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I forgot what I was gonna say.... |
Posted on 11/29/2002 2:18:13 PM PST by Libloather
Very Heavy Pot Use Clouds Mental Function: Study
1 hour, 58 minutes ago
By Dana Frisch
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who smoked unusually large amounts of marijuana performed worse on tests of mental function than their peers who smoked less pot, even after a 30-day abstinence period, according to a new report.
Heavy users performed worse on 69% of the 35 tasks than light users, though their performances were not "clinically abnormal," the researchers found. The 22 participants were admitted to hospital during the course of the study and submitted to random urine tests to ensure they remained abstinent.
Lead author Dr. Karen Bolla characterized the study group as being "unusual" because of the large number of joints they smoked per week. Heavy users smoked on average 91 joints a week, or about 13 a day, while light smokers smoked an average of 11 marijuana cigarettes a week.
Bolla, who is an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, said the results cannot be generalized to social smokers or those who use pot for medicinal purposes, because they smoke far less marijuana. The potency might also differ, she said.
"What this study shows is that marijuana can be neurotoxic if you smoke a lot of it," Bolla told Reuters Health. She said this is particularly concerning since the average age of study participants was 22 years old, and the brain is still developing at that age. "You're putting a lot of foreign stuff in there that we don't really know what it does to a developing brain," she said.
The study, published in the November issue of the journal Neurology, found that the mental functions most severely impacted were memory, executive function (overall reasoning and functioning) and manual dexterity.
Bolla writes that these tasks in particular were affected because they are controlled by the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and cerebellum. These brain areas are densely populated with cannabinoid receptors that attach to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
In mice, excessive marijuana use might damage parts of the brain and "knock out certain kinds of neurons," said Bolla. This can lead to receptors in the brain being over-stimulated or under-stimulated, changing their response to chemical messengers in the brain, similar to what might result from a brain injury.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the US. An estimated 7 million people use marijuana weekly, according to 2000 data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
This is only the second study to examine the residual effects of marijuana use after more than a couple of days of abstinence. Dr. Harrison Pope Jr., a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of the other study, found no difference in performance on cognitive tests between heavy marijuana users and "control" subjects.
Pope said in an interview that his "hunch" was that the difference between his results and Bolla's were the "sheer intensity" of marijuana use among the participants in Bolla's study. Heavy users in Pope's study smoked on average 1 or 1.5 joints over the course of a day.
According to Pope, people who smoke a lot of marijuana and start earlier will do worse on tests of mental function. Whether the toxicity of the drug itself is responsible, or factors like being in school less and being unfamiliar with testing or being more impaired initially and turning to pot for that reason, is difficult to know, he added.
SOURCE: Neurology 2002;59:1337-1343.
It most certainly is. I don't know about permanent brain damage though. In my era, the stuff was of poor quality by and large.
It's a pity that there are so few great works of literature, music, science, math and engineering to show for this clarity of which you speak, coming from the nation's enormous prison population.
But, those days are long gone. Too many responsibilities and no desire to lose my job or end up in the slammer.
Well it's a darn good thing you clarified that.
I think they could've refuted the following statement:
"In mice, excessive marijuana use might damage parts of theMore research needs to be done, of course,
brain and "knock out certain kinds of neurons," said Bolla."
Yeah... What was the question again?
I'm 38...Grew-up in Indiana. I was 12 in 1976. Obviously, I didn't really become "Aware" of the ins-and-outs of the dope scene until I got a little older but even then, the pot that was around was just OK...
All I remember was Columbian Gold and Mexican Brown. Both of which could be rolled into a cigarette sized doobie and give 4 people a light buzz...
Bags cost either 25 or 30 dollars. Quarter Pounds cost 90 dollars...You bought one, sold 3 ounces for 30 bucks apeice and got a free ounce for yourself.
Yeah, I heard about some good pot being around...Maybe I was too young to have one of the older guys share the "Good Stuff" with me...That wouldn't surprise me. But still, the pot that was around was leafy, brown and NASTY (As compared to what's around today).
As for Hash...It's odd...I've NEVER gotten a buzz on Hash. Don't know why.
I still remember the summer that pot went "Green" and EXPENSIVE!!! The town (And all of Indiana) was DRY!!! Dry for the entire summer. Then people started showing-up with this green stuff that cost TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS FOR A QUARTER OUNZE!!! That was the summer of 1981. Since then, Green (Stink, Skunk Weed) has been the norm. And it's stayed at approximately the same price...It's risen a bit. Maybe another price increase is in the works as we speak...I guess it's pretty dry out there (I keep a pretty good stock so I don't normally notice the dry periods anymore). I just paid $120.00 for a Quarter Ounze. It's pretty good but not THAT good!
Anyway...That's my Stoner Story.
And on this note...I just found out "What" I am (Politically). I'm a Broken Glass Republican but not a Te-Totaler...So, I've never really known what to call myself...Then I saw the post about "South Park Republicans". Fits me to a T!!!
Chelsea Clinton.
Some would say it is. I don't think so.
Are there any withdrawl problems going cold turkey?
No. I've done it numerous times.
Is it easier to quit than smoking?
YES! YES!! YES!!! NO comparison!
Did you go back to it for social reasons or was it mildly addictive physically or psychologically? Thanks for the feedback.
P.S. This guy was a very good carpenter, worked fast and was also a foreman.
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I forgot what I was gonna say.... |
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