It's Confirmed! "Pot Heads" Are Forever Damaged Goods Even With Recreational Use!

Discussion in 'Drugs, Alcohol & Tobacco' started by Navy Corpsman, Apr 16, 2014.

  1. Navy Corpsman

    Navy Corpsman Well-Known Member

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    Recreational Marijuana Use Is Now Linked To Permanent Brain Damage

    Adding to earlier evidence that marijuana may be linked to lasting neurological changes, a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience today finds that even casual pot smoking may have an effect on the size and structure of certain brain regions. The new research reports that for each additional joint a person smokes per week, the greater the odds of structural changes to areas involved in motivation, reward, and emotion. Though it seems like the country has embraced pot as a relatively harmless option in recent years, the authors of the study say that their findings suggest otherwise, especially for young people whose brains are still developing.

    “This study raises a strong challenge to the idea that casual marijuana use isn’t associated with bad consequences,” said study author Hans Breiter, psychiatry and behavioral sciences professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and psychiatrist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Some of these people only used marijuana to get high once or twice a week. People think a little recreational use shouldn’t cause a problem, if someone is doing OK with work or school. Our data directly says this is not the case.”

    In the new study, the team looked at the brains of people 18-25 years old, some of whom smoked pot recreationally and some who did not. None of the participants showed any signs of being addicted to the drug.

    Using different brain imaging techniques, the researchers were able to measure the volume, shape, and grey matter density of two key structures: the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala. The nucleus accumbens is involved in the reward circuit, including pleasure-seeking and motivation, and it’s strongly linked to addiction. The amygdala is involved in emotion, particularly in fear, anxiety, and the stress response, and in drug craving.

    The team found that both brain structures varied in multiple ways, according to the number of joints per week the participants smoked – in other words, the more joints smoked, the more brain changes were evident. The nucleus accumbens was especially likely to show alterations in shape and density, and to be larger, as a function of joints per week.

    “These are core, fundamental structures of the brain,” said study author Anne Blood, director of the Mood and Motor Control Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School. “They form the basis for how you assess positive and negative features about things in the environment and make decisions about them.”

    What’s interesting about the study is that it suggests that even sometimes-smokers show changes in the brain. What’s not clear is whether there were differences in the pot smokers’ behavior or cognitive function. But the authors suggest that the brain changes seen here may be a sort of precursor to addiction: Earlier studies in animals have shown that the active ingredient in pot, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may affect neural connectivity, which could be an early sign of a bourgeoning addiction.

    “It may be that we’re seeing a type of drug learning in the brain,” said author Jodi Gilman, at Massachusetts General Center for Addiction Medicine. “We think when people are in the process of becoming addicted, their brains form these new connections.”

    Although a majority of people in the country support legalization of marijuana, not everyone is so convinced. Last year, Breiter’s team showed that everyday pot smoking in teenagers was, even two years after stopping, linked to brain abnormalities and to poorer working memory. “With the findings of these two papers,” Breiter said, “I’ve developed a severe worry about whether we should be allowing anybody under age 30 to use pot unless they have a terminal illness and need it for pain.”

    The study will no doubt attract a lot of debate, as it raises as many questions as it answers. More research is clearly needed to know just how pot affects the brain and behavior over the long term. In the meantime, you may just want to pass on the pot – or at least wait till you’re 30 and your brain is done developing before you use it as a test subject in your own experiment.
     
  2. fifthofnovember

    fifthofnovember Well-Known Member

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    OK, first of all, the title of your cited article is "Even Recreational Marijuana May Be Linked To Brain Changes", but you chose to misrepresent the title as "Recreational Marijuana Use Is Now Linked To Permanent Brain Damage". So right there, your personal credibility on the issue is shot. They say "What’s not clear is whether there were differences in the pot smokers’ behavior or cognitive function". Well, if those things aren't clear, then your thread title claiming "It's confirmed" is likewise B.S. What they DID say was that it was a form of "drug learning" where the brain "formed new connections". In case you don't know how the brain works, when it learns anything, new connections are formed, and consequently, the brain changes (notice how that's not the same thing as "damage"). In fact, if one's brain didn't change, that would be evidence of serious damage, because the brain is supposed to change structure and form new connections. Thread rating: fail.
     
  3. letshavelunch

    letshavelunch Banned

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    Oh c'mon. It's what keeps the US navy afloat. Or submerged or whatever
     
  4. Steady Pie

    Steady Pie Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Cannabis can be harmful. It's mildly addictive, if smoked the burnt plant matter will fill your lungs with tar. It's an intoxicant. It can reduce motivation and induce overeating.

    However, whether these side effects are worth the pleasure provided is a question for the individual and nobody else. My health is my own. The state has no interest interfering. Get out of my life.

    The same is true for alcohol, heroin, krokodil, raw milk, whatever.
     
  5. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Granny says, "Dat's right, it'll make ya goofy - like Uncle Ferd...
    :grandma:
    Study finds signs of brain changes in pot smokers
    April 15, 2014 — A small study of casual marijuana smokers has turned up evidence of changes in the brain, a possible sign of trouble ahead, researchers say.
     
  6. RPA1

    RPA1 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    This reminds me of the Global Warming crowd that would bring down draconian environmental regulations based on studies that 'may' indicate human caused climate change.
     
  7. The Amazing Sam's Ego

    The Amazing Sam's Ego Banned at Members Request

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  8. eeeseee

    eeeseee New Member

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    You can overdose on anything. Even water, and oxygen.

    Also, i'm going to remain skeptic, as this website does not present the data they claim exists. Not only that, how was the test performed? Was it a double blind test? Did any of the clients have a history of schizophrenia before the test? Did the clients have bipolar disease before the test? As marijuana acts as a anti-depressant and can cause manic episodes within those affected by bipolar. There are millions of variables that can be used to question the research without access to the data.

    Research without presented data is nothing but short of a lie.

    I honestly do not smoke marijuana, and I don't support anybody putting anything in their brain but good 'ol gluten, dopamine, serotonin, etc, but I do support one's right to consume what they want. As it is their right to choose what goes into their body.
     
  9. hudson1955

    hudson1955 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Not sure who "confirmed" this but they are very wrong. Marijuana is being used daily by lawyers, doctors, accountants, judges and so on and they are successful in their professions. I would suggest heavy alcohol users are more problematic. Too bad the government continues to legalize a drug, tobacco which causes deadly health issues when used over time and alcohol which causes accidents, abusive behavior, and also life threatening health issues.

    To single out marijuana is simply wrong. Especially when in my opinion it is the least of these evils.
     
  10. hudson1955

    hudson1955 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Alcohol is definitely proven to lead to "brain changes" and so are many prescription drugs. So what is your point?
     
  11. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    there was just a story about how the internet changes your brain... quick ban it

    .
     
  12. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    fact is, playing a musical interment will change your brain, our brains are plastic, they change based on our life experiences.


    .
     
  13. fifthofnovember

    fifthofnovember Well-Known Member

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    Although I thought my point was pretty clear already, Fresh Air I think summed it up pretty well.


    If something doesn't change your brain at least a little bit, it may as well have not happened. Our brains changing is how our lives are lived.
     

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