Some psychobiological implications of cannabis use

This chapter aims to provide an overview of evidence which highlights the interrelatedness of effects upon neurotransmission, brain structures, and neurocognitive performance, and presents a foundation for future research. Public debates concerning the removal of legal prohibitions concerning cannabis use, and the media coverage of these debates, add to the importance and public relevance of research into the psychobiological implications of cannabis use. The effects of cannabinoid consumption provide a basis for exploring potential impacts upon human performance with regard to cognition and behaviour. Verbal learning and memory is a domain of cognitive functioning where reviews highlight the prevalence of primary studies reporting impaired functioning in cannabis users compared to controls, or the finding of correlation between estimates of cannabis consumption and task performance. The wide range of abilities that may come under the heading of 'executive functioning' does make it difficult to make definitive conclusions about the relationship between cannabis use and executive functioning.