Potheads

[Zam-Zam]

The takeaway here is that you don't necessarily have to smoke a lot to damage your brain:

Two Worcester medical experts who work with adolescent substance abusers are expressing appreciation for a study released last week by researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, and published in the Journal of Neuroscience that found abnormalities in the brains of young adults who regularly smoked marijuana.

The study suggests that recreational marijuana use may lead to previously unidentified brain changes, highlighting the need for more research to understand the long-term effects of low to moderate marijuana use on the brain.

Dr. Edward Boyer, a toxicologist at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said the study supported a clinical observation that had been made for a long time — that adolescents into their 20s who smoke pot even moderately are at risk of "honest to goodness" consequences with neurocognitive development.

"Even if you don't like the doctor talk," he said, "it kind of proves what we've already known — that if you smoke a lot of dope you wind up being a stoner."

Patrice M. Muchowski, vice president of clinical services at AdCare Hospital in Worcester, said she found it interesting that the study found some evidence of differences in adolescents who would not be identified as problem users.

Any time young people use substances that have impact on their brain, she added, "The concern is where is it going from there?"


Complete text: http://www.telegram.com/article/20140423/MOST_COMMENTED/304239931/-1/RSS03&source=rss


Now, not everyone is eager to accept the results of this study, but I think most people know that if you take a lot of intoxicants, it's not good for your brain. As with alcoholics also, some will prefer to stay in denial.

 

[BRU]

The people that don't accept the results are probably pot-heads themselves. For the life of me I can't imagine people thinking that inhaling weed isn't harmful to their health. but hey....what ever. At least the government can make some money off their dumb asses LOL

 

[Caroljo]

I have no doubt that what this report says is right.....
But I also know that my 82 yr old aunt uses pot for her pain....it's the only thing that really helps her to relax and sleep. She's gotten off other addictive pills because of it (which is also much cheaper for her than the pills were!!), and she can actually be somewhat comfortable. Of course she doesn't smoke it, she gets it in candy, baked goods. I think it can be very beneficial for people that have a chronic disease with a lot of pain.

 

[Zam-Zam]

The people that don't accept the results are probably pot-heads themselves. For the life of me I can't imagine people thinking that inhaling weed isn't harmful to their health. but hey....what ever. At least the government can make some money off their dumb asses LOL

I've always felt that if you put something in your mouth and set it on fire, it's probably not good for you.

Back in the sixties when all the Surgeon General's reports came out about the effects of smoking, a lot of hard-core smokers were in denial. Reports surfaced disputing the Surgeon General's findings, reports no doubt funded by the tobacco industry. There are people with a financial stake in marijuana sales too, so I won't be shocked to hear of studies disputing the one in the top post. In the end, people will believe what they wish to believe, and for some pot smokers, they wish to believe it's all good.

 

[Arkady]

The takeaway here is that you don't necessarily have to smoke a lot to damage your brain:

Two Worcester medical experts who work with adolescent substance abusers are expressing appreciation for a study released last week by researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, and published in the Journal of Neuroscience that found abnormalities in the brains of young adults who regularly smoked marijuana.

The study suggests that recreational marijuana use may lead to previously unidentified brain changes, highlighting the need for more research to understand the long-term effects of low to moderate marijuana use on the brain.

Dr. Edward Boyer, a toxicologist at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said the study supported a clinical observation that had been made for a long time — that adolescents into their 20s who smoke pot even moderately are at risk of "honest to goodness" consequences with neurocognitive development.

"Even if you don't like the doctor talk," he said, "it kind of proves what we've already known — that if you smoke a lot of dope you wind up being a stoner."

Patrice M. Muchowski, vice president of clinical services at AdCare Hospital in Worcester, said she found it interesting that the study found some evidence of differences in adolescents who would not be identified as problem users.

Any time young people use substances that have impact on their brain, she added, "The concern is where is it going from there?"


Complete text: http://www.telegram.com/article/20140423/MOST_COMMENTED/304239931/-1/RSS03&source=rss


Now, not everyone is eager to accept the results of this study, but I think most people know that if you take a lot of intoxicants, it's not good for your brain. As with alcoholics also, some will prefer to stay in denial.

I don't know anyone who thinks that regular marijuana use by adolescents is a good idea. Even for adults, I'd counsel against using marijuana, alcohol, refined sugars, etc., regularly. Crap like that can be expected to mess with your body if you're too heavily into it.

As for this particular study, all it speaks to is brain "abnormalities." That's enough reason to do more research, but not enough to freak out, yet. Regular weightlifting results in abnormalities in the muscles, for example (normal muscles aren't that big), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'd like to have a better idea about what, exactly, is abnormal and what the repercussions of that are. If they're, say, abnormal in the sense of having atrophy in parts of the brain associated with violence and aggression, and unusually good blood supply in parts of the brain associated with creativity, that would be a good thing (and would explain the stoners I've known, who were preternaturally good-natured as well as being talented artists or musicians).

 

[as seen on tv]

here's an update - Camille Paglia is reprising the FDA finding that chronic pot smoking "feminizes" young men.

which would go a long way toward explaining why some posters here appear to have hormonal/self control issues.

http://time.com/#72546/drinking-age-alcohol-repeal/

 

[Zam-Zam]

For a good laugh, or if you just want to feel superior to someone, you can check out this clip of potheads celebrating intoxication in Colorado:

Geniuses all.

 

[as seen on tv]

For a good laugh, or if yo just want to feel superior to someone, you can check out this clip of potheads celebrating intoxication in Colorado:

Geniuses all.

this isn't laugh-worthy. these are my future dependents - perhaps they already are - from my tax dollars paying federal benefits.

tokers are pretty much the same as takers

 

[Arkady]

here's an update - Camille Paglia is reprising the FDA finding that chronic pot smoking "feminizes" young men.

which would go a long way toward explaining why some posters here appear to have hormonal/self control issues.

http://time.com/#72546/drinking-age-alcohol-repeal/

If you're worried about feminizing men, it would make more sense to focus on phytoestrogens, like those found in soy and other isoflavones, as well as nuts, legumes, and various meat products. Most plastics are an even bigger concern. The guy who smokes pot and then goes to work and absent-mindedly chews on a pen is probably doing far more "feminizing" with the estrogen-mimicking hormones he's getting from the pen than from the pot.

 

[Arkady]

this isn't laugh-worthy. these are my future dependents - perhaps they already are - from my tax dollars paying federal benefits.

tokers are pretty much the same as takers

Like that damned Steve Jobs, the welfare mooch.

 

[Zam-Zam]

Like that damned Steve Jobs, the welfare mooch.

If you watch the clip, you're unlikely to find any future Steve Jobs in that bunch.

There are smart and productive people who use intoxicants. As a general rule, however, it's not a recipe for success. ASOT is right in thinking that the vast majority of the people in the clip are not likely to become productive contributors to the common good.

 

[Renee]

Oh my

here's an update - Camille Paglia is reprising the FDA finding that chronic pot smoking "feminizes" young men.

which would go a long way toward explaining why some posters here appear to have hormonal/self control issues.]

Talk about self loathing,,,,,, what could be worse than men being anything like a yucky woman. Next thing you know, they won't be shooting up schools.

 

[zzigzzag]

The people that don't accept the results are probably pot-heads themselves. For the life of me I can't imagine people thinking that inhaling weed isn't harmful to their health. but hey....what ever. At least the government can make some money off their dumb asses LOL

You mean like someone who openly admits to it on a political board, has been smoking it like an incinerator for 45 years, has zero health issues....not even a cough, was self employed for 25 years, and who kicks your butts with logic laced with humor on a daily basis? By all means, ignore the opinions of the most knowledgeable on the subject.

The oldest woman in the world died not long ago. Like always, they asked her what her secret was. She said she had smoked pot every day since she was a young teen. Check me on that.

Yeah....we're pretty hard to convince of the "dangers" by alcohol swilling Chicken Littles.

Are you aware of how close we came to having coffee prohibited by an advocacy group a long time ago? With weed, the law was pushed through by corrupt politicians to accommodate WR Hearst's attempt to monopolize the hemp market. America got obsessed with the demonization....largely due to "Reefer Madness"....a movie that portrayed "stoned" as ranting, raving, violently insane.

Look up "famous pot smokers". I don't want to spend the rest of the day pasting a list of names among whom you can find no one whose health, talents, inspiration or determination was affected in a negative way by smoking weed.

That's why chicken littles do their own studies. The obvious is inconvenient to their frantic warnings.

"I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police." Keith Richards

Freedom, please. Worrying about weed will kill you much quicker than smoking it.

 

[Renee]

you righties search for new studies to show how horrible pot is for you........it's been popular for more than fifty years and all these "side effects" don't compare to the damage of alcohol.
Pot mellows people, booze makes them belligerent......driving while drunk causes accidents , while driving under pot also causes accidents because people are passing them. Pot smokers think they're speeding when they're going 35moh, pot smokers laugh and rarely get Into fights...but alas, those munchies will increase obesity.
Pot isn't going away, what we should be concerned about is heroine and cocaine.

 

[Arkady]

If you watch the clip, you're unlikely to find any future Steve Jobs in that bunch.

There are smart and productive people who use intoxicants. As a general rule, however, it's not a recipe for success. ASOT is right in thinking that the vast majority of the people in the clip are not likely to become productive contributors to the common good.

There's a whole genre of videos like this. Take a camera to pretty much any large gathering with a broad variety of people (a Tea Party rally, a Sarah Palin book signing, the Sturgis motorcycle rally, Comicon... you name it). Now, start asking people pointed questions about policy, or general knowledge. Sample a couple hundred people. Now, go back to the editing bay and tag the dumbest-sounding ten-second clips, and edit them all together. Now you've got "proof" that your target (Tea Partiers, Sarah Palin fans, motorcycle riders, comic book geeks) consists of a pack of nitwits. In any large and diverse body of people, you'll have a hardy sampling of people capable of saying a few dumb things when speaking extemporaneously on camera. It's not so different, really, than Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" segments.

 

[freyasman]

Has anyone seen my bong?

 

[Zam-Zam]

you righties search for new studies to show how horrible pot is for you........it's been popular for more than fifty years and all these "side effects" don't compare to the damage of alcohol.
Pot mellows people, booze makes them belligerent......driving while drunk causes accidents , while driving under pot also causes accidents because people are passing them. Pot smokers think they're speeding when they're going 35moh, pot smokers laugh and rarely get Into fights...but alas, those munchies will increase obesity.
Pot isn't going away, what we should be concerned about is heroine and cocaine.

Comparing pot to alcohol is an odd argument. It's like saying rape isn't so bad because murder is worse. Both are intoxicants, both do harm. Claiming otherwise is disingenuous.

Pot isn't going away. True. Neither is racism. Does that mean we should stop worrying about it?

 

[freyasman]

It was right here....

 

[Renee]

Comparing pot to alcohol is an odd argument. It's like saying rape isn't so bad because murder is worse. Both are intoxicants, both do harm. Claiming otherwise is disingenuous.

Pot isn't going away. True. Neither is racism. Does that mean we should stop worrying about it?

I don't think either is bad unless in excess. I drink wine .....so what? I smoke a joint, so what? Why shouldn't they both be legal? I think you're fooling yourself if you don't think most young people smoke ,pot as they do drink. So why make one illegal?
Your analogy would make more sense if I said they should make rape legal.

 

[Renee]

Has anyone seen my bong?

I'll buy you a new one...