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 ...
Other studies prove that life is a terminal disease. Happiness occurs between the ears and nowhere else.
I call it the pot worm, it is rather amazing to see the almost instant transformation of teens that start using it, once the worm gets into people’s heads, they become very similar, and many even adopt the same dress, hair, music, posters, speech patterns, mannerisms, etc.
The head of medical services at the University of California concluded this in 1964.
duuuude man, legalallaaize it and wait, wait, wait, legalize it and tax it man..
Duhh!! Everybody must get stoned!
I am not sure occasional pot smoking makes a difference but heavy and continual use definitely has an effect.
“Dude, wait..what?”
Anybody who is shocked that a drug like marijuana would affect the brain, especially in the young, is a fool. However, marijuana’s effect on the brain is irrelevant to the question of whether it should be legal for adults, or to the question of whether its illegality has a corrupting effect on government and law enforcement. As an example of this principle, alcohol has also been proven time and again to affect the brain, especially in the young. Consistency, people.
I know a man who has smoked every day for the past 30 plus years. He runs a successful business and provides jobs for more that 12 employees. Makes plenty of money, doesn't cheat on his wife or his taxes, and has been in business for more that 15 years. His behavior and mere existence shows that the stoner stereotype is just that, a stereotype.
The claim of this study is the 10th Amendment at work. Note that there is nothing in the 10th Amendment which prohibits the citizens of a state from making policy which ultimately shoots both feet off.
Let Social Darwinism take its course with respect to marijuana, and I hope other states learn from the mistakes of marijuana states. Perhaps a constitutional amendment restricting the use of marijuana will ultimately be in order.
Hardly need a study. All one needs to do is look at the choom-ganger in the White House, and all the dopehead dregs that voted for him.
Chocolate reshapes the brain, so what?
“I know a man who has smoked every day for the past 30 plus years”
I know over 20 people who smoked every day from the time they were 15 or so. Most have low level, undemanding jobs or still live with parents or relatives and work sporadically. Most are divorced or never married. Most have little ambition beyond getting high, hanging out or going to the bar.
I know people who smoke sometimes but don’t let it interfere with work or family. They do fine and have successful careers.
Instead of selecting individual drugs for chastisement, we should instead be researching WHY humans want to do drugs.
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