Smoking marijuana can cause speech disabilities in users

Anyone who has ever been sidelined by high potency cannabis edibles understands that once the THC is running through the old veins it can be difficult to have a conversation like Allyson Felix looking for gold. But hey, most cannabis users understand that pure, unadulterated catatonia can be taken for granted.

However, they would probably be shocked to learn that this weed could potentially impair motor skills and have a lasting effect on their speech. Yes, according to a new study, marijuana could make stoners talk funny.

Photo by Aaron Blanco Tejedor via Unsplash

Researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Center for Neuroscience of Speech claim to have found a link between cannabis use and changing speech patterns. “Language is sensitive to brain health. Changes that occur as a result of drug use can lead to behavioral changes and cognitive / motor actions even in otherwise healthy adults ”, co-author of the study, Professor Adam Vogel told PsyPost.

The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, looked at a small group of adults who had a history of using cannabis. In contrast, they also recruited another group with no record of drug use. To make sure the results only show the effects of cannabis, the researchers sorted out those participants who had also tried opioids or other recreational drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine. To go one step further, people who reported having consumed alcohol and tobacco were also separated from the pack. In the end, they found language changes in cannabis users.

RELATED: Scientists Issue Guidelines For Safe Cannabis Use

“Our digital speech analysis shows that there may be a signal that distinguishes individuals with a history of recreational cannabis use from healthy controls, consistent with similar results from gait and hand function studies.” Researchers wrote.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers asked participants to take several simple voice tests. One was an unprepared one-minute dialogue of their choice. Other tests included the ability to endure vowels, repeat pa-ta-ka quickly, recite the days of the week, and read various other passages. The results showed that cannabis users’ speech showed greater variability than that of non-users.

RELATED: Negative health effects of marijuana shouldn’t be deterred by state legalization

The trick, however, is that researchers can’t be sure whether cannabis use is solely to blame. After considering the rate of false positives, they concluded that it was unclear whether cannabis use changed language or not. In fact, the study authors admit that the results were largely speculation.

Photo by Photo by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash

“The data for this study comes from a single point in time, meaning that the subjects were not observed over time. We assume that the differences that we observed between the groups (cannabis vs. non-drug users) are due to cannabis use and not to something else that we did not take into account, ”explained Vogel.

So, if you find your language changing from time to time, know that your cannabis use could be to blame. But we wouldn’t worry too much. Remember, most of the people you meet these days are not going to shame anyone for sounding a bit aurally confused. With more than 22 million cannabis users in the US each month, the chances are that nobody will notice.