Mar 11, 2026 05:00 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1119177
INTRO: Smoking cannabis can do more than blur memories. It can reshape them. A new Washington State University study found that people who consumed THC were more likely to recall words that were never presented and struggled with everyday tasks such as remembering to do something later.
Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the study is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how cannabis affects memory. The findings suggest cannabis can impair not only simple recall, such as remembering a list of words, but also forms of memory people rely on in daily life, like remembering appointments, keeping track of conversations, or recalling where information came from.
Researchers were also surprised to find no meaningful differences between participants who consumed 20 milligrams of THC and those who consumed 40 milligrams, suggesting even moderate doses may cause substantial disruptions.
“Most previous studies have only looked at one or two types of memory, like recalling lists of words,” said Carrie Cuttler, senior author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at WSU. “This is the first study to comprehensively examine many different memory systems at once, and what we found is that acute cannabis intoxication appears to broadly disrupt most of them.” (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: Smoking cannabis can do more than blur memories. It can reshape them. A new Washington State University study found that people who consumed THC were more likely to recall words that were never presented and struggled with everyday tasks such as remembering to do something later.
Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the study is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how cannabis affects memory. The findings suggest cannabis can impair not only simple recall, such as remembering a list of words, but also forms of memory people rely on in daily life, like remembering appointments, keeping track of conversations, or recalling where information came from.
Researchers were also surprised to find no meaningful differences between participants who consumed 20 milligrams of THC and those who consumed 40 milligrams, suggesting even moderate doses may cause substantial disruptions.
“Most previous studies have only looked at one or two types of memory, like recalling lists of words,” said Carrie Cuttler, senior author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at WSU. “This is the first study to comprehensively examine many different memory systems at once, and what we found is that acute cannabis intoxication appears to broadly disrupt most of them.” (MORE - details, no ads)