Regular marijuana smoking among high school students is tied to low grades and high chances of flunking in the university. A research from the University of Waterloo suggests that students who smoke marijuana at least once a month is four times more likely to skip classes, miss their homework and devalues their grades. A staggering 50 percent of students is more likely to flunk.
Scientists conclude that students are becoming less ambitious as the marijuana the marijuana addiction kicks in. Students also manifest 50 percent lower chance to pursue a university degree. In worse cases, marijuana smokers tend to simply stop their high school education, Press reader stressed.
According to the School of Public Health and Health Systems professor Scott Leatherdale, the study signifies the importance of delaying the students' initiation to marijuana smoking. He also lambasts the current trend where students smoke marijuana in a manner they would do with a cigarette. To make the problem worse, it appears that regulations are lagging behind compared to tobacco and alcohol consumption.
Scientists said that the human brain goes through rapid development until the age of 20. After which, the development process gradually declines. The problem is with regular marijuana smoking which results to reduced neural development. Marijuana smokers tend to have an "inferior" memory, learning, and inhibitions, according to Science Daily.
Lead author and post-doctoral fellow Karen Patte said that it is alarming that teenagers and young adults don't really perceive the harmful effects of marijuana smoking. This calls for a renewed focus on government regulations. Patte also stressed that promoting a healthy transition from youth to adulthood is a sufficient reason to look deeper at the looming marijuana legalization.
Apart from marijuana smoking, the study also linked alcohol to the academic performance of students. While alcohol is basically the more acceptable substance in universities, the study hints that it has an impact on the general well-being and health, though at much lesser effect than that of marijuana.
