No, marijuana use doesn’t lower your IQ

The image of the stupid stoner was put into the minds of people by Hollywood, by Cheech and Chong (good guys but they really did a number on the public's perception of people who enjoy marijuana) (Dave's not here), and by the constant repetition of the falsehood/meme 'Stupid stoner'. Stupid people who use grass are still stupid, just with more excuses. Intelligent people who use grass (paging Carl Sagan) tend to have a great deal of respect for what occurs while "on" it. Intelligent Stone age people, smoking grass, probably came up with things like the 'wheel' and 'argriculture'. Stupid Stone age people using grass (it would grow around their encampments, and be tossed into the fires for heat) probably came up with mudpies, and then ate them.

a reply to: liteonit6969

Interesting point, because on the other hand I am sure marijuana also has the capacity to give people the ability to see things in a light that one might not get if constantly living in a 'sober' state.

From my own legal experiences and analysis of others, I have concluded that the initial effect marijuana has on practically everyone is the devolution of the ego. This is where EVERYTHING stems from regarding marijuana.

For however many 'x' amount of years you are operating under your sober mind, a state of being designed strictly for survival and which is also heavily influenced by conditioning, instincts and for a lack of a better word - psychology.

Although many would argue that this is how it's 'meant' to always be, the reality actually seems to suggest that this would constitute a very narrow minded and almost autonomous life. When you first start getting 'high', it is almost akin to wiping the slate clean.

You become aware of your own consciousness and hence your thoughts and your actions to an extremely amplified state, because you are not viewing them through the same restricted goggles you have been doing so for however many years.

This is where the paranoia arises, where the schizophrenia arises and where the other mental issues that have been documentated arise from.

If one is not aware that marijuana will cause the dissolution of the ego, and doesn't become aware during the process either, he will become prone to misunderstanding the different states and therefore allowing dangerous imbalances to occur.

Regardless, this effect, by all means, is essentially a miracle, because a naturally occurring plant should NOT by chance cause such a PROFOUND effect in us. It seems to disconnect what we can deem consciousness (or the 'soul') from the ego-based brain programming that it has been a slave to since it's birth.

It's almost as if humans were 'meant' to actually use these plants past a certain point in our initial struggle to establishment comfortable living.

But of course, the effect can work in reverse. You can have consciousness that wants to do bad things, but it's logical brain coding of 'you'll go to prison' is strong enough to help them suppress their desires.

When marijuana begins to remove their moral conditioning via 'law', they will eventually act out their bad desires.

But they are exercising their free-will none the less. And these are exceptional cases of humans. They lack what we have - empathy. It's not their fault, but we must suppress them none the less unfortunately. Interestingly though, the marijuana effect may cause one who lacked empathy before to gain a sense of empathy after.

And back to my original point - it has the ability to make you see things in a new light, top to bottom. Especially regarding the world and the universe. It is very easy to tunnel vision yourself with the sober mind on an everyday basis. This might benefit you but it does not benefit our Earth or our collective race.

Marijuana has the ability to temporarily, and ultimately permanently, un-do decades worth of indoctrination people have had into certain ways of thinking about this reality and essentially 'wake' people back up to the control of their own thoughts.

The less control a person has over their thoughts (can't sleep at night because you 'can't stop thinking') the more ego-driven and hence code driven they are than free. There is a very simple enlightenment that can be achieved from realising you are the master of your body as an external independent entity.

This removes a very large percentage of power your 'thoughts' can have on you, because you become your thoughts.

This is the effect I believe marijuana has on people, and in that sense it can be very liberating. And sometimes that's exactly what people need to turn around and say hold up, we are getting absolutely shafted with this reality - why is it like this?

What's the compromise? I agree that marijuana use should be temporary, for it can easily cause one to wish to replace their sober ego-based form with their free high-based form and this causes you to dysfunction in MODERN society.

In modern society it should be used to cause the initial 're-birth' effect and the resultant soul-searching, and then that person should aim to integrate what they've learnt into their wakeful 'sober' state.

Realistically, if we lived how we were 'meant' to live, smoking weed everyday shouldn't matter because ultimately you would have the ability and capability to sustain yourself. In modern society, we don't have that capability because we are effectively forced to sustain ourselves through a credit based work system (since land has been monopolised).

Therefore you must adhere to others standards even when it comes to earning your survival legitimately.

I've also come to realise that alcohol has the completely opposite effect. It shuts off your consciousness from your body and hence you become almost completely (if not completely) a slave to the 'ego'. Yet, many people today will still promote alcohol but show absolute disgust at marijuana users.

This reality won't cease to amaze me lol.

Sorry for the essay by the way, I tend to splash a lot of my thoughts regarding a topic into just one post. Not specifically trying to start a debate or anything.

Peace

"no its becky."

a reply to: DazDaKing

S&F

Great post. Enjoyed your deep insight into what is a complicated subject. Well structured and agree with a lot of what you have said. Also I despise alcohol. After drinking for many years and then stopping I can see with a clear mind the damage it does to people and its happening all around me. Its almost people want to suspend their reality for a while, which to me shows how horrible this world has become if so many people want to escape on a daily basis.

We now know cannabis does not lower the IQ, it does have medicinal qualities and it has industrial uses:



source

a reply to: AlaskanDad

thats why its illegal. hemp would ruin dozens of major corporations by rendering them obsolete. thats half our economy dumped into one basket, at the loss of a dozen others. baskets that support the livelihood of a significant percentage of our population. hundreds of thousands out of a job unless they decide to start working in the hemp industry. thats one perspective at work here.

It doesn't lower your IQ but it does make you complacent. That means you don't want to do #. I already have too many distractions in this life. You can smoke to your heart's content, I'll stay sharp.

PS: Yes, I've smoked it before.

most of the clasic stoner effects are the persion i myself havent smoked in over 10 years

but for example i have 2 frinds

1 works with me in the kitchen and is right from half baked

2 has a degree in bioligy grows his own and his own food owns his own land dosent even work in the feild of his degree he just wanted to get one most motivated skilled persion i have ever known in my life and smoked since the day he was 14

i was mutch like frind 2 when i smoked verry productive im infact less productive now that i only drink

its the persion 100%

originally posted by: thesaneone

originally posted by: liteonit6969
a reply to: jhn7537

what do you mean you cant get addicted physically? for me addiction is 99% mental. I don't know what the other 1% is :p.

Have you ever been on pain pills for a long time and stopped cold turkey?
If yes then you would know the difference.

Oh, yes, I'm very familiar with this and recently... When I had a Crohn's flare up last April I was prescribed 40 MG of Prednisone and took that dosage for 1 month. What my doctor failed to tell me is that I would need to be weaned off this drug and I stopped cold turkey. Within 2 days my body was in adrenal shock and I felt like I was dope sick. Was a horrible horrible feeling.. Still to this day I'm trying to wean off this drug. Every time I've tried to go under 5 MG my body would go into a flare up.. This is why I hate pills. Yes it quickly solved/masked my problem, but now it created a new one....sigh

It probably doesn't lower your IQ, but it will make you forget what you were doing.. uhhhh what was I doing? u huh huh huh huh uhhhhh u huh huh huh huh now what was I doing again? uhhhhh u huh huh huh, etc.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

That must've been the car in Cheech & Chong.

originally posted by: LOSTinAMERICA
It doesn't lower your IQ but it does make you complacent. That means you don't want to do #. I already have too many distractions in this life. You can smoke to your heart's content, I'll stay sharp.

PS: Yes, I've smoked it before.

I'm pretty sure it all comes down to you. If a person is generally motivated, than that person continues to be motivated with a heightened sense of critical thinking. If a person lacks motivation, than that person continues to be unmotivated with a heightened sense of complacency.

As far as I can tell it enhances the core you. If you are lazy, it makes you more lazy. If you are paranoid, it makes you more paranoid. If you are funny, it makes you hysterical. If you are a dick, it makes you a huge dick. If you are smart, it heightens critical thought. Just my opinion.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

As you have said it does ultimately come down to the persons character and how they react to the substance. However I feel that in todays society too many people are not in the right frame of mind. As set out in my other posts I don't think that marijuana should be legalised now, but im not saying it should never be. Im saying this as I don't have a problem with the substance or the effects it has, it is the conditioning of todays society that I feel is not a good mix. Too many people are dependent on drugs, alcohol and other things, so along with this it will be a cocktail where some peoples minds will never be at a balance level.
I agree totally with all of the positive effects it has on people and in a perfect world devoid of the corruption and manipulation of our minds it would have in my opinion world changing potential. The calm induced by it could potentially allow our minds to expand and view life in a new way developing the more subtle relationships with everyone and everything.
The problem is it is not the way society is at the minute and I truly feel there is a war on for our minds through the media, the use of education and social institutions to remove the family structure from home. This breakdown of the family model will remove those feelings of family loyality and belonging where you will become just another number. Ultimately what im saying is we must awaken our minds to what is happening on a global scale and take away the blinkers we have used in order to protect our conscience from the global poverty, abuse and violence. Only then when we open our eyes and stop these inhuman behaviours can we begin to legalise a substance that may take humanity to a new level...we we must all do on a global scale with no one left behind.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

O.k.....

Ask a non stoned person to remember 10 things....

Now go and ask a stoned person to remember those same ten things....

Who will get the greatest number right?

Case Closed.

Korg.

Pro-marijuana people and users crack me up. Of course using it dulls your mind and effects your critical thinking, if only temporarily. But it can also have positive effects too...relaxing, feeling silly or even creativity (all also temporary).

Just like anything, too much/too often could have negative effects permanently.

Personally I don't partake in weed, but most of my family does. Curious that I'm the most successful (financially, relationship & mentally) member of my family. Just a coincidence.

a reply to: Korg Trinity

Memory and IQ aren't the same thing... Are you sure YOU aren't stoned?

originally posted by: RedParrotHead
Pro-marijuana people and users crack me up. Of course using it dulls your mind and effects your critical thinking, if only temporarily. But it can also have positive effects too...relaxing, feeling silly or even creativity (all also temporary).

Just like anything, too much/too often could have negative effects permanently.

Personally I don't partake in weed, but most of my family does. Curious that I'm the most successful (financially, relationship & mentally) member of my family. Just a coincidence.

That's what people in the science world call an anecdote and standing alone, YES it is a coincidence. It certainly doesn't trump the study in the OP as far as evidence goes.

For most people, consuming cannabis just reduces stress and that's about it. Just like alcohol.

Unfortunately, there is a small percentage of weed consumers who become rabid and annoying zealots trying to convince the rest of the world that hemp/cannabis is God's gift to mankind and the solution to all of its problems, from curing all cancers and mental health problems to powering cities and feeding all the hungry. And they can't see that this has happened to them. To them, I'm the one with the problem.

It's this strong brainwashing effect that's the most troubling to me. It doesn't happen with everybody. But those it hits hard really turn into pod people, and they don't even know it.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Agreed. It was meant as anecdotal...the members of my family that smoke marijuana also do many things that I consider counter productive to success and happiness. Terrible diets, heavy tobacco smokers, lots of alcohol, zero exercise, unbalanced sleep schedules, overweight, watch extensive reality TV, partake in other "drugs" etc etc...

I guess the reason I associate MJ with their poor lifestyles because quite a few people I know & love (who had great potential...looks, grades, smarts, personalities) just started using it when their lives started going downhill (in my opinion) ... basically cigarettes first, then weed & alcohol followed by them slowly becoming people I no longer recognized as the people I grew up knowing.

I realize this is my personal hangup, but that's where I'm coming from.

a reply to: liteonit6969

Ok, I will be honest and tell you that I smoke pretty much on a daily basis. I also have a full time job and I pay bills. I guess the main reason I smoke it is because I just like the way it makes me feel and think. It's an escape from this reailty. I can sit back and enjoy an open minded intelligent conversation with someone else who smokes it or have a debate on subjects I wouldn't normally talk about. It gives me a confidence I don't normally have. I've also been able to quit it for long periods of time. I first smoked at the age of 13 up until I was 17 started back up at 19 and been off and on since, I'm now 21. It all just depends on the persons particular reaction to it. My sister, for instance, smoked it one time, didn't like the effect it had on her and hasn't smoked since. I've known plenty of people who have tried it multiple times and can easily stop. Don't say my opinion is ridiculous when I can garantee you there are more people out there who can smoke weed and be perfectly fine than there is those that have bad reactions to it. You, sir, are just too close minded to actually enjoy the effects of marijuana.