How does cannabis influence cognitive abilities, specifically regarding aging? This is what a recently submitted study to Nature Portfolio hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the impact of cannabis on cognitive aging. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand the health benefits of cannabis on cognitive aging, which comes as the legalization of cannabis continues to increase across the United States.
This study builds on a 2023 study and an April 2025 study that examined cannabis and cognitive function on chronic health conditions and cancer, respectively. For the study, the researchers analyzed cognitive data obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank involving more than 25,000 participants between ages 44 and 81. The researchers evaluated the participants based on a series of cognitive tests with the goal of ascertaining the impact of cannabis on cognitive abilities. In the end, the researchers found that cannabis users demonstrated greater levels of cognitive abilities compared to non-users.
The study notes, “Our study offers valuable insights into the potential influence of cannabis on brain aging and cognitive performance. The results suggest that cannabis users display brain network characteristics typically associated with younger brains, along with enhanced cognitive abilities, highlighting a potential modulatory role for cannabinoids and endocannabinoids in neurodegenerative processes, as explained through neural dedifferentiation and compensation theories.”
As noted, this study comes as the legalization of cannabis continues to increase across the United States, with only a handful of states still listing cannabis as outright illegal in all forms. In the UK, medical cannabis was legalized in 2018 while recreational cannabis remains illegal.
What new connections between cannabis and aging will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Nature Portfolio, Marijuana Moment, Marijuana Moment (1), Marijuana Moment (2)
