The Impact of Cannabinoid Receptors on Teen Brain Development

Over the last decade, cannabis use has been legalized in more states. At the same time, the idea that marijuana is a safe drug has steadily increased.

But is this an accurate perception?

Recent research by my guest, Dr. Ryan Sultan, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, casts some doubt on a universally affirmative answer to that question, and he says we need to be having a more objective, balanced, and nuanced conversation around cannabis than we currently are. We have exactly that kind of conversation today on the show. We dig into the fact that young adulta are the group most vulnerable to the potentially negative effects of cannabis and how marijuana use in adolescence is linked to both mental illness and cognitive deficits. Dr. Sultan unpacks how cannabis impacts the developing brain and may lead to schizophrenia, especially in males. We also talk about whether if you used marijuana as a young adult and then stopped, your brain can still recover, and a cannabis-related health concern for all ages that doesn’t concern the brain. We end our show with Dr. Sultan’s take on what the safe use of cannabis looks like for adults.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• Dr. Sultan’s study: “Nondisordered Cannabis Use Among US Adolescents”
• Recent study on the association between cannabis use and schizophrenia

Connect With Dr. Ryan Sultan

• The Sultan Lab at Columbia University
• Dr. Sultan's practice: Integrative Psych