Posted on 08/30/2014 1:11:43 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The paper will be published Wednesday, August 27, 2014 in the Journal of Neuroscience.
... researchers used an MRI machine and the brains of 40 people between the ages of 18 and 25. They claim that the more marijuana a person smokes, the more those two neural regions get "damaged."
Dr. Hans Breiter, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, co-authored the study. He says, "Anytime you find there's a relationship to the amount of marijuana consumed and you see differences of core brain regions involved in processing of rewards, the making of decisions, the ability to assess emotions, that is a serious issue."
Co-senior author of the study, Anne Blood says, "There is this general perspective out there that using marijuana recreationally is not a problem - that it is a safe drug. We are seeing that this is not the case."
The research team included experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School helped reach their conclusion by comparing MRI images from the brains of 20 recreational pot smokers (who smoke around 11 joints per week) and the brains of 20 non-users. All 40 people fell into a similar demographic in terms of age, education level, personality, alcohol use and general anxiety levels.
Scientist measured two different regions in the brains of the marijuana users. They looked for differences in the sizes and shapes of their nucleus accumbens, which affects pleasure and reward, and their amygdalas, which handles emotional memory and the assessment of negative consequences. These areas in marijuana users were large than in those who did not smoke.
... "When we saw that there was a consistent abnormality and that it was directly related to the amount of cannabis one took in, it gave us some significant pause.
(Excerpt) Read more at designntrend.com ...
I tried marijuana once....it made me want to rape and kill./sarc
It made you a Muslim?
Someone recently posted a picture of a group of young marijuana smokers ‘semi’ passed out on a sidewalk in Detroit, MI. One was a well dressed attractive blonde girl. It reminded me of pictures of heavy drinking youth passed out on the pavement in Great Britain, where they are having a problem with drunk youth.
A recent article said that Detroit was ‘seeing’ 75 to 95 more people a night at homeless shelters since the marijuana law passed.
A typical 40 year old marijuana smoker will have the same damaged lungs of a chronic 65 year old cigarette smoker........
Nope, the logical thinking for someone in your position would be to push for a ban on alcohol. If your criteria is that harmful substances should be illegal, then Prohibition is the only logical choice. However, logic is often in short supply on this topic.
Chroomin’ time!!! Barry: “Guys, Can we smoke out to something else tonight besides this ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ honkey ass crap......just one damn time?” Chroom Gang: “Oh, like what you bogartin’ fag? Barry White?...LOL!!!! Or how ‘bout some wild Marvin Gaye? Hey guys....Remind me again why we let this idiot even near our world famous Immortal Dope Smokin’ Chroom Gang will ya? Okay, who’s turn is it to make the run for twinkies?”
What kind of business does he run? You have got me curious.
That just the way it was!
We have a friend who son was a great student in high school, was a really good ultimate fighter, and had a good part time job. Then he went to college. Colorado state u in Ft Collins. Before pot was legal he grew pot for medicinal purpose with a friend. He dropped out of school and was high always. He lived in the mountains alone for a while and would call his sister saying he was being watched by CIA, NSA, aliens..... He moved back to Denver and grows pot again. His dad is trying to get him to move to South Dakota with him, but he won’t. He’s now into eastern religions, metaphysics,...... He’s so lost. He was such a good kids the college and pot ruined him. I still pray he finds the truth in God.
Alcohol has a long tradition in Western culture and European traditions and religions. Marijuana does not.
Islam prohibits alcohol but not hashish. Hashish is very common in Arab countries
I”m living proof that your speculation is false.
Heavy user for over 31 years. I finally had to quit a few years back to insure I wouldn’t lose my very good and very technical job. I’ve always had a highly technical job that has been very demanding over the last 3+ decades and I’ve both excelled and been rewarded over those decades for my efforts, dependability and professionalism.
Not all people are slackers, and I’ve known many who are heavy users who are quite intelligent and motivated.
My brain seems to be functioning perfectly well after 31 plus years of heavy use.
Although I’m sure it can affect some or many negatively, perhaps those who you deem to have had their brains destroyed would have had their minds scrambled whether or not they indulged, and in fact their minds may have been messed up by indulging in other “recreational” drugs that truly can/will turn a person into a vegetable.
Hard to tell, but I have first hand evidence that many heavy users are neither brain damaged nor a burden to society in any way, and in fact are hard working taxpayers who contribute to society as a whole.
Cause and effect.
There is no way you or anyone else would know if pot caused that young man to go down the path he did.
It could have been the people he met, or the books he was reading, or any number of things put together.
Or just maybe for the first time in his life he felt he was able to think for himself and he made the life choices you wrote about.
Who knows what lurks in people’s hearts and minds.
sure, because potheads can’t legally get their fix, we need to destroy a few industries. Adding more intoxicants to make it “fair” is not an answer, it’s an excuse by potheads to justify their habit.
But if potheads want to ban booze, which is the opposite of the “pffffft, dude, legalize it, tax it, stay out of my life” message we’ve been inundated with for 40 years, then ban it. I wonder how many potheads will be down for banning booze. I believe, none.
or it could be that people react differently. Genetics, environment, dosage, and other factors.
For example only 25% of smokers get cancer. Yet we are so conditioned that if we even see a cig, we think we might get cancer.
Or if you see a gun, you will die.
I am not a proponent of smoking, drinking or drug usage by any means. I have tried mj once, my thinking skill were “clouded” for a week so didn’t do it again. I am thankful for hangovers so I don’t drink much. I am thankful for restrictions on alcohol in my youth or Dad would have lost the family farm.
These are not clear cut issues that get the same response in all cases. Some people have an addictive personality whether, drugs, porn, drinking, homosexuality, etc.
The issue is when does their freedom intersect with mine. Prohibition did not start overnight. It began in the much earlier when many people had personal experience with losing, family and fortunes to alcohol. It was real to a lot of people.
Freedom works when we are subject to Gods laws as our founders understood.
Well, I’m glad you got all of those non-sequiturs out of your system. When you make a logical argument instead of an emotional one, I’ll respond to it.
That’s irrelevant to whether we should legalize pot in 2014 USA. There are a lot of things that were long traditions in Western culture that Americans dumped. No reason alcohol usage is sacred vs other intoxicants
It is not speculation, it is observation and experience.
There are people who smoke who have successful lives if they have the self-discipline to not let it interfere with their work and their family. I said that.
Most people who start using regularly in their teens and are heavy users for years have low level jobs and do little but hang out, get high, go to the bar and things like that.
Didn’t we have that same study with the same results some 40 years ago?
it was logical. Pot is illegal, beer/liquor/wine isn’t. If potheads want to justify their habit by suggesting to ban alcohol because they can’t get their fix, go ahead.
Attempting to assign some form of logical hypocrisy to people who don’t want to deal with the consequences of yet another legal intoxicant is pointless.
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