answer:From NORML (so, not in any way an unbiased source, but a good starting place?) Myth: Pot Kills Brain Cells Government experts now admit that pot doesn’t kill brain cells.1 This myth came from a handful of animal experiments in which structural changes (not actual cell death, as is often alleged) were observed in brain cells of animals exposed to high doses of pot. Many critics still cite the notorious monkey studies of Dr. Robert G. Heath, which purported to find brain damage in three monkeys that had been heavily dosed with cannabis.2 This work was never replicated and has since been discredited by a pair of better controlled, much larger monkey studies, one by Dr. William Slikker of the National Center for Toxicological Research3 and the other by Charles Rebert and Gordon Pryor of SRI International.4 Neither found any evidence of physical alteration in the brains of monkeys exposed to daily doses of pot for up to a year. Human studies of heavy users in Jamaica and Costa Rica found no evidence of abnormalities in brain physiology.5 Even though there is no evidence that pot causes permanent brain damage, users should be aware that persistent deficits in short-term memory have been noted in chronic, heavy marijuana smokers after 6 to 12 weeks of abstinence.6 It is worth noting that other drugs, including alcohol, are known to cause brain damage. Footnotes 1. Dr. Christine Hartel, Acting Director of Research, National Institute of Drug Abuse, cited by the State of Hawaii Dept of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division in memo of Feb. 4, 1994. 2. For an overview, see NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Report, op. cit., pp. 81–2. R.G. Heath et al, “Cannabis sativa: effects on brain function and ultrastructure in Rhesus monkeys,” Biol. Psychiatry 15: 657–90 (1980). 3. William Slikker et al., “Chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Rhesus Monkey,” Fundamental and Applied Toxicology 17: 321–32 (1991). 4. Charles Rebert & Gordon Pryor – “Chronic Inhalation of Marijuana Smoke and Brain Electrophysiology of Rhesus Monkeys,” International Journal of Psychophysiology V 14, p.144, 1993. 5. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Report, pp. 82–7. 6. “Cannabis and Memory Loss,” (editorial) British Journal of Addiction 86: 249–52 (1991)