'How Neuroscience Reinforces Racist Drug Policy' is Harvard University History of Science Lecturer, Nathan Greenslits, scathing response to one study by Neuroscientists (also at Harvard University) comparing the brain scans of young people who use cannabis and those who do not .

The study found that there were differences in the brain scans of young people who used cannabis and those who did not however  Greenslit concludes;

 “Different-looking brains tell us literally nothing about who these people are, what their lives are like, why they do or do not use marijuana, or what effects marijuana has had on them. Neither can we use such brain scans to predict who these people will become, or what their lives will be like in the future.”

This piece is definitely worth a read for Greenslits insight into how seemingly objective data such as brain scans, can be interperated to convey meaning and add weight to ideological positions about drugs and the people who use them.

YoDAA firmly supports combining the best research available with practice wisdom from the field. This includes an understanding of the broader issues that young people with problematic substance use face.

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