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Early marijuana use tied to long-term brain problems
CBS ^ | June 1, 2011 | David W. Freeman

Posted on 06/03/2011 6:33:47 PM PDT by AustralianConservative

Call it the pubescent pot problem.

New research shows that adults who smoked marijuana before age 15 have significant problems with attention span, impulse control, and "executive function" - the ability to plan and carry out tasks.

How about people who took up toking later in life? The same research showed they were much less likely to have such difficulties.

For the research, scientists at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil used a stardard "card sorting" task to evaluate the cognitive ability of 104 long-term cannabis users, including 49 who had started using before age 15. On average, the early tokers had smoked pot for 10.9 years, the Daily Mail reported.

What happened? The early herb enjoyers made more mistakes than those who waited to use weed, as well as the "controls" who didn't smoke marijuana.

"We found that early-onset, but not late-onset, chronic cannabis users had deficits in their cognitive functioning," study author Dr. Maria Alice Fontes said, according to the paper. "Adolescence is a period in which the brain appears to be particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of cannabis. The brain before the age of 15 is still developing and maturing, so exposure to cannabis during this period may be more harmful."

Marijuana seems to cause both chemical and structural changes in the brain, study co-author Dr. Karen Bolla, associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, told CBS News. She said rapid brain development continues until one's early twenties.

If early pot smoking really is bad for the brain, lots of Americans may be at risk for long-term cognitive difficulties.

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: braindevelopment; bummer; marijuana; munchies; teens
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20067999-10391704.html
1 posted on 06/03/2011 6:33:53 PM PDT by AustralianConservative
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To: AustralianConservative

...need another reason why rats push legalization?. ...keep them folks stupid.


2 posted on 06/03/2011 6:35:31 PM PDT by Doogle ((USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: AustralianConservative

I’m not grasping this. Can someone explain it to me?


3 posted on 06/03/2011 6:36:13 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (The USSR spent itself into bankruptcy and collapsed -- and aren't we on the same path now?)
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To: AustralianConservative

I’m sure early alcohol use does the same (and I’m not defending weed, just pointing out the obvious).


4 posted on 06/03/2011 6:36:30 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: AustralianConservative

In case you were wondering what a grain of salt looks like.

5 posted on 06/03/2011 6:36:48 PM PDT by SeeSharp
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To: AustralianConservative

Dude? What?


6 posted on 06/03/2011 6:37:34 PM PDT by mylife
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To: AustralianConservative
New research shows that adults who smoked marijuana before age 15 have significant problems with attention span, impulse control, and "executive function" - the ability to plan and carry out tasks.

It makes them democrats with a liberal agenda.

7 posted on 06/03/2011 6:38:26 PM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: mylife

I think he said “easy mountain views lead to drain volumes”


8 posted on 06/03/2011 6:39:39 PM PDT by Edgar3 (Don't THREAD on me!)
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To: AustralianConservative

What’s really funny though is that when you click on the link, the story runs with a banner ad at the top to join the ranks of Obama’s supporters. LOL! Too coincidental.


9 posted on 06/03/2011 6:42:25 PM PDT by Paved Paradise
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To: Doogle

Yeah, and furthermore.... Um, well, I forgot what I was going to say.


10 posted on 06/03/2011 6:47:53 PM PDT by Bullish
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To: Edgar3

That was my thought, exactly, I think.


11 posted on 06/03/2011 6:48:07 PM PDT by doc1019 (Palin/West, unbeatable.)
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To: AustralianConservative

Wow! I just made the cut!


12 posted on 06/03/2011 6:48:47 PM PDT by sand lake bar (This bag may be used as a toy)
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To: AustralianConservative

Hold on got to get some chips!!!! Do what,


13 posted on 06/03/2011 6:52:15 PM PDT by org.whodat
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To: AustralianConservative

Legalize it...it will save this country billions and is less harmful than alcohol by a long shot.


14 posted on 06/03/2011 6:53:12 PM PDT by BreezyDog
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To: sand lake bar

This is just another lame attempt by the media at explaining why Obama is so inept.


15 posted on 06/03/2011 6:53:22 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Sarah Palin - SheÂ’s living rent-free inside the MSMÂ’s heads. Credited to Lurk)
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To: AustralianConservative

Well...

Dad caught me behind the barn with a cigarette at age 12. He made me smoke a cigar and grandpa supplied the shot of brandy. (I liked them both.)

Where do I land on this den of inequity?


16 posted on 06/03/2011 6:53:37 PM PDT by sergeantdave (The democrat party is a seditious organization that must be outlawed)
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To: AustralianConservative

Have you ever tried to talk to someone smoking pot...major brain problems


17 posted on 06/03/2011 6:55:12 PM PDT by blueyon (The U. S. Constitution - read it and weep)
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To: kearnyirish2
I’m sure early alcohol use does the same (and I’m not defending weed, just pointing out the obvious).

Yeah, but alcohol is legal.

18 posted on 06/03/2011 6:58:24 PM PDT by Doe Eyes
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To: blueyon

Not talk, but I’ve tormented people high on pot.


19 posted on 06/03/2011 6:58:43 PM PDT by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.....)
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To: AustralianConservative

Everbody know that smoking pot before the age of 18 is a really bad idea.


20 posted on 06/03/2011 7:00:27 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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