The brains of marijuana users are different, especially if they start young

a reply to: TiedDestructor

I think my brain on drugs would look more like sizzling bacon!

a reply to: Calalini

That's not true. If a study with a pro-weed finding came out you can be sure the anti-weed crowd would be pointing out any sources of funding if they were associated with pro-weed causes. There are organizations that have an economic interest in which way the debate turns --- on both sides. And that clouds the truth behind the issue. In this case, they are actively looking for some negative aspect of weed that can be trotted-out to counter the current trend away from prohibition. The argument that weed should remain illegal cause people who use it 3 times a day for ten years MAY have some changes in brain structure that may or may not relate to changes in brain function is specious to say the least. What kind of brain changes do you think you'd find in someone who drank 3 times a day for ten years? But I don't see anyone attempting to criminalize alcohol.

Over the last 40 years, I've known many a marijuana user. My personal observations indicate that there are highly intelligent people who use it frequently, and seem to suffer little if any ill effects. I've also noticed these are the people who don't go around talking about it all the time. They have simply incorporated it into their lives.

The ones who seem to suffer the brain damage are the idiots who comprise the stoner culture. The "let's get high, man"
types. The ones who go out of their way to let everybody know they use it.

Just an observation.

I smoked it for ten years (probably more) and the only thing I know for sure is that it makes you complacent. I don't feel any smarter because I never struggled in high school but I do now. I don't think the study is correct.

Let me get this straight. Smoke it and you'll become more intelligent at the loss of using said intelligence. That about sum it up? When I quit smoking it, it didn't revert back fast. After a couple years of not smoking my drive is back. Take it for what it's worth. Everyone has a different chemistry and probably affects different people differently. I'll still do without the chemistry altering bull# regardless of everyone's opinion.

Don't take it as an attack poster. Look real hard for the truth within yourself. Not everyone can drink alcohol either.

After fifty years of near constant use, I must say the propaganda lies........simple as that....
The bull# runs deep on this issues because it is a deprogramming drug.......
The PTB don't want you to see through their corrupt and lying ways......

a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

Fine with me. That's a much more respectable rebuttal to this issue than the last time we debated marijuana.

Yeah, Chocolate alters the reward center of the brain also.
I'll just sit back and wait for the media to start blasting chocolate as a dangerous narcotic.

Well, if the results on 'different wiring' of the brain are true, doesn't this just prove that it changes your thought patterns as well. Why did they say back in the day 'tune in and drop out'? I have noticed that smokers do in fact relate to many things in life in a different fashion than non-smokers. Smokers tend to be more sensitive and are more capable of empathy than non-smokers on the average. Of course, you could also argue that these people become smokers more readily.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Anyone done any recent studies on the effects of alcohol and the brain?

Surely these studies are popping up because one by one US states are decriminalizing or legalizing the pot. They gotta keep that fear train running!

Choo choo!

originally posted by: Krazysh0t " The brains of marijuana users were different than those of non-marijuana users."

100% agree. smokers are much, much cooler people. their minds are open.

a reply to: Swills

Seriously, the hypocrisy surrounding the research for this plant is outstanding. Then the feds have the audacity to turn around and say that there isn't enough research conducted on the plant to drop below Schedule 1 status.

Tell you what. Find me a study showing the positive effects of smoking three packs of cigarettes or drinking a 40 oz of Jack Daniel's a day. I'll find you ten studies proving the effectiveness of THC or CBDs in treating common ailments.

Marijuana is not harmless and I've never seen anyone legitimately claim that. It does have negative effects on long term users such as increased risk of lung cancer or neurological disabilities. This is the same with anything though. Too much oxygen, your brain won't function. Too much water and you can drown. Too much of anything will lead to bad side effects.
But there isn't one single study out there to prove that it was solely marijuana that caused brain problems or lung problems. There isn't any concrete proof to show that it's bad and every study out there to show that it helps battle cancer, relieves arthritis, and improves the quality of life for people with terminal diseases. Who are YOU to decide how to improve the quality of life for someone that suffers from agonizing pain from MS or cerebral palsy?

Every time I hear someone open their mouth about how bad marijuana is, I'm reminded of the people who said that smoking is good for your health and drinking alcohol is totally fine because it's a social thing. I went to a rich person's party once because my dad was invited by a customer of his to a wine tasting jubilee or something like that. I'd say 3 out of 5 people drank enough to become visibly intoxicated and still proceeded to drive home. And they all made upwards of 500k a year. Do you think the person that they might have killed while driving intoxicated would care about how much power and prestige they had? Shame on you if you think alcohol or tobacco use is any better than the occasional joint or bong rip.

You friggin anti potheads need to smarten up and research the real reason why marijuana is still illegal on a federal level. Go look up someone called William Randolph Hearst. And then come back and tell me why you think it actually isn't a conspiracy. One that has mountains of evidence to support the conspiracy.

originally posted by: Calalini
a reply to: Krazysh0t

I think alcohol and tobacco can be bad, if not worse in many cases. I'm glad you are critical. People should be very skeptical of the old "Marijuana is completely harmless" rhetoric that is making the rounds these days.

Can I ask you first, have you ever used marijuana, are you speaking from experience? I'm a user, I suffer from Crohn's disease and marijuana does wonders for my condition. Marijuana has anti-inflammatory properties and it also helps with putting down food. A lot of the time, due to my severe crohn's, I'm never hungry with these pains I have, which leads to tremendous weight loss. When I smoke, the pains begin to dissipate and hunger comes on where I can put down food to get my weight up... But you're right, we should be critical of this plant. Lets just pump my body with Rx prescriptions instead... That's the answer!

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
about three times a day -- very heavy use

Clearly, these folks have never been to California... I have a friend who has a friend that knows somebody that has already smoked twice today >_>

*ahem*

Back on topic though - I take away a positive note here; in that 'users' are able to develop more complex, robust networks through their brains. To me this is nothing but a benefit.

Per the manipulation of the 'reward center' of our brains; I might even have to agree first hand now thinking about it, but in some respects that can serve as a benefit. Perhaps in the instance of a high stakes scenario, you may be less likely to place such stakes - which could prove to your benefit.

Cool research. S&F for the post.

Somethin' to think about for the rest of my day



( There should be a 'water pipe' emoticon... There's a beer mug!!! )

a reply to: ColeYounger
It's the same with drinkers really. There are some people that come home after a long day at work and crack open a few cold ones. Then there are the idiots you see in full budweiser attire, getting sloshed out of their mind and getting into fights and being drunk douches at the bar

a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

Sorry but saying your drive only came back after a few years of quitting is complete nonsense. It only stays in your system a few months in extreme cases. It can not effect you for years. If you had no drive it's because you're lazy, don't blame the pot you smoked a year or two ago, ridiculous

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Maybe this explains why marijuana users report increased love of the arts and are able to solve problems differently than non-users. Food for thought there. Of course the article didn't mention that or explore that possibility.

But, if true (and it makes sense), that would explain a whole lot about how some people perceive life and the world around them.

originally posted by: LOSTinAMERICA
I smoked it for ten years (probably more) and the only thing I know for sure is that it makes you complacent.

No, YOU became complacent. As you said, everyone has a different chemistry and will not experience the same thing. For those who become complacent, paranoid, or have some other negative response, don't smoke it. I don't drink, but I'm not trying to keep others from drinking and I would never support legislation to prevent others from drinking.

My point is that you cannot accurately say that it makes people complacent.

a reply to: Calalini

I'd much rather my children indulged heavily in marijuana than alcohol (if I had to choose) - that's for sure.

The reason I compare it to alcohol is that this is something we actually tend to openly PROMOTE to our children, and has become a huge (and accepted) part of 'youth culture', which now revolves directly around buying bottles of straight 40% spirits and poisoning yourself silly in parks until old enough to enter pubs/bars/clubs.

With a son it's not so bad, but if I have a daughter, alcohol will instantly become my biggest fear. The female alcohol culture in England is absolutely horrendous at the moment. There's times I've had to literally lift semi-passed out half-naked girls off the street and ring police to take them home because they could've easily been raped.

At least marijuana (for most people) not only keeps your consciousness intact but actually expands upon it. This is much more beneficial on a personal level. The only benefit of alcohol is the fact it's the accepted 'social drug', despite it directly causing people to do the most horrible things imaginable on a daily basis.

The most normal of men can become demons with alcohol. It doesn't have to be an underlying trait of psychosis/schizophrenia that is triggered, but simply just the naturally occurring psyches of men growing up in the concrete jungle. That's what makes it bewildering to consider the fact that the same system has alcohol legal yet marijuana illegal.

I think it could be beneficial to most people to simply get 'high' just a few times and see how it changes your perception of things temporarily. A new viewpoint cannot be a bad thing, unless you assume all influence is bad in which case you may as well lock your kids (and yourself) in a cage lol.

If the legality of it is such an issue, go to the Netherlands where it's sensibly legal and you don't have even 1/3 of the street crime that we have here in parts of England - thanks to the marijuana black market.

Just throwing out my opinion. This actually seems to be a heated topic on ATS as of late.

Of course, ideally, my children will be clever enough (thanks to me hopefully lol) to not heavily indulge in either substance.

originally posted by: Calalini
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Again, if it's so wonderful, give it to your children.

Well now that you mention it:

Gedde found three to four milligrams of oil per pound of the girl's body weight stopped the seizures.
Today, Charlotte, 6, is thriving. Her seizures only happen two to three times per month, almost solely in her sleep. Not only is she walking, she can ride her bicycle. She feeds herself and is talking more and more each day.

"I literally see Charlotte's brain making connections that haven't been made in years," Matt said. "My thought now is, why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure? How come a doctor didn't know about this? How come they didn't make me aware of this?"

The marijuana strain Charlotte and now 41 other patients use to ease painful symptoms of diseases such as epilepsy and cancer has been named after the little girl who is getting her life back one day at a time.

CNN.com

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will study the genes of those with a kind of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome who have been treated with a strain of medical marijuana known as Charlotte’s Web. The study will attempt to determine if specific genetic components can explain why some epilepsy patients see positive results from ingesting Charlotte’s Web, while others do not.

The plant, grown by five brothers in Colorado through a non-profit organization called Realm of Caring, is low in THC, the compound that produces marijuana’s psychoactive effects, and high in CBD, a compound believed to reduce seizures in those suffering from certain forms of epilepsy. It is administered to epilepsy patients, including many children, in the form of an oil. The plant is named after Charlotte Figi, a young girl who was the first epilepsy patient successfully treated with the strain.

Time.com

Lauren Scott has been fighting undifferentiated soft tissue sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, for more than 3 years. After a brief period of remission, Lauren’s cancer, in recent months, spread to her lungs, where a large and inoperable tumor makes daily activity, and sometimes breathing, difficult.

When morphine could not ease her pain without causing severe nausea, Lauren turned to marijuana for relief. She is 16 years old.

Her mother, Cherri Chiodo, says medical cannabis—which for Lauren comes in the form of an oil that is especially rich in cannabidiol (CBD), the chemical that contains much of marijuana's medicinal properties, and low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive chemical that makes people “high”—is “the only thing that helps.” While the drug is primarily used to manage Lauren’s pain, Chiodo noted it also helps stimulate Lauren’s appetite and reduce the “anxiety that comes from facing a terminal cancer.”

the-scientist.com

It is obvious to me that, regardless of the propaganda we have been force-fed for decades, MJ does indeed have MANY medical uses. We should not deny this any longer, to do so is nothing short of foolish.

a reply to: psyopscontrol

Telling somebody that there personal experience is nonsense.. is nonsense.