What weed really does to your brain, according to hundreds of thousands of scans

Not to ruin your high, but habitually smoking marijuana has been known to take a toll on the body.It can irritate the lungs, damage blood vessels and accelerate heart rate.Not to mention the scromiting, the screaming — and vomiting! — that can accompany long-term, heavy use.The brain also takes some hits.“From a brain imaging perspective, marijuana use is consistently associated with measurable changes in brain function,” Dr. Daniel Amen — founder of Amen Clinics, which has conducted hundreds of thousands of scans to measure blood flow and activity in patient brains — told The Post.A study last year out of the University of Colorado, for example, linked chronic use of chronic to a decline in working memory, the brain’s ability to retain, process and use information immediately.The other ways marijuana can drain your brain may blow your mind.

Here’s a look at six of the potential puff-ects.The CDC estimates that 52.5 million Americans, or about 19% of the US population 12 and older, get high at least once a year.The legalization of cannabis in many states has increased access to grass, putting the ole noggin in the crosshairs.“Marijuana users demonstrate widespread reductions in cerebral blood flow, particularly in regions critical for memory, coordination, emotion and executive function,” Amen said.The main psychoactive compound of marijuana, THC, is the culprit here.THC disrupts the brain’s cerebellum and basal ganglia, which are responsible for motor control, balance and coordination.That could manifest as lane weaving while driving, body swaying due to instability and delayed reactions.These effects are most pronounced in the first hour after marijuana use and can last several hours.THC also binds to receptors in the hippocampus, which plays a critical role in memory formation.

Amen said it’s one of the brain regions most affected by weed.“Cannabis users show significant hippocampal hypoperfusion, with studies demonstrating reduct...