Last updated on October 5, 2020
Question:
I’ve heard marijuana makes you mature faster? Is that true? I won’t ever smoke it, but is that possible?
Answer:
“Boys who smoke marijuana go through puberty earlier but grow more slowly than those who have never smoked the drug” [“Smoking marijuana may cause early puberty and stunts growth in boys“, Science Daily, May 18, 2015].
By triggering puberty sooner than normal, the marijuana user starts at a shorter height. By slowing down development, the bones end up closing before normal growth completes. On average, marijuana smoking boys ended up 4.6 inches shorter than non-smokers. One theory is that though marijuana makes a person feel relaxed and calm, it actually increases the quantity of stress hormones in the body. The body matures sooner when a person is under stress, but it also matures slower.