All Research and Sources
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Is music actually better when you’re high?
Rationale: The researchers wanted to explore how THC and CBD influence the brain’s response to music. Listening to music is a common rewarding activity for cannabis consumers; however, research shows that cannabis can increase functional disconnectivity in reward- and emotion-sensitive brain areas during music listening. Method: Participants:…
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How are teenage cannabis use and adult depression connected?
Rationale: Cannabis affects mood and mental health, with effects building up over time. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to these harms, yet the relationship between cannabis use, depression, and anxiety has remained unclear. Understanding this connection is critical because cannabis prevalence increases during teenage years, an age range…
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Exploring the ties between adolescent cannabis use and adult mental health
Rationale: The current body of evidence relates early cannabis use to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and suicidality later in life. To examine this correlation further, researchers looked over mental health data from a Swiss database of young adults, looking for correlations between adolescent cannabis use…
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Is weed a gateway drug? Does smoking weed lead to other drug use?
Rationale: Gateway Hypothesis (or gateway drug effect) is a theory that assumes someone who uses a “softer” drug like cannabis increases their likelihood of using more dangerous drugs. (Miller & Hurd, 2017) People turn to cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes, but their cannabis use might increase…
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Can smoking weed lead to a stroke?
Rationale: There has been a 70% rise in the risk of having a stroke for all ages in the last 30 years. A large portion of the increase is thought to be the result of preventable risk factors. (Felgin, 2025) Researchers wanted to know if Substance Use…
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Lasting impacts of cannabis use among youth
Rationale: There is rising concern, especially for young users of cannabis, that the drug may impair neurocognition. Neurocognition includes problem solving, abstract reasoning, language production and interpretation, and attention, which are core to brain function. Considering that adolescence is a period for experimentation with substances and critical…
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Association between cannabis use and maternal outcomes
Rationale: In 2016, about 7% of US women reported using cannabis during pregnancy, and since widespread legalization, odds are this percentage has increased. The chemicals in cannabis readily cross the placenta, where they might have negative effects on development. Disturbances in prenatal development may increase the risk…
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High-intensity exercise and cannabis cravings
Rationale: Cannabis is widely used, with about 10–30% of regular users develop cannabis use disorder (CUD), a condition associated with problems involving memory, mood, anxiety, and motivation. Research has also linked CUD with changes to the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays an important role…
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Doctor-recommended cannabis use in the era of legalization
Rationale: 40 U.S. states have made cannabis medically legal, in 24 of which it is recreationally legal. California was one of the first states to do both. Scientists wanted to know: now that anyone can just walk into a store and buy cannabis, are people still bothering…
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Are there medications to help stop smoking weed?
Rationale: Cannabis dependence is a growing public health concern as there is currently no effective pharmacotherapy. There are some psychotherapies available, but many participants do not achieve abstinence. Dronabinol is a synthetic THC analog used in the treatment of HIV/AIDs-induced anorexia and nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy…