If you’re a parent of a teenager, the question may not be if your child will try cannabis — but when. And what happens to their brain.
Neuroscientist Dr. Krista Lisdahl joins Where Parents Talk host Lianne Castelino to share findings from the groundbreaking Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study — the largest and most diverse long-term study of brain development in U.S. youth, tracking more than 11,000 young people from ages 9 to 19.
What researchers found is both sobering and actionable: teens who initiate cannabis use during adolescence show measurably slower cognitive growth than their peers — affecting memory, processing speed, problem-solving, and academic performance. And the earlier the use begins, the greater the risk.
Dr. Lisdahl — a professor of psychological and brain sciences, addiction clinician, and mother — translates the science into what parents actually need: how to spot the signs, how to talk about it, what THC and CBD really do to the developing brain, why high-potency products like vaping oils are especially concerning, and how to know when it’s time to get professional support.
DR. KRISTA LISDAHL
Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences,
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Director, UWM’s Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology Laboratory
Cannabis Scientist
Co-author, Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study
Mother of 1
“This is just more reinforcement that in younger teens in particular, there really just does not seem to be an advantage to using cannabis and it might prevent someone from really optimizing their teenage development.”
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