GREAT!! Are pro -pot legalizers working to find reasons everyone should smoke pot??? Who knows , if they keep coming up with all these therapeutic reasons for pot I might even start at my age (60s). Maybe paremts should start offering it to their kids to ward off stress, brain damage, etc.. Where are the people who know the dangers of pot use? GIVE ME A BREAK!! What has this country regressed to?

While this study is very interesting for highlighting the neuroprotective effects of cannabis use (particularly as it relates to delaying the progression of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases), I would hope that everyone here at JTO would agree that teenagers should neither drink alcohol nor smoke marijuana (unless they have a medical condition that would benefit from cannabis use during that developmental life stage). Persons who begin drinking alcohol by age fifteen are five times more likely to become alcoholics than persons who wait until age 21. Likewise, early onset of marijuana use is problematic for a variety of reasons. But again, thanks to JTO for covering this research -- its implications are pretty dramatic, even though the research conclusions might be problematic for those of us who support delayed onset of the use of any mood-altering substance until maturity. (I would include overuse of heavily caffeinated drinks among teenagers, whose search for that speedy buzz is a primer for later cocaine and methamphetamine use.)

I agree with this study and as for teenagers drinking and smoking marijuana.Never while they are still in High school but once they turn 18 all is good. If they are old enough to sacrifice their life so we can live free then they are old enough to drink alcohol.It was just a matter of time that the truth was to be discovered about marijuana.The government cover up is finally uncovered!!!!

"....teenagers should neither drink alcohol nor smoke marijuana (unless they have a medical condition that would benefit from cannabis use during that developmental life stage)." You're kidding, right? Come on, Bernie, please provide ONE medical condition that would benefit from blah blah blah. Oh, and please cite one medical authority that believes such a condition would benefit from firing up a bongload. Just one.

Has it occurred to anyone that maybe the kids who were mixing their alcohol and marijuana had less brain damage because they drank less because they were so stoned? This whole thing is ridiculous, in my opinion, because now the addicts will use it as another excuse to use.

In response to Rob, I would list cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, intractable spasticity due to spinal cord injury and hepatitis C (for starters). These conditions (along with glaucoma, something that teenagers would not experience very often) are the ones we are seeking to re-establish our state's medical cannabis program to address. However, if you'll take the time to research pediatric indications for cannabinoid use, you'll find evidence that it has also been used successfully for wasting syndrome, anorexia, failure to thrive and ADHD, among other conditions. Right now, Marinol is being prescribed for all these pediatric conditions, and its efficacy pales beside whole-plant cannabis, primarily because it includes only one bioactive ingredient of cannabis from among 60+, and the one it contains (synthetic THC) is the most psychoactive and most dysphoric when used alone than (again) when it is obtained through whole-plant cannabis. That's just to start. Maybe you should spend some time educating yourself, and I would be more than happy to point you in the right (or should I say "correct") direction. Feel free to email me at tracevu@bellsouth.net for those references. While you're at it, you might Google "Sativex" and "vaporizer" since you seem ignorant about those terms also. BTW, why can't opponents of reality-based drug policy ever use their full names here? Just curious.

Extrapolating data from late teens to young adults, age of consent or later, in addition to the reasons that Bernie listed, (and rightfully so), how about the plain notion that humans like "feeling good"? It has never ceased to amaze me that society for so long has tagged wanting to "feel good" as something inherently evil. The war on drugs is lost, and the time for legalization of banned substances is way overdue.

I agree with Mountaineer - we are not all religious zealots who look at wanting to "feel good" as some "sin". I, personally do not practice any religion, especially one that prohibits my human right to do as I please with my own mind and body. Laws were enacted by human beings with their own agenda and bias against certain drugs. Who's to say they are right and we are wrong - yet we must blindly abide by all of them? "Just Say Know" - a book I highly recommend, provides a totally non-biased view of drugs and their effects on the brain, potential to cause addiction, etc. Educate yourself, and stay away from the drugs that cause addiction and death - legal or illegal - no difference. But there is a reason why people enjoy a few drinks or a few tokes - it relaxes you and makes you feel good - no shame in that! Our human rights have long been at the bottom of our list of priorities in this country - time for a change.

oops - sorry, name of book is "Buzzed" with the motto "Just Say Know". Not on any drugs, just over 50 with some memory lapses, lol!