A new study from University of Toronto public health researchers finds that middle school and high school students who smoke only marijuana do better in school than their peers who smoke tobacco. The study, in the Journal of School Health, isn't a small one, either — lead author Michael Chaiton and his team examined 30 years of data involving about 39,000 Ontario 7th, 9th, and 11th graders who participated in surveys from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
What the study doesn't conclude, though, is that marijuana is better for you than tobacco or even makes you a better student. First of all, 92 percent of tobacco users in the study also smoke weed (while only 25 percent of marijuana tokers also smoke tobacco). Marijuana-only users' academic performance is "relatively better" than that of tobacco and tobacco/pot smokers, explains Chaiton, because the students who still smoke cigarettes these days come from "a fairly marginalized population, quite a vulnerable population."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What are the different types of nuclear weapons?The Explainer Speculation mounts that post-war taboo on nuclear weapons could soon be shattered by use of 'battlefield' missiles
-
Floral afternoon teas to enjoy during the Chelsea Flower ShowThe Week Recommends These are the prettiest spots in the city to savour a traditional treat
-
How to plan a trip along the Mississippi RiverThe Week Recommends See this vital waterway from the Great River Road
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammalsSpeed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its preySpeed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant worldSpeed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocketSpeed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brainSpeed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggestsSpeed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
