Given the schizophrenic state of marijuana studies, we wouldn't blame if you just ignored the nerds and continued on with that joint.

It makes you drive better. It makes you crash.

It makes you insane in the membrane. It makes you slightly sharper.

Huh? That's right. That's the latest contention about L.A.'s favorite medicinal remedy in a new study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology:

Pot use actually appeared to improve “cognitive functioning” among the middle-aged men it examined.

Researchers looked at a whopping 8,992 men who used drugs, mainly marijuana, at age 42, and then again at age 50. They were given tests to determine their level of brain functioning. The study concluded:

A positive association was observed between ever (past or current) illicit drug use and cognitive functioning.

Reuters notes that ” … marijuana was by far the most common indulgence for the participants” of the study by Alex Dregan of King's College London.

Hell yeah, said the shaved-headed, 50-year-old creep who still has a bong and goes to raves. In your face, dad.

The study warns that heavy, long-term drug use could still be bad for your smarts and memory. But a little toke now and then with the boys? Eh.

An abstract of the study concludes:

At the population level, it does not appear that current illicit drug use is associated with impaired cognitive functioning in early middle age.

Whew.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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