How long-term marijuana use could cause a reduction in memory, according to a CU Anschutz researcher

If you grew up in the 80s, you might remember a famous anti-drug public service announcement from TV. There was a frying pan, a sizzling egg and an ominous warning:  “This is your brain on drugs.” 

Josh Gowin, a researcher with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, remembers that ad quite well. Anti-drug PSA's like that one inspired him to study the effects of marijuana use on the brain and find out if that fried egg analogy is accurate.  

Gowin, a neuroscientist, looked at more than 1,000 scans of people’s brains. And he saw something notable in the brains of frequent cannabis users: a reduction in their working memory, which is the brain function that helps people keep track of what they’re doing.  

Gowin recently published his research. He joined Erin O’Toole to explain what his findings mean for cannabis users – and what kinds of tasks might suffer if someone’s working memory deteriorates.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.