Alright lets cut the bullshit. I’ve been in college. I’ve been around weed, I smoke it, and I enjoy it. We all know smoking weed doesn’t exactly turn you into the second coming of Einstein, especially when you’re high (I for one turn into an idiot when I’m stoned). However, I’ve always wondered, does smoking weed effect our cognitive abilities long term? If we really think about it, our ability to think and reason is probably our single most important tool as human beings. Is the risk of diminishing that tool’s ability worth the risk? According to the                                                             National Institute On Drug Abuse (a government agency mind you):

“Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana everyday may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all the time.”

Hmmm…functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all the time? So lets think about that for a second…our most important tool as human beings is never running at full capacity all the time if we’re smoking weed everyday. That’s definitely gonna take a toll on our productivity and success after awhile. Alas! There is some good news for all those daily smokers out there (well, depending on how you construe it). According to NIDA:

“NIDA-funded scientists have found that cognitive impairments resulting from smoking marijuana can last up to at least 28 days after an individual last smoked the drug.”

28 days? That’s not too bad, as long as it isn’t permanent. I’ll tell you what, smoke a joint and its definitely not the end of the world. So maybe Tupac’s advice, “smoke weed everyday,” isn’t exactly well founded, but “everything in moderation” fits the bill pretty nicely here. My advice? Don’t go out there and toke on a fatty everyday, but if you had a rough exam and are lookin to chill, definitely find yourself a nice bag of ganja, roll it up, and enjoy that sweet herbal remedy that so many of us enjoy. Cheers!