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Teen pot use could hurt brain and memory, new research suggests
NBC News ^ | December 16, 2013 | Brian Alexander

Posted on 12/16/2013 9:17:13 AM PST by Zakeet

Teenage pot smokers could be damaging brain structures critical to memory and reasoning, according to new research that found changes in the brains of heavy users.

Research released Monday in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin showed the brains of young heavy marijuana users were altered in so-called sub-cortical regions — primitive structures that are part of the memory and reasoning circuits. And young people with such alterations performed worse on memory tests than non-using controls, despite the fact that the heavy users had not indulged for more than two years, on average, before the testing.

[Snip]

When the groups were given four tests of working memory, like remembering sequences of numbers they’d seen, heavy users, with or without schizophrenia, performed worse than healthy controls and non-using schizophrenics.

“We saw poor performance in the marijuana groups…” Smith explained. “And the younger somebody started using, the more abnormal they looked.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cannabis; cannibus; drugs; marijuana; marijuanamemory; memory; pot; potmemory; research
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To: Ueriah

“You will find amongst cannabis users both the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the talented and intelligent as well as the ignorant unwashed masses.”

Yes - just like the use of alcohol among people of all ages, income levels, intellect, etc.


41 posted on 12/16/2013 10:05:25 AM PST by Magic Fingers (Political correctness mutates in order to remain virulent.)
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To: Ueriah
Maybe. But every habitual pot smoker I've ever known (and I'm not talking about the occasional user to relieve glaucoma or whatever) had (a)delusions of grandeur which superior intelligence or creativity, (b)a tendency to punctuate their speech with a lot of filler material (ahhh, and, umm . . ., etc.) and (c)poor short-term memory.

Yeah, I've known people who were easier to deal with when they were stoned. I've also known people who were easier to deal with when they were drunk.

Neither drug is so much of a personality changer as a personality enhancer.

42 posted on 12/16/2013 10:09:59 AM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: ifinnegan

Institute for the Study of the Bleedin’ Obvious ping...


43 posted on 12/16/2013 10:11:19 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Zakeet

No wonder his ideas are so goofy.


44 posted on 12/16/2013 10:11:36 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: ifinnegan

Agreed.


45 posted on 12/16/2013 10:13:54 AM PST by KSCITYBOY
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To: Zakeet

Granted that it’s too dangerous for teens.

How about medical use?

I don’t mean nudge-nudge, wink-wink “medical” use, I mean its use to alleviate pain and suffering.

Chemotherapy patients?

I know several retired guys who have various pain issues, and who take it for that reason. They are of the opinion that it is keeping them off opiates and opioids.


46 posted on 12/16/2013 10:16:18 AM PST by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: Zakeet

I wonder if they looked for a control group that hadn’t been exposed to public school teachers?


47 posted on 12/16/2013 10:17:51 AM PST by Steamburg (Other people's money is the only language a politician respects)
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To: Ueriah

Just as everyone who smokes cigarettes does not get cancer.

Everyone who drinks and drives does not kill.

Everyone who jumps out of an airplane does not always die.


48 posted on 12/16/2013 10:19:47 AM PST by Venturer (Half Staff the Flag of the US for Terrorists.)
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To: Zakeet

http://youtu.be/FuCw8UT5y6c?t=25m07s
The Devil - Venerable Fulton Sheen


49 posted on 12/16/2013 10:28:54 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
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To: Zakeet

The most harmful side effect of pot use is prison rape.


50 posted on 12/16/2013 10:33:53 AM PST by bassmaner (Hey commies: I am a white male, and I am guilty of NOTHING! Sell your 'white guilt' elsewhere.)
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To: dfwgator
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/6389/27y.gif


51 posted on 12/16/2013 10:48:12 AM PST by MeshugeMikey ( Visit http://icantenroll.com/ In Glitch We Trust....;o})
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To: Vigilanteman
"turn...into liberals"

My theory as well. Although I'm sure you'd find a fair share of conservatives (not professed libertarians) who regularly smoke dope or use other drugs, I'd bet you'd find far more libs smoke dope than conservatives. Of course many people spout the chicken or the egg theory concerning dope use: are people who smoke dope more likely to be liberals, or are liberals far more likely to use dope than conservatives?

My own perception is that all drugs can have negative reactions. Marijuana is no different. And I'm for legalizing most of the drug laws concerning dope. Just don't try to tell me it doesn't have any negative consequences concerning mental abilities.

52 posted on 12/16/2013 10:50:42 AM PST by driftless2
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To: Zakeet

LOL. And in other news, water is wet.


53 posted on 12/16/2013 10:57:15 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: driftless2

Agreed. I tend to be a live and let live libertarian type of guy, as long as people are not driving drunk or stoned and killing or maiming innocent people or burgling homes to support their habits. The thought of putting the IRS in charge of drug enforcement (i.e. revenue collection) has some appeal and may actually lessen their resources to harass innocent people.


54 posted on 12/16/2013 11:09:33 AM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: driftless2

“I don’t understand anything,” she said with decision, determined to preserve her incomprehension intact. “Nothing. Least of all,” she continued in another tone “why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly,”

Aldous Huxley’s
Brave New World


55 posted on 12/16/2013 11:52:38 AM PST by folkquest (I plan on being cranky for the next 4 years. Hope to crack a political smile at the midterms!)
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To: folkquest

I saw this thread. I could have sworn the title read, ‘Tea Pot Use...’ Guess I’ve
eaten too many brownies.


56 posted on 12/16/2013 12:00:50 PM PST by BigIsleGal (Wake Me Up When the Stupid Wears Off)
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To: BigIsleGal
I saw this thread. I could have sworn the title read, ‘Tea Pot Use...’ Guess I’ve eaten too many brownies.

...Strictly coffee these days!(grin)

57 posted on 12/16/2013 12:10:43 PM PST by folkquest (I plan on being cranky for the next 4 years. Hope to crack a political smile at the midterms!)
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To: Vigilanteman
Neither drug is so much of a personality changer as a personality enhancer.

But as Bill Cosby famously said, "Yeah, but what if you're already an a-hole"?

58 posted on 12/16/2013 12:12:18 PM PST by Graybeard58 (_.. ._. .. _. _._ __ ___ ._. . ___ ..._ ._ ._.. _ .. _. .)
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To: Graybeard58

Then drug use will make you an even bigger and bolder a$$hole, of course.


59 posted on 12/16/2013 12:20:55 PM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

Sorry, I didn’t phrase my question correctly although you caught my drift. I meant to say: does dope turn people into liberals or are libs more naturally drawn to dope than conservatives?


60 posted on 12/16/2013 12:36:54 PM PST by driftless2
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