Frequent pot use can affect teens’ IQ scores

Party on! Excellent! Or not so much?

Developing minds might want to rethink their cannabis use, according to a recently-released study.

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) say adolescents who are frequent cannabis users may experience a decline in their intelligence quotient — commonly known as IQ — as adults.

The research — published in “Psychological Medicine” — showed IQ declined by about two points over time in young people who frequently used cannabis compared to those who didn’t.

“Previous research tells us that young people who use cannabis frequently have worse outcomes in life than their peers and are at increased risk for serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia,” said Prof. Mary Cannon — the study’s senior author — in a statement.

“Loss of IQ points early in life could have significant effects on performance in school and college and later employment prospects.”

Researchers looked at 808 young people who were weekly cannabis users for a minimum of six months and 5,308 of their non-pot-using counterparts.

On average, the young people were followed up until age 18, although one study reviewed for the research followed them until age 38.

Researchers say, among frequent or dependent cannabis users, overall IQ dropped by 1.98 points. When looking only at the impact on verbal IQ — which covers understanding concepts, abstract reasoning, and working memory — there was a 2.94-point drop.