Teenagers who use cannabis regularly risk performing less well in exams, a survey of UK adolescents has found.
But while heavy cannabis users (those who use the drug at least 50 times by the age of 15) appear to show “marginally impaired educational abilities” and achieve poorer exam results at 16, occasional adolescent cannabis use does not seem to lead to poorer educational achievement.
The research, carried out by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, tracked the health of children born in the Bristol area in 1991 and 1992.
The study, also known as Children of the 90s, analysed the data of more than 2,000 children. The youngsters had their IQs tested at the age of eight and then again at 15. Their GCSE results were factored in a year later and they were also asked about their cannabis use.
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