Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Zach Hooper on August 14, 2011 at 3:32am

No I realize the effects of marijuana and I like them. It's fun, hence why I do it. Yeah, it can cause depersonalization, but I call that being stoned. I used to smoke daily, for a few years, I cut down but not tremendously. This semester is going to cut it even more. Anyways, yeah pot this pot that but the feelings that come from it only mean good 

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 5:39am

Zach, I used to say the same things as you my friend. I hope that you realize that you cannot smoke like you do for the rest of your life and seek ways to end this addiction. I am not a preacher - but I say it because I care about people and because I suffered a similar period of my life where I wasted a couple of years.

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Permalink Reply by Zach Hooper on August 14, 2011 at 11:31am

I appreciate your respect but I'm not wasting time. I've learned more in the past few years and I've been stoned. I never used to read, now I read daily. I used to bs school and now I'm motivated to graduate from this university and to become someone. And I will, and I will give kudos to weed. Toll on my wallet but definitely not wasting my time.

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 2:15pm

Maybe you have ADHD if you couldn't focus. Often times people with ADHD try to self-medicate themselves with THC when medication like Adderall/Ritalin provide much more benefits with less side effects. I would go see a psychiatrist and have him see if there might be a case of ADHD. or ADD.

Permalink Reply by mwifjsyi on June 3, 2012 at 5:21pm

Just don't fail a drug test when you are out looking for a job.

Permalink Reply by Kelin420 on August 14, 2011 at 7:22am

That's an educated, reading, voting, on time, excell in most every job ever done, creative, musical, artistic, daily Cannabis User to you.

You use "pot head" as a bad term like some people use atheist

I'm really tired of your "drug" bashing, particularly cannabis/hemp.  

I will have to fully respond hopefully tomorrow - No time now as just finished a DJ job and it's after 4AM and heading to Portland in a few hours.

Please check your cannabis facts---- and don't lump all "illegal" drugs together. Cannabis is NOT meth, coke, heroin, alcohol or tobacco, nor is it a "gateway" to other drugs. 

Hemp (same plant grown differently) has been used for clothing, paper, food, fuel and thousands of other things untill it was made illegal.

NORML and Drug Sense are two excellent sites.

Thanx for now- back soon

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 7:27am

Just to note: it doesn't add to your reputation by having "420" in your name. Marijuana can be used for medicinal purposely and for legitimate reasons and that's all good. Marijuana can even be used once in a blue moon for recreation. That's all good still. But for someone to need to smoke habitually on a regular basis, then they have what is called an addiction.

Cannabis is NOT meth, coke, heroin, alcohol or tobacco, nor is it a "gateway" to other drugs.

I agree marijuana should not be illegal - or at the last should be decriminalized in ways to a minimum that it has pretty much been in California. And I never said marijuana was similar to other drugs (every drug is different) but it has been demonstrated THC does kill brain cells. And chronic Marijuana use does lead to other drugs at a higher rate than controlled groups.

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Permalink Reply by Rocky john on August 14, 2011 at 12:04pm

"but it has been demonstrated THC does kill brain cells."

really?

 

"Research has also shown that past claims of brain damage from cannabis use fail to hold up to the scientific method. Instead, recent studies with synthetic cannabinoids show that activation  of CB1 receptors can facilitate neurogenisis,  as well as neuroprotection,  and can even help prevent natural neural degradation from neurodegenerative diseases such as MS, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. This, along with research into the CB2 receptor (throughout the immune system), has given the case for medical marijuana more support.THC is both a CB1 and CB2 agonist.^"

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509

 

 

"Research in rats indicates that THC prevents hydroperoxide induced oxidative damage  as well as or better than other antioxidants in a chemical (fenton reaction) system and neuronal cultures.   In mice  low doses of Δ⁹-THC reduces the progression of atherosclerosis"

 

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998PNAS...95.8268H

 

"And chronic Marijuana use does lead to other drugs at a higher rate than controlled groups."

yes it does but only because of one reason, and that is because it is illegal, to get it you have to deal with drug dealers who often sell other drugs

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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 1:56pm

Data Show Anatomical Brain Abnormalities from Marijuana Use.

In the human brain, the hippocampus is associated with the regulation of emotion and memory, while the amygdala controls fear and aggression. Recently a study was conducted by Dr. Murat Yücel and associates from the ORYGEN Research Centre and the Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne in order to determine whether long-term heavy cannabis use is associated with gross anatomical abnormalities in two cannabinoid receptor–rich regions of the brain, the hippocampus and the amygdala.

In the study, Yucel’s team did high-resolution MRIs on 15 men who smoked more than five joints a day for more than 10 years with no history of poly-drug abuse. They compared those with scans of 16 men who did not use marijuana. In addition, all the men took verbal memory tests and were examined for symptoms of psychiatric disorders.

Results indicated that the hippocampus of marijuana users was 12 percent smaller, and that the amygdala of marijuana users was 7.1 percent smaller than among nonusers. Cannabis use also was associated with sub-threshold symptoms of psychotic disorders. Lead researcher Murat Yücel said, “This study shows long-term, heavy cannabis use causes significant brain injury, memory loss, difficulties learning new information, and psychotic symptoms, such as delusions of persecution, paranoia, delusions of mind-reading, and bizarre social behaviors in even non-vulnerable users.”

 

“The more marijuana was used, the more these individuals were likely to show reduced brain volumes in the hippocampus and amygdala, as well as being more likely to develop symptoms of psychotic disorders and to have significant memory impairment.” “There is ongoing controversy concerning the long-term effects of cannabis on the brain,” the authors write. “These findings challenge the widespread perception of cannabis as having limited or no neuroanatomical sequelae. Although modest use may not lead to significant neurotoxic effects, these results suggest that heavy daily use might indeed be toxic to human brain tissue.

Further prospective, longitudinal research is required to determine the degree and mechanisms of long-term cannabis-related harm and the time course of neuronal recovery after abstinence.” Author Affiliations: ORYGEN Research Centre (Drs Yücel, Whittle, and Lubman) and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health (Drs Yücel, Whittle, Fornito, and Pantelis), Melbourne, Australia; School of Psychology and Illawarra Institute for Mental Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia (Dr Solowij and Ms Respondek); and Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia (Dr Solowij). All text and images from Fair Use.

Regional Brain Abnormalities Associated With Long-term Heavy Cannabis Use. Murat Yücel, PhD, MAPS; Nadia Solowij, PhD; Colleen Respondek, BSc; Sarah Whittle, PhD; Alex Fornito, PhD; Christos Pantelis, MD, MRCPsych, FRANZCP; Dan I. Lubman, MB ChB, PhD, FRANZCP; General Psychiatry. 2008;65(6):694-701.

Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 2:29pm

More research:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21820648

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9651215

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21489346

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16237478

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6098513

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8289912

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12735479

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15363608

Permalink Reply by Rocky john on August 14, 2011 at 2:39pm

sassan. k.

 

you forgot to include one crucial  part of that article and that is that the researchers acknowledged that the study did not prove it was the marijuana and not some other factor that triggered these brain differences.

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/314/2/780.abstract?maxtoshow=...

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1253627/

 

both suggests that cannibinoids actually promote neurogenisis in the hyppocampus or help protect it atleast.it isnt entirely impossible that people with a problem with /defective hyppocampus are more likely to be chronic pot smokers due to its benefial effects. especialy since chronic pot smokers who smoke it as much and for aslong as those test subjects are not the norm at all amongs users

 

as for the rest..  Five joints a day?  Let’s do the math – a joint (by US goverment standerds ) is ¾ gram, so that’s a little less than four ounces a month.

 

and what exactly does it mean to show signs of a disorder, but not enough to actually be diagnosed with it?  According to the study, they “assessed for subthreshold psychotic symptoms and verbal learning ability in this otherwise psychologically healthy sample.”  So, these guys smoked a quarter-pound a month for 20 years and you can’t find anything psychologically wrong with them?

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on August 14, 2011 at 3:13pm

Rocky, the vast majority of studies leave that open since there haven't been enough longitudinal studies and the ethical boards make doing such studies very difficult. But there is no doubt that there are changes in neural functioning and the rewiring of neural pathways and the alterations of synapses. Live in your fantasy world all you want - it is fine to be for the legalization of Marijuana and other drugs (I am) but it is not fine to encourage drug use by susceptible teenagers who will believe everything they read by such advocates as yourself who claim "marijuana is healthy for you" type of mentalities.

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