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Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities, study finds

So then you also believe alcohol should be illegal?

Tylenol slowly rots a person's liver, and it doesn't even make you feel good in the process. :dunno:

I have been a teetotaler for most of my life as I consider alcohol to be an extremely dangerous drug. Yes, there are many legal drugs that damage the body as much as illegal drugs do. I think legalising drugs condones their use, but, I also know that banning them does not work either. Neither does education; with all the drug education in schools and anti-drug ad campaigns, people are well educated and nothing stops people taking drugs.

My son-in-law believes that all drugs should be legal, however, if someone overdoses or needs medical help because they indulged, then it should be refused. You chose to take the drug, you choose to suffer the consequences of your actions because ambulances and medical personnel are needed for accidents or illnesses and should not have their time taken up treating people who chose to do drugs. I am almost starting to think his way. Social Darwinism at work...the weak who partake in recreational drugs (not drugs proscribed by a doctor for managing pain {if that drug is heroin for pain, or marijuana for pain, then that is different}, fall by the wayside and the strong who do not take recreational drugs thrive, prosper and lead society.

I have not had alcohol for about 40 years, and never was a drinker beforehand. I don't even like alcohol in cooking. I have never taken marijuana in my life or tried anything else because I have never needed to. I quite like myself and get along well with myself so I have never needed to alter myself with drugs. Yes, I take medically proscribed drugs..perhaps that puts me on the same level as those who take recreational drugs in the minds of some people.

I have never tasted coffee either....I can't stand the smell of coffee and have never been game enough to drink it.

Edited because I forgot to add the coffee comment.
 
I have been a teetotaler for most of my life as I consider alcohol to be an extremely dangerous drug. Yes, there are many legal drugs that damage the body as much as illegal drugs do. I think legalising drugs condones their use, but, I also know that banning them does not work either. Neither does education; with all the drug education in schools and anti-drug ad campaigns, people are well educated and nothing stops people taking drugs.

My son-in-law believes that all drugs should be legal, however, if someone overdoses or needs medical help because they indulged, then it should be refused. You chose to take the drug, you choose to suffer the consequences of your actions because ambulances and medical personnel are needed for accidents or illnesses and should not have their time taken up treating people who chose to do drugs. I am almost starting to think his way. Social Darwinism at work...the weak who partake in recreational drugs (not drugs proscribed by a doctor for managing pain {if that drug is heroin for pain, or marijuana for pain, then that is different}, fall by the wayside and the strong who do not take recreational drugs thrive, prosper and lead society.

I have not had alcohol for about 40 years, and never was a drinker beforehand. I don't even like alcohol in cooking. I have never taken marijuana in my life or tried anything else because I have never needed to. I quite like myself and get along well with myself so I have never needed to alter myself with drugs. Yes, I take medically proscribed drugs..perhaps that puts me on the same level as those who take recreational drugs in the minds of some people.

I have never tasted coffee either....I can't stand the smell of coffee and have never been game enough to drink it.

Edited because I forgot to add the coffee comment.

I agree, anyone who overdoses on marijuana should be left to die. :)
 
Anyone who thinks marijuana is harmless is a fool. Alcohol and marijuana are both equally dangerous drugs. The latest thing I read concerning marijuana is that it slowly breaks down the body's immune system.

Oh really? Wow what a coincidence that two completely different molecules (marijuana and alcohol) with extremely different chemical action in the human body just happen to be "equally dangerous".

You can overdose on alcohol and die, with marijuana you can't.

Heavy alcohol abuse destroys your liver and can lead to cancer. It's terrible on the stomach and brain as well. Whether or not marijuana causes significant harm to the brain has not been proven. It also has not been proven to cause lung cancer (though one would assume it could contribute minimally).

Some people under the influence of alcohol can become violent and aggressive and pose a serious risk. Nobody gets stoned and beats up their family or assaults a police officer.

Heavily intoxicated drivers are extremely dangerous behind the wheel and cause thousands of accidents. Marijuana is exponentially less detrimental to driving than alcohol (though still impaired and somewhat dangerous).

So how is it that alcohol and marijuana are equally dangerous?
 
Oh really? Wow what a coincidence that two completely different molecules (marijuana and alcohol) with extremely different chemical action in the human body just happen to be "equally dangerous".

You can overdose on alcohol and die, with marijuana you can't.

Heavy alcohol abuse destroys your liver and can lead to cancer. It's terrible on the stomach and brain as well. Whether or not marijuana causes significant harm to the brain has not been proven. It also has not been proven to cause lung cancer (though one would assume it could contribute minimally).

Some people under the influence of alcohol can become violent and aggressive and pose a serious risk. Nobody gets stoned and beats up their family or assaults a police officer.

Heavily intoxicated drivers are extremely dangerous behind the wheel and cause thousands of accidents. Marijuana is exponentially less detrimental to driving than alcohol (though still impaired and somewhat dangerous).

So how is it that alcohol and marijuana are equally dangerous?

Just because those who smoke marijuana are not violent, does not mean that the drug is not causing damage.
 
"heavy cannabis use"

So, who assumes chain smokers and alcoholics are healthy or have 'normal brains?'

If you abuse ANY substance there will likely be health consequences.
 
Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Casual marijuana use creates brain changes, new report shows - Health & wellness - The Boston Globe

Young adults who occasionally smoke marijuana show abnormalities in two key areas of their brain related to emotion, motivation, and decision making, raising concerns that they could be damaging their developing minds at a critical time, according to a new study by Boston researchers.

Other studies have revealed brain changes among heavy marijuana users, but this research is believed to be the first to demonstrate such abnormalities in young, casual smokers.

The Boston scientists also found that the degree of brain changes appeared to be directly related to the amount participants smoked per week.

Researchers did not study whether those changes were linked to corresponding declines in brain function, but lead author Jodi Gilman, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School and a brain scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said such abnormalities in young brains are reason for concern.

This must be a real downer for all the potheads out there. :lol:
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Bears repeating: What is this study supposed to prove? It is already widely held and pretty much common knowledge that brains that are not fully developed should not be exposed to marijuana, or other brain chemical altering substances.

It's sad that the people that generally **** all over marijuana are the types of people that dope their kids up on medications prescribed by doctors who typically have no idea about the long-term affects the little white pills will have on Johnny's brain, body and health when he gets older.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

show abnormalities in two key areas of their brain related to emotion, motivation,:


I was gonna reply with a rebuttal, but I don't feel like it anymore.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

So apparently smoking cigarettes causes cancer, but somehow smoking marijuana is supposed to have no ill effects?
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Congratulations on bringing up what everybody already knows: kids shouldn't be smoking weed.

Would you like to analyze the effects of alcohol on the child brain? Or is that irrelevant because it's your drug of choice?

I knew the apologists would show up.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Navy Pride posted this yesterday. However, I'll still give the same reply to this thread as I did to his:
Forty Boston-area young adults aged 18 to 25, many from Boston University, were selected for the study.
That sample size is just pathetic. I'm going to remain skeptical of the findings.
Half of the group said they used marijuana at least once a week, and the other 20 had not used the drug in the past year, and reported using it less than five times in their life.
This makes this study even worse. This study sucks.
 
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Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

I don't think it is groundbreaking news that inhaling smoke is probably not good for you.

Kids should not smoke pot or tobacco. Actually adults shouldn't smoke those items either. Adults shouldn't eat plates of food bigger than their heads.

We have been telling people that for decades. So what is new?
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Are these changed a bad thing though? They could be improving brain function for all we know.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Newsflash: Study shows that psychoactive drug use affects areas of the brain. ;)

Of course the use of marijuana, or any other recreational drug, affects the brain and in proportion to the level of its use. Next we will be treated to a study showing that swimming makes you wet or that eating activates your digestive system.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

Damn, just damn!

If I'm this smart now,just imagine what I might be had I not smoked all that dope as a teenager!
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

I knew the apologists would show up.
So when you post idiotically unscientific studies that make claims of things everyone already knows, and someone points that out, they're apologists?

Alcohol kills tens of thousands a year and cannabis kills zero. Keep sucking down your poison and ignoring your critics.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

I knew the apologists would show up.

He didn't apologize for anything - he clearly said "kids shouldn't be smoking weed." Why? Because it is bad for their brains. And he was also clearly pointing out, which I did too, that this study breaks *zero* new ground and only reaffirms what is already known.
 
Well your statement doesn't follow. Saying that marijuana is "harmless compared to alcohol" is comparing the damage done by alcohol to the damage done by weed. That statement in and of itself doesn't say that marijuana absolutely does no damage.

I know quite a few people who have and still do use pot and are PhD scientists and engineers, so I guess your little story there is, again, not an absolute.

Maybe some logic and math classes to understand how proper arguments are made?


LOL !!!

Every pot head has a pot smoking friend who's a "engineer " or has a "PHD".

Its just HIllarious !
 
I agree, anyone who overdoses on marijuana should be left to die. :)

I've OD'd on cannabis about 13 times now. One of the times was so bad the ambulance had to resuscitate me and stab a giant needle with adrenaline directly into my heart.
LOL !!!

Every pot head has a pot smoking friend who's a "engineer " or has a "PHD".

Its just HIllarious !

I'm an electrical engineer and I've smoked daily for years. So am I a liar, an anamoly or are you just completely uninformed about the effects of cannabis?

I mean hell, how do I manage to make it to work when I'm sucking dick in alleyways for my next score right?
 
Legal or not, it destroys who you are.

Most mind altering drugs do to some degree when you become addicted or relient on it.

The sample size is ridiculously small, and the findings inconclussive (in terms of permanent changes, or even if the changes are bad). That doesn't mean it should be utterly disregarded. But it also doesn't mean it should be taken as some kind of smoking gun either.

Frankly, I don't personally buy into the notion that it's completely harmless...but whether or not there's some harm to it isn't really relevant to me. The amount of harm, perhaps, plays into things. But I've still yet to see anything to lead me to believe it's harm is so significant that there's a legitimate public concern in having it banned.
 
Re: Study finds brain changes in young marijuana users

He didn't apologize for anything - he clearly said "kids shouldn't be smoking weed." Why? Because it is bad for their brains. And he was also clearly pointing out, which I did too, that this study breaks *zero* new ground and only reaffirms what is already known.

But not bad for anyone else's brain, adults are immune. Thanks.
 
LOL !!!

Every pot head has a pot smoking friend who's a "engineer " or has a "PHD".

Its just HIllarious !

It's so funny how that point is made every time. Yet nobody really knows these people. LOL

Every pot smoker I've ever known, which is several, has been riddled with all sort of personal issues and a life that is a fraction of what it could have been. They become consumed with it, and it dulls every bit of their ambition and productivity.
 
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