People who take even a single hit of marijuana double their number of false memories, finds a new study published in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, in the US, highlighting the effect of Marijuana on our memory.
According to CNN, the authors of a study said people taking weed are more likely to create false scenarios in their mind if they are fed with the information. This is because their memory is vulnerable at that point of time.
A false memory can be defined as something that did not happen or a memory that is altered from reality, often, due to suggestions by others, the report added.
Study co-author from Maastricht University, Netherlands said, “We are all prone to the formation of false memories, independent of cannabis use,” adding that susceptibility for false memory increases with cannabis, as under the effect of cannabis, users can easily accept "fake truths for true memory."
The report quoted co-author Elizabeth Loftus from the University of California, Irvine as saying that the importance of the study lies in the fact that a rise in false memories could play a greater role in criminal matters.
Ramaekers added that the findings suggest that investigative interviewers should “minimize the questioning of cannabis-intoxicated eyewitnesses and suspects” and instead wait until they are sobre.
The researchers concluded that chronic use of cannabis can produce persisting decline of cognitive function in humans.
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