A study by researchers in Germany suggests that elderly people should smoke pot to prevent memory loss. Scientists found that THC in cannabis could slow down or even reverse memory loss.
Researchers have done the trials on old mice. They found when THC (the psychoactive part of marijuana that makes users ‘high’) was given to older mice, mental power of older mice enhanced considerably.
However, it showed improvements only in older mice, while the young animals’ memory and learning performance showed a setback.
Researchers are expecting similar results with humans as well. They are planning to begin human trials later this year and are hopeful that this drug may even help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by slowing the brain’s natural aging process.
As per psychology professor Andreas Zimmer of Bonn University in Germany, “Chronic, low-dose treatment with THC or cannabis extracts could be a potential strategy to slow down or even reverse cognitive decline in the elderly.”
The team from the University of Bonn in Germany wrote in the medical journal Nature Medicine: “Cannabis preparations and THC are used for medicinal purposes. They have an excellent safety record and do not produce adverse side-effects when administered at a low dose to older individuals. Thus, chronic, low-dose treatment with THC or cannabis extracts could be a potential strategy to slow down or even to reverse cognitive decline in the elderly.”
