Can Marijuana Help You Study?

Question

1. The claim that marijuana can help you study (at least how it is presented in the Leafwell article), is exaggerated and misleading. The article suggests that cannabis can aid in studying by enhancing focus and reducing anxiety, but current scientific research indicates that marijuana use is generally associated with negative academic outcomes.​ A study published in Cannabis found that frequent cannabis use among college students is linked to a lower GPA and higher levels of procrastination. Specifically, students with high levels of procrastination and greater lifetime cannabis use showed lower cumulative GPAs. ​Even research indicates that marijuana use during college can be a barrier to academic achievement. Even after accounting for demographics and other factors, marijuana use adversely affected college academic outcomes, both directly and indirectly through poorer class attendance. The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine found that heavy cannabis use can impair working memory. The study observed reduced brain activity during working memory tasks among heavy cannabis users, which can negatively impact learning and academic performance. ​

Answer 1

Using cannabis can hurt your ability to study and do well in school. A study from JAMA Network Open showed that people who used a lot of cannabis had lower brain activity during memory tasks. About 63% of heavy users and 68% of recent users had trouble with working memory, which is important for solving problems and staying focused in class or while studying (jamanetwork.com). Another study from Harvard medical researchers also found that while smoking THC your short-term memory diminishes. I found that through your source with Leafwell. This is a trusted website that posted many other researches from top end schools across the country.

Another study with 220 college students found that students who used cannabis more often had lower GPAs. This was especially true for students who already put off their schoolwork. Cannabis use was also linked to skipping more classes, which can hurt grades even more (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). While some effects might go away if you stop using cannabis, using it often can still make it harder to focus, remember things, and keep up with schoolwork.

Answer 2

The claim that marijuana helps you study is misleading. According to a study of college students by Christopher J Mullin and Anita Cservanka, “more frequent cannabis use was associated with lower GPA and higher levels of procrastination" (Cservenka and Mullin). Marijuana impacts brain development and memory, therefore impacting academic success. If marijuana helped people study, there would be a positive rather than negative impact on student attendance, GPA, and overall performance. Further, an article published by Leafwell argues that it depends on the strain of the marijuana (as well as the difference between THC and CBD). Author Tina Magrabi describes how “​​THC supposedly diminishes short-term memory” (Magrabi), which is crucial for studying. Getting high can also make people feel sleepy and relaxed rather than alert and focused. The majority of the websites arguing that marijuana is beneficial in studying are online dispensaries, therefore are clearly biased. While people’s experiences differ and it may work for some, it is not proven that marijuana improves ability to study. 

https://hecaod.osu.edu/cannabis-use-and-academic-performance-in-college-students-the-role-of-procrastination/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://leafwell.com/blog/study-on-cannabis

Answer 3

The claim that marijuana can help you study is exaggerated and/or misleading. Yes there can be some very short term benefits such as increased focus. However, marijuana often leads to short term memory loss and the whole point of studying is to remember the information you go over. A study on the effects of marijuana on the memory of mice conducted by "Neuroscientists Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux, France, and Xia Zhang of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research" reveals that "THC weakened the synapses in both types of mouse in the same way as in unmodified strains, so the researchers reasoned that that the effects of THC must be mediated by CB1 receptors on astrocytes. Marsicano therefore created a third type of mouse, which lacked the receptor in astrocytes. He found that THC had no effect on their hippocampal synapses." Even though this third type has no effect on memory, no where does it say that it increases memory retention.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.10152

Answer 4

The claim that marijuana helps you study is exaggerated and misleading, especially in the context of academic performance. While marijuana can help release anxiety or stress short term, the long term effects can be more harmful than helpful for the academic success of students. It can lead to memory or attention harm long term. A study from the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Study, found that heavy can cannabis use can impair working memory, which is important for tasks like learning, recalling information, and focus. 

https://people.com/cannabis-study-finds-heavy-use-may-negatively-impact-brain-working-memory-8784869

Answer 5

The answer to this depends on the person and how their body can process the marijuana. There are a few other factors that affect the answer to this question, such as dosage, type of strain of marijuana, and, again, the kind of person someone is. Many different answers vary by person, but studies from the NIH National Library of Medicine states that students who used marijuana more frequently during the first year of college tended to skip more of their classes, which, in turn, contributed to their tendency to earn lower grades. Although marijuana is sometimes frowned upon, there are still some potential benefits that come with its use. These benefits include reduced anxiety, increased focus, and expanded creativity. In my opinion, there is no definitive answer to this question because you can find facts and other sources to back up what you have to say in both circumstances of the question.