Cannabis and the Teen Brain, featuring Jodi Gilman, Ph.D.

Welcome to today’s “pot-cast”! Marijuana is on everyone’s mind, especially the parents of tweens and teens, as it becomes legal in more states – not just for medicinal use, but for recreation. We’ve learned from alcohol that teens are going to have easier access to cannabis the more state laws ease up, even when the age minimum is 21. But pot today and pot in the 70s are almost like two different drugs. And the truth is, we don’t know all the ways that it affects teen development because it hasn’t been studied for that long.

So, what do we know about weed and its effects on the teen brain? Gene and Steve welcome special guest Jodi Gilman, PhD, a neuroscientist at The Center for Addiction Medicine at Mass General Hospital, to discuss. Her research focuses on the effects of alcohol and cannabis on the brains of adolescents and young adults – be sure to check out her most recent study at the top of today's media list.

Media List

• One Month of Cannabis Abstinence in Adolescents is Associated With Improved Memory (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry)
• When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves (NPR)
• Marijuana and the Young Brain (VIDEO – MGH Advances in Motion)
• Wondering What the Law Is Your State? (DISA Global Solutions)
• Teen and Parent Misconceptions About Driving and Marijuana (MGH Clay Center)
• Q+A: Once You’ve Discovered Your Teen is Using Pot, What’s the Next Step? (MGH Clay Center)
• April 20 is Upon Us: Making Sense of Marijuana (MGH Clay Center)
• Ray Charles – Georgia on My Mind (YouTube)

Episode edited by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

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