By Join Together Staff | June 10, 2013 |
A new study links marijuana use in college with an increase in academic problems, including skipping classes, spending less time studying, receiving lower grades, dropping out and being unemployed after graduating.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health studied 1,200 college freshmen over 10 years. They found early chronic marijuana use can lower a person’s IQ by as much as eight points, USA Today reports.
“It’s really the first time that such an intense look at the health-risk behaviors of college students has been linked to the post-college functioning,” lead researcher Amelia Arria told the newspaper.
The study found students who smoked marijuana more than 15 times a month were twice as likely to drop out of school, compared with those who smoked only a few times. Students who smoked marijuana about twice a month were 66 percent more likely than those who were minimal users to drop out.
The study also found on average, 40 percent of college students drink alcohol excessively, and 16 percent meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder. In addition, 22 percent used a drug during the past month, with marijuana being the most common.
Source: www.drugfree.org
