Rebecca Seigel
Seeking to provide a better understanding of the effects cannabis has on the brain, clinical psychiatrist Dr. Rebecca Seigel put together a comprehensive guide on the subject in her book, “The Brain on Cannabis: What You Should Know about Recreational and Medical Marijuana.”
“We need a legitimate, trusted, centralized body of information and research,” Seigel says. “I hope that this book will at least serve as a primer for some in this manner.”
In her book, Seigel discusses the known myths, benefits and risks involved with cannabis use. To guide readers about how to talk to young people about cannabis use, Seigel pulls from her own experience as a medical professional who specializes in the stresses confronting adolescents and young women, and assessing and treating anxiety, mood disorders and attention deficit disorder.
Seigel’s research dismisses common misconceptions surrounding cannabis use, such as the gateway drug label. But other risks associated with cannabis, such as impaired cognitive abilities, may have some basis in reality.
“Those of us on the clinical side have been begging for more research for decades,” Seigel says. “We do know that cannabis use may impact the frontal lobe where impulsivity, decision-making, problem-solving and executive functions occur. But we don’t know for sure. And we won’t know until more uniform, controlled studies are done. What we do know for sure is that young adults’ brains continue to form until their mid-20s so there is the potential for greater detrimental impacts of cannabis use in that population.”