Posted on 04/19/2018 7:58:56 AM PDT by Mariner
(CNN)Marijuana is notorious for slowing certain cognitive functions such as learning, memory and attention span (maybe that's why they call it "dope"?). But new research in young people suggests that these cognitive effects, while significant, may not persist for very long, even among chronic users.
The meta-analysis, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, combines data from 69 previous studies that look at the effects of heavy cannabis use on cognitive functioning in adolescents and young adults. It found that those young people who identified as heavy marijuana users scored significantly lower than non-users in a variety of cognitive domains such as learning, abstraction, speed of processing, delayed memory, inhibition and attention.
"There have been a couple of meta-analyses done in adult samples, but this is the first one to be done specifically in adolescent and young adult samples," said Cobb Scott, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a lead author of the study.
"We looked at everything from learning and memory to different aspects of executive functioning such as abstraction ability," Scott said. "And we basically showed that the largest effects -- which was around a third of a standard deviation -- was in the learning of new information and some aspects of executive functioning, memory and speed of processing."
But when the researchers separated the studies based on length of abstinence from marijuana use, the difference in cognitive functioning between marijuana users and non-users was no longer apparent after 72 hours of marijuana abstinence. That could be an indication "that some of the effects found in previous studies may be due to the residual effects of cannabis or potentially from withdrawal effects in heavy cannabis users," Scott said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Not to mention that the unlearned experiences don’t just pop into their heads when the diminished ability to learn “wears off”.
But the usage is detectable for weeks, IIRC. Our new Marxist-radical governor wants to legalize pot, but I wonder...will business owners still be able to drug test and reject users? I don’t want heads working for me.
Every time I read one of these the conclusion that I reach is that most scientific research results in bullshit.
Your mileage may vary.
Wrong - the new research revisits those past studies and indicates that they drew suspect conclusions from their observations.
If it’s such a harmless vice why would you hesitate for a second to answer a question about whether or not you’d advocate for your child to use it? What other things do you do with your kids that you don’t want to tell us about?
... for any other freeper reading that that thinks it was out of line, normally I would completely agree, but this low-life scum brought my mother into this discussion in his last post. I do thank him for showing just what prolonged drug use does to one’s character.
Isn’t the word “dope” actually heroin?
One of many names for Marijuana is Dope. Also a name for Heroin. The street usage of the word comes from way back in the 20s. Heroin would be:”
Smack. Dope. Mud. Horse. Skag. Junk.Black tar. Black pearl Brown sugar. Witch hazel. Birdie powder. Dragon.
Hero. White stuff. China white. Boy.Chiva. Mexican horse.
Pluto. Skunk. Number
For a complete list of US govt names for Marijuana and all others: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hemp22b.html
It took two Constitutional amendments to make alcohol first illegal and then legal again.
Of course, that was back when the country actually cared about the Constitution.
I say decriminalize pot, tax it, and regulate the age of use just like alcohol.
Amen!
Yeah and have a chat with the cannabis kid, Corey Gardner who looks like a reject child of some Grateful Dead pelvic affiliation result. A real dumb a@@ Andy Mcarthy type of stoner, along with Boehner whose Rasta man son in law- a Jamaican posse former who married his white daughter— has turned him on to something other than being a barkeep or golf caddy drunk, and now has “stepped down” to the “Cannabis Board”. What an octomaroon brain damaged a-hole. Drunk literally— all day. Chain smoker, too. An addictive clinical diagnosis— all brain receptors.
He’s right up there with the CNN team (hates Trump natch, and rather interesting his rejection of Gingrich who was his mentor).
“will business owners still be able to drug test and reject users?”
Yes. You can reject tobacco and alcohol users too.
No bias in that assessment...
That was a joke, gramps. Buy yourself a sense of humor. And I appreciate the lowlife scum compliment. After all...
I AM a basket of deplorables :)
Enjoyed it way too much. Was using more and more, to escape life. Path to addiction, personality based. Substance didn't matter, I found out later. Alcohol took its place, and slowly almost killed me. Definitely destroyed my life.
Recovered addict and alcoholic, for many years now. Thanks to AA. I hit NA too. Now I work directly with others who are ready. And pass on the message to anyone interested. Drives me bonkers when people blame it on lack of will power or demons (double facepalm). They know absolutely nothing.
But I have nothing against most substances, including weed and alcohol. Hard to find a "social crack smoker," for instance.
Cognitive effects may not persist, but there are many other effects which do persist.
The point is not that marijuana is good for you; the point is that truth is a good in its own right, and that the more untruths youth are told about marijuana the less they'll believe truths that are negative.
Here is the problem though...
“Heavy” marijuana users are going to be smoking more than once per 3 days. This means that the effects would be continuous. If we are talking about teenagers, they will go through their formative years at a great disadvantage when they are supposed to be figuring out the world.
If you look at it like compounding interest, the affects are terrible. Sure, being at 80% or 90% for three days out of your teenage years isn’t a big deal. But being at a 20% or 10% disadvantage to your peers day after day after day throughout your teenage years will be terrible for one’s long term prospects.
Your successes today are built on top of your successes from yesterday. The new thing/idea/activity/relationship you discovered yesterday will lead to new things/ideas/activities/relationships that you will discover today or tomorrow. A prolonged, self inflicted fog over months or years during the most critical time in a person’s development toward being an adult is a terrible idea.
Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t make me an abolitionist nanny stater. It just means I think that drug use among teenagers is a really, really bad idea.
or - 3.33
1/3 of a standard deviation is but 1 IQ point as a residual effect. And that goes away after 72 hrs.
I feel like I am high right now. I can't follow what you are saying here.
I have always thought that the order of operations says it should be solved this way...
100 - 120/6
(multiplication and division first) 120 divided by 6 = 20
(addition and subtraction next) 100 minus 20 = 80
Where does 3.33 come in to play? Where does 1 IQ point come into play?
I'm sure you are right and that your goal was to explain to us dummies how standard deviation works but you lost me.
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