Effects of Cannabis (Marijuana) on Adolescent & Young Adult Brain | Dr. Andrew Huberman

I’ve been self medicating depression with cannabis since 15 years of age pretty much every single day, I can’t go a day without it if I don’t smoke the withdrawals are crazy like nothing I’ve ever experienced I vomit my mood goes I get suicidal thoughts, I’m now about to turn 25 and have tried numerous times in the past to seek help and limit my intake of cannabis so I’m not so reliant on it but to no avail, am I doomed? Since smoking everyday for going on now 9 years I’ve definitely had and noticed bipolar episodes are happening way more frequently and before than they ever did before turning 17-18 some help would be appreciated.

I’m 18 been smoking since 14 but sorry gang I won’t stop ⛽️💨💨

i was thinking of taking medical cannabis been researching and idk what to think or do being 18 ahhaah so confused

i was young and smoking weed and then developed depression but then i found Jesus christ my lord and savior,he is what saved me

I started smoking when I was 14 I’m now 22 trying to stop. Things I noticed that effected me negatively is one sever anxiety I can’t go into Walmart or public spaces without being on the verge of a panic attack. 2 I became terrible at relationships with family/females etc. 3 when a problem arises my first step was to smoke and not worry bout it vs facing the situation and fixing it. 4 simple things like watching a movie are uninteresting. If you can stop. I wish I would of never started, was fun and non effecting until about 4-5 years in tried quitting about 8 times since then and going on 9th so not something that should be played with.

In the Netherlands and particularly Amsterdam it has been legal with detremental consequences. Our youth is not protected because indeed the dominant narritave is that it is an innocent drug. Thousands of kids drop out of school and cannabis dependency in juvenile delinquents is 60%.

i was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar, and adhd before i started using cannabis, age 14. i started smoking around 15 and i was put on a bunch of medications mainly consisting of antipsychotics, amphetamines, and mood stabilizers. before i started smoking, the meds i took were way more effective. however once i started using cannabis i became dissociated and lazy, possibly depressed. i have no idea what the effects of mixing all the meds and cannabis has done to my brain, but my brain doesn’t work the same. i didn’t know until a year later that i had developed cannabis abuse disorder. i believe i was somewhat conscious of the negative toll smoking had on my mental health, but i was in such a depressive state that i didn’t care, all i wanted to do was get high. i failed to acknowledge that people with mental health disorders such as bipolar and schizophrenia are way more likely to become addicted to cannabis. weed is a good drug solely if used correctly, smoking at an age less than 25 isn’t using it correctly, especially if the user has a mental illness.

I’m 17 years old and have been smoking probably once or twice a week on average for about a year. I understand the risk of using while my brain is still developing but it doesn’t seem to have affected me basically at all. I still have good grades in school and still manage to go to the gym 5x a week and maintain a healthy body and mind. I feel like this could be because of the fact that I intentionally do things to keep my brain and body healthy because I know of the risk of cannabis use. Part of me wants to stop completely because I know of the potential risks. But part of me also doesn’t want to give up something that 1st if all I genuinely enjoy, and second of all something that seems like it overall improves my life

but weed make me feel like buffalo soldier

I first smoked weed at 18 and turned out fine. Got a diploma, went through jobs, functionally could piece this and that together and etc. Now 18 does have the word "teen" in it, so technically a teenager but not literally a teenager, I wasn't an adolescent. Do I think adolescents should easily purchase weed? Probably not, though I also don't think it's as big a deal as it's made out to be, at least certainly in small doses, they're close enough to adulthood and big pharma literally forces all sorts of fucked up medications, ritalin, xanex, etc, down small kids throats and yet they also handle it perfectly fine. This guy saying you can't smoke cannabis when you're an adolescent or "young adult" is fearmongering like many in government and the political system do because they want society to be subservient to the expectations that those working in power have for them. Hence all the animosity against cannabis, THC is a bit psychedelic, it has the potential to generate openminded discourse, philosophical thought, eliminate fears, etc. The ones in power don't like that, they want to keep societies box small and cherry-pick the fears for society.

weed only fucks with you if you sit there and abuse it non stop day in day out. occasional use wont hurt you in any way shape or form. People act like weed is some energy killer, or some end of the world bad thing. it affects everyone differently i suppose, and to add onto that theres different strains and Indica and sativa which again affect people differently.

The point still stands that it wont do anything unless you sit there and abuse it and that in itself is hard to do. People overreacting 1 bad time and/or people abusing/abused it.


it's a medicine, would you sit there and down pills every day like its a buffet? then dont do it with weed. Good outweighs the bad u til you make the bad outweugh the good.


be smart about your usage 💯

but the chances of getting bipolar and schizophrenia are less than 1% so that means it would be maximum 4% so is it even that bad for the risk of getting them, obviously i agree with everything hes saying

been smoking since 16 and pretty consistently since 17 and now 22 and since then my biggest break was just under 4 months because of an arrest... switched over to legal derivatives like delta-8 for a while and who knows the effects on the brain with those. I used derivatives for a few months consistently and noticed that my brain just felt different than typical cannabis. Beware guys more research needs to be done on them. Hard to explain how I felt different but I did and not in a good way. Now in regards to typical cannabis the only negative effects (I experienced) besides the arrest lol was trouble to re-call certain things. So memory is affected. Next, my dreams were next to nonexistent likely because I would not reach REM sleep because I would smoke before bed. However, be careful took me a while to realize this had to educate myself because I would feel so well rested and would go to sleep like a baby (had no trouble sleeping before I started smoking) So who knows what all those years without REM sleep did to me, but oh well lol just gonna continue living life and live as healthy as possible. If you read this thanks and take care

Canabis can be great or bad ( don’t do it if u think it’s going to solve ur depression)

honestly my Psychosis is such a cheat code

Smoking in moderation makes your brain better, smoking too much for too long makes your brain worse.

Yuh I be dumb as shit

You're making wanna toke. No worries, I'm old enough.

Was a daily smoker from 13-16. 16-18 was very low, maybe 3 times a month. 18-21 was drinking alcohol weekly, later from 21-23 drinking almost daily. Weed helped me stop drinking, now I can say confidently I controlled my alcoholism. From 24-25 I would smoke two to three times a week, but now its daily basis. This gave me a reality check.

I think people just don’t have brains now days you notice when you work more and everyone seems dumb to you even if your a stoner it’s so easy to stick out to the public

Unfortunately I started using alcohol, weed and cigarettes at age 11, weed regularly from 14 on. Quit tabacco 9 years ago, alcohol 2 years ago and I think weed is getting closer too.

It is hard for me to imagine life without weed but I start to get curious and want to see myself without it at one point. I know it's just a week of bad sleep, restless legs and lethargy and after that I'll love it, I have quit weed for 3 years before but then I was still an alcoholic.

Have a great day everyone, don't be too hard on yourselves, unless it is out of love.

I’m 14 I smoke weed twice every day and I’m trying to quit but I’m still heavy addicted to vaping and drinking.

Hi Andrew, have there been any studies of TikTok and the effect on the Dopamine System you could point me to. Beyond the findings any info on how the effects compare to drugs would be super helpful to create a point of reference . Thx

Politicians and the media have been saying Cannabis isn’t as bad as alcohol?? Are you high right now?? Politicians especially are still banging the gateway drug drum and trying to keep it criminalized. Hell all of Washington shit a brick when Biden lowered the schedule. Which I may remind you mr scientist is how we get more studies on this in the first place.

PLEASE Do one on how to reverse or minimize the negative effects marijuana use has on young people. Started smoking at 18 and all throughout University. I've stopped... but the damage is there. What can I do besides taking a healthy lifestyle? Just wait and be patient?

Me, while listening to the video, rolling a joint :)

I started smoking weed at the age of twelve, also at the age of 12 I had done acid atleast 5 times, when i was 13 i was exclusively weed, then at 14 i was still smoking constantly but begin to endulge in mushrooms. Im now sixteen ive only recently quit smoking on a daily basis and have done shrooms so many times ive lost count. I will never do shrooms again as im traumatized from my exprriences, every and i mean every single night is hell i relive that awful eerie feeling i had every trip before. I question reality i question myself and my validity as a human. I know it will go away with time and i cant even say to learn from my lesson as you dont find 12 year olds doing what i was when i was 12. Im simply venting, ive told my therapist about it and struggle immensely getting across how seriously this is affecting my life. I have huge goals and plans for my future, i train and stretch every single day and eat incredibly healthy yet still struggle greatly with mental health and through my abuse of substance especially at such a crucial point in my brain devolopment i frequently question and am concerned for my sanity.

I'm 45, been smoking cannabis (with tobacco) on and off (mostly on) since I was 15/17+.. I know I could have accomplished more without so much weed... recently it has become daily, a couple of years now. I don't think I'm psychotic; I've never been described as such, but I worry, I would like to free of both the weed and tobacco, but something I don't seem to able to get a hold of just rolls another smoke.

I don't know how to stop this...

Are these permanent? If a teen were to regularly use marijuana would gray matter and normal brain function return to normal levels after stopping?

Say it how it is ,which is that cannabis is bad very bad.
We shouldn't care if it offend someone.
I have a lot of encounter with cannabis users whether friends or others and seen first hand how it destroys a person.
Cannabis shouldn't be legalised and some places where it's legal ,the law should be overturned.

I was smoking weed heavy from like 13/14 till about 28 and since quitting I literally feel no different or better off. Now I feel like if anything I have less chill out/not giving a F time. Coz I could jus smoke a joint and chill or watch something or learn something (that might not be retained) but still. I expected it to help a lot and for me to get a better handle on things or my mental clarity to improve but it jus hasn’t. The main reason I stopped was because I thought it was in short making me a dumbass and sometimes I had intense anxiety like where I thought I was bordering on a heart attack fr. And it’s nice not dealing with that but otherwise I feel it’s done nothing for me.

I’ve been smoking everyday since I was 15, I’m 17 now, and I feel anxious all the time when I’m not high and it’s really a problem in my day to day life I don’t dream anymore and time is just kinda still but I just can’t seem to quit

I'm writing on behalf of a friend. He smoked weed occasionally 2-3 times a month and states that his mind is clearer than before, states that his mind is clearer and has fewer depressive episodes than before (he was deeply depressed), states that his ability to solve problems also Rose . He's 17, what do you think? Do you think it's just his opinion or could his occasional weed use have some effect on his condition?

i’m 14 and i’m heavy on it now i started at 13 thought tha i could stop anyday, now it’s everyday back to back that i’m gettin h!gh and it’s not only at night it’s all day and it’s hard when i try to i’m starting to take t breaks.

SI MUCHAHCOS NO FUMEN, ESTA GENIAL, PERO MAS ADELANTE TE VAN A PASAR FACTURA BBS, BUENOO ME VOY A IR ECHAR UN PIPASO BYE

This is great information to be shared . Thank you !!

True story , I started smoking cannabis at 15 years old, by the time I was 17 smoke daily . I’m 32 now & still struggling to give it up . Honestly wish I never had started it .

My brother was a d1 baseball player, smoked weed frequently since high school, and honestly he was on his way to MLB. He ended up diagnosed with Bipolar w/ psychotic symptoms. Hasn’t been able to stay on a team since, too hard for him. This stuff is no joke, wish I had known ten years ago

Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. Started with weed at 16. Later in life diagnosed both schizophrenic and bi-polar (depends on who you ask). I'm convinced this was largely self-inflicted due to heavy pot use as a young person. I am 63 years old now and have basically suffered my whole life from the effects of the poor decisions of my youth (of which pot use was foremost). Kids ages 16-24 don't always make the smartest choices. Someone really needs to sound the alarm bells on this one. And thank you Dr Huberman for being one to do it.

As a 22 year old been smoking since 16 would microdosing work? As in have a very small hit once a week. Easier said than done, but changing ones vision and setting your will power to the correct level it could be possible

As someone who works as staff in a middle and high school, I love having this info!! Lots of kids get started at 14

I agree try shrooms instead

Marijuana Dependency, yep! I made it 90 days sober once in 25 years. Ya, have trouble around Day 3+ massive anger + crazy "wake up screaming" kind of nightmares, usually first couple weeks. Thx, great video!

I bet if you did the same thing about alcohol it would be alot worse..of you can sell alcohol that causes, liver and kidney problems plus DUI..I'm 52 and still haven't heard on the news that someone went on a rant to kill ppl or let alone cause harm..but we can go to the Dr's and get Oxycontin or Xanax but that's ok...Marijuana is not hardly as harmful as pharmaceutical drugs..Marijuana is totally different nowadays!

Interested to learn about the affects of thc on autistic brains children and adults. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Wow i started smoking when i was 13 life was very fast for me but we turned out alright, still smoking at 25. Its a drug, an additive one best to keep a healthy relationship with it, still better for you then drinking.

I have an extremely addictive personality and smoked very heavily most nights between 18-25. Maybe a year of sober days total in between. Because I found out about these studies early on and have tried to quit ever since. I quit for good a few months ago but I regret it so much, I think I’m permanently fucked. I am a writer too and my verbal fluency has become a joke. I just want someone to tell me it’ll be okay. Idk what the point of my comment even is, just a cry of silent desperation maybe

been smoking since i was 12, constantly vaping it, smoking it, and eating it. finally got away from it after i started getting scared and extremely anxious without it. Glad im free from it now at 19 after 7 years of struggle.

14 rn been smoking since i was 12 it fucked me up. 16 days sober

Right, so basically everyone that smoked weed as a teen is fucked. Is the brain capable of healing itself if the cannabis use is halted before age 25/28?