What to Read and Teach About Marijuana Use

As cannabis becomes legal, whatever that means, I have found myself driven to teach a seminar called “The Effect of Marijuana on the Developing Brain.” I teach this as an In the Media seminar, in which residents or medical students read a popular piece, such as the Moore article from the New York Times Education section (1), and then read a peer-reviewed scientific piece. (This In the Media seminar has been posted on the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative website, nncionline.org) Recently, I came across an article by Nora Volkow, M.D., a psychiatrist who heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2). It is not the longest article you could find, although the references are excellent, but as with many presentations I have seen by Dr. Volkow, it cuts to the heart of the existing data and makes the point that data are lacking. It is a scholarly and eye-opening piece that drives you to read many of the references cited. It also makes you think that just because something is legal does not mean it is safe.