Montreal Gazette: Cannabis age isn't a simple matter of neuroscience

Montreal Gazette

This opinion piece focuses on a policy debate in Quebec, in which the legal age for cannabis consumption was to be raised from 18 to 21. Neuroscientific evidence pertaining to the age of maturity based on structural brain development was drawn upon to push for an increase in age, and in this article the authors caution policy makers and the public about use of brain data in giving us the final, objective word on how to guide policy. Noting how in our biomedicalized cultures, neuroscience is increasingly expected to shed light on social issues, the authors point out the many interpretive complexities of the science of the adolescent brain and the problems in using it to demarcate an age for ‘biological maturity’. 

To read the full article, click here.