Alcohol is the real threat to cognition, and we don't talk about it. [1] [2] We don't know where the line is exactly, but somewhere around 4-5 drinks over a fe

Alcohol is the real threat to cognition, and we don't talk about it. [1] [2] We don't know where the line is exactly, but somewhere around 4-5 drinks over a few hours has an acute neurotoxic effect. Cannabis use in adolescents does not result in changes that can be picked up on high resolution MRI scans. [3] This is a considerable finding considering that one would expect changes just from the added stress of being a cannabis user in a prohibition environment (fear of arrest, fear of expulsion, fear of parental punishment upon discovery). It may even point to a protective effect of cannabis on the brain, as we see in Parkinson's and has been seen in other studies and in stroke. [4] A UK study on the IQ effects of moderate cannabis use on students did not find evidence of harm. The study did find significant evidence of cognitive deficits caused by alcohol use. [5] Why do young adults want to get high so much? I think the answer is that they are coping with the stress of being locked into institutions that do not serve them, do not respect them and offer them very little, while demanding very much. One of the themes of Ferris Bueller's Day Off was high school as prison. The entire movie is a jail break story, and I think it gets to the truth of what its like to be doing time in high school better than anything. It's no wonder so many teenagers cope by getting high as much as they can. And then we blame them, and treat them like criminals, when they are just sufferers of low mood. We need a radically different approach to high school education. I think we need to find a way for people to be more economically useful, economically empowered and more in control of their lives at younger ages. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25702705 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25702705 [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183294/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183294/ [3] http://www.jneurosci.org/content/35/4/1505.short http://www.jneurosci.org/content/35/4/1505.short [4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10863546 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10863546 [5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/22/no-marijuana-use-doesnt-lower-your-iq/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/22/no...