Recreational Drug Users Had More Difficulty Recalling Personal Memories | Research

The takeaway

People who used substances recreationally (including cannabis, MDMA, and cocaine) recalled significantly fewer specific personal memories and were more likely to fail to retrieve a memory within the time limit.

People curious about how recreational substance use might affect everyday memory and cognition.

Recreational users recalled fewer specific memories and had more retrieval failures, even after adjusting for sleep and health

What the researchers found

Participants who reported recreational substance use recalled significantly fewer specific autobiographical memories than non-users and were more likely to omit responses entirely. These differences remained significant after controlling for general health, sleep, alcohol use, and age.

Why it matters

Most research on substance use and memory focuses on people with diagnosed dependence. This study examined recreational users, suggesting that even occasional use may affect the ability to recall specific personal experiences.

The numbers in context

100 participants: 53 substance users, 47 non-users. Substance users recalled significantly fewer specific personal event memories and had more omissions within the time limit. Results held after controlling for general health, sleep routine, alcohol use, and age.

How the study worked

Lab-based study comparing 53 recreational substance users (including cannabis, MDMA, cocaine) with 47 non-users, ages 18-55. All completed self-report questionnaires and a standardized autobiographical memory test. Results were adjusted for covariates.

What this study cannot tell us

Cross-sectional design prevents determining whether memory differences preceded or followed substance use. The substance user group included multiple drugs, making it difficult to isolate cannabis-specific effects. Relatively small sample size.

How to read the evidence

Preliminary: small cross-sectional study that cannot isolate cannabis-specific effects or determine causation.

When this study was published

2025 study.

The bigger picture

Autobiographical memory is central to personal identity, decision-making, and social functioning. If even recreational substance use can impair it, this has implications for the large number of people who use substances occasionally without considering cognitive effects.

Questions still open

Which specific substances drive the memory impairment most strongly? Are these effects reversible with cessation? Do different patterns of use (frequency, duration) produce different memory effects?

Common questions

Was this study specifically about cannabis?

No. The substance user group included people who used cannabis, MDMA, cocaine, and other drugs recreationally, so the effects cannot be attributed to any single substance.

Could other factors explain the memory differences?

Researchers controlled for general health, sleep, alcohol use, and age, and the differences remained significant, though unmeasured factors could still play a role.

Read the original research

Recreational substance use is linked with difficulty in recalling personal experiences.

Scientific reports, 15(1), 34492

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Levent, Adnan; Davelaar, Eddy J. (2025). Recreational substance use is linked with difficulty in recalling personal experiences.. Scientific reports, 15(1), 34492. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13800-y