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Updated: Aug 25, 2026
Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Cerebellar infarction in adolescent males associated with acute marijuana use
Thomas Geller1, Laura Loftis, David S Brink
1Neurology, St Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63104, USA. gellertj@slu.edu
Objective:
To demonstrate the clinical characteristics, radiologic findings, and neuropathological features of tetrahydrocannabinol-related posterior fossa ischemic stroke in adolescent patients.
Design:
A retrospective case and chart review of 3 cases encountered at a tertiary care institution over a span of 5 years.
Setting:
Inpatient and intensive care hospitalization units managing children and adolescents.
Subjects:
Male adolescent patients with ischemic cerebellar stroke after use of marijuana. DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATIONS: Computed tomography brain scans (3 subjects), magnetic resonance imaging brain study (1 subject), cerebral arteriography (1 subject), cerebellar biopsy (1 subject), and necropsy (2 subjects).
Results:
Three adolescent males had similar presentations of headache, fluctuating level of consciousness or lethargy, visual disturbance, and variable ataxia after self-administration of marijuana. They developed primary cerebellar infarctions within days after the exposure that could not be attributed to supratentorial herniation syndromes and only minimally involved brainstem structures.
Conclusions:
Episodic marijuana use may represent a risk factor for stroke in childhood, particularly in the posterior circulation. Early recognition of the cerebellar stroke syndrome may allow prompt neurosurgical intervention, reducing morbidity.
