harmful, which may be why teens’ perception of pot’s risk is decreasing, even as teen pot use decreases as well. source

Bearing in mind that humans like to experiment with an altered state of mind, it’s good to be well informed on the potential side effects of your choice of recreational substances.

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Truth Is Scary