According to a recent study, a team of researchers have found that those who smoke cannabis tend to move their shoulders less and elbows more as they walk.
The study also found marijuana users swing their knees more quickly when walking than non-users.
Verity Pearson-Dennett, the study's corresponding author, said, "The main take away message is that use of cannabis can result in subtle changes in the way that you move."
Adding, "The changes in walking were small enough that a neurologist specialising in movement disorders was not able to detect changes in all of the cannabis user. However, many of the participants in the cannabis group were moderate-to-light cannabis users, therefore heavier cannabis users may have greater impairments."
The researchers compared 22 cannabis users to 22 non-drug using Australians.
The cannabis users had consumed the drug more than five times and had no history of illicit stimulant or opioid use.
Illicit drugs work by changing the levels of neurotransmitters in the "pleasure centre"' of the brain, which are also important in movement, the researchers said, adding that more analysis was needed.
Miss Pearson-Dennett, shared, "This was a small pilot study, therefore a number of questions need to be addressed. For example, does a greater amount of cannabis use mean a greater level of impairment? Does the strain or THC/CBD content of the cannabis used change the level of impairment observed? In addition, the physiological mechanisms that underpin changes in movement are not well understood."
The study was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
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