Memory Improves Following Cannabis Abstinence

Halting cannabis use for as little as a single month is associated with improvements in memory in teenagers, according to the results of a recent study.

Previous research has linked adolescent cannabis use and poor neurocognitive functioning.

To examine this relationship, researchers conducted a study involving 88 participants (aged 16-25 years) who were frequent cannabis users. The participants were randomly assigned to 4 weeks of cannabis abstinence or to a monitoring control condition with no abstinence requirement. Using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, the researchers assessed memory and attention.

Among the 62 assigned to the abstinence group, 55 met the criteria for biochemically confirmed 30-day continuous abstinence. Effects of abstinence on verbal memory were observed and were consistent across 4 weeks of abstinence. Those in the abstinence group had better memory overall and at weeks 1, 2, and 3 than those who did not abstain. Attention was not affected by abstinence.

“This study suggests that cannabis abstinence is associated with improvements in verbal learning that appear to occur largely in the first week following last use. Future studies are needed to determine whether the improvement in cognition with abstinence is associated with improvement in academic and other functional outcomes.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Schuster RM, Gilman J, Shoenfeld D, et al. One month of cannabis abstinence in adolescents and young adults is associated with improved memory [published online October 2018]. J Clin Psychiatry. doi:10.4088/JCP.17m11977.