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Scientists claim that if you smoke high-strength cannabis, it can damage the nerve fibers that handle message flow to the brain's segments. The brain scans of regular cannabis smokers revealed delicate difference between the white matter that connects the two halves of the brain and is responsible for carrying signals from one side to the other. These changes did not reflect in the person who never smoked cannabis or smoked only less influential drugs, said the researchers, reported The Guardian.

This is the first of its kind study that looks at the potency of cannabis on the structure of the brain and suggests that smoking more of skunk cannabis can cause damage to the corpus callosum that inhibits the communication across the brain making it less efficient. Paola Dazzan, neurobiologist at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London said, the effects on the brain are linked with an active ingredient called tetrahydrocannabinol found in cannabis. The conventional cannabis contains between 2% and 4% THC while the more potent ones can contain up to 10-14%. "If you look at the corpus callosum, what we're seeing is a significant difference in the white matter between those who use high potency cannabis and those who never use the drug, or use the low-potency drug," said Dazzan.

Dazzan also added, "The difference is there whether you have psychosis or not, and we think this is strictly related to the potency of the cannabis," she added. More details of the study can be found in the journal reported in Psychological Medicine.

For the purpose of their study, the researchers used two techniques for scanning, MRI and DTI, that helped them examine the corpus callosum, the biggest part of the white matter. The scans found that daily users of high-potency cannabis had a slightly greater - by about 2% - "mean diffusivity" in the corpus callosum. "That reflects a problem in the white matter that ultimately makes it less efficient," Dazzan told the Guardian. "We don't know exactly what it means for the person, but it suggests there is less efficient transfer of information."