Along with Bob Marley and velvet blacklight 420 posters, cannabis is strongly associated with memory loss. Stoner flicks like the 2000 movie "Dude, Where's My Car?" plays this trope to absurd lengths, but a good deal of scientific evidence backs up the idea that if you toke up, you might struggle with total recall.
Prohibitionists have been hand-wringing about the alleged damaging effects of cannabis on the brain for almost a century. But if you're anxious about using marijuana and your memory, note that their claims are overblown. Describing cannabis as neurotoxic (that is, poisonous to the brain) is an oversimplification that overlooks its potential for treating Alzheimer's, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's and epilepsy, to name a few.
