Marijuana Use May Increase Risk of False Memories

Your memories may be false if you try to recall events you witnessed while high on marijuana, a new study suggests.

It found that taking just one hit of the drug doubled people’s number of false memories of a virtual reality scenario, CNN reported.

A false memory is one that didn’t actually occur or one that differs from the way an event actually happened, often influenced by suggestions from other people.

“We are all prone to the formation of false memories, independent of cannabis use,” said study author Johannes Ramaekers, a professor of psychopharmacology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands, CNN reported.

“The susceptibility for false memory, however, increases with cannabis. Under cannabis, users can easily accept fake truths for true memory,” Ramaekers said.

With increasing legalization of marijuana in the United States, a resulting rise in false memories could affect people’s family, work and social lives, as well as criminal investigations, CNN reported.