According to researchers, yes, cannabis may actually be good for your brain later in life. These researchers at the University of Bonn and Hebrew University found that low, regular doses of THC may keep our brains from slowing down as we get older.
After testing daily, small doses of THC on mice and finding that younger animals excelled at the tests when ‘sober’ but tended to struggle significantly under the influence of THC and “Mature” and “old” mice struggled with tasks as consistent with their brain ages at first, but saw a huge increase in performance with THC infusions that raised their skill level up to young-mouse (drug free) standards, they’ve concluded that the test supports the belief that the benefits of THC in older mice result in stimulating their endocannabinoid system.
The next step is to research these findings from mice in humans.
Other studies in humans have concluded that Patients with THC in their system are less likely to die from traumatic brain injury, not to mention less likely to die during hospitalization, cannabinoids can stimulate protein enzymes in the areas of the brain associated with memory, planning, judgement, personality, balance and attention, and, according to the Salk Institute, low doses of THC reduce the plaque forming proteins associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. It effectively reduces inflammation and helps prevent neural cell death, preserving the brain’s ability to be “plastic.”
We’re blown away by these cannabis studies and how it affects the brain. The more we can understand the brain, the better we can understand how beneficial cannabis is.