Marijuana...

[Bevis]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 215150.htm


I can't find this guys name anywhere. According to the story above he called 911 to report a robbery. He was held up by the guy he was selling pot. So he tried to file a report for $1,100 of stolen illegal narcotics. The cops came out with a drug hound, searched the man's home and found more drugs & paraphenalia (surprise). The arrested the dealer but the thief has not been found.

This makes me wonder if he ever tried to have his stash insured.

[eriador]

In response to the thread title:

NO s***!

[AnthonyByakko]

Actually, as far as I know, the "killing" of brain cells is a widely believed yet unsubstantiated claim. It is uneniable that any chemical substance causes correlating chemical changes in the cells of the brain, but actual cell death was never recorded in the initial tests of marijuana's effects on the brains of mice.

Short-term memory loss and irrational behavior associated with chronic abuse of marijuana is more likely linked to the blockage of certain receptors in the brain rather than the death of brain cells. The tests that originally claimed to prove cell death were dated and never replicated. As stated, there is no logical reason to deny that chronic abuse of the substance can significantly alter reaction time, short-term memory capacity and even logical reasoning skills with enough abuse, but cell death in the brain (such as occurs with high levels of alchohol) is not, as far as I know it, attributable to marijuana use.

In addition, this type of person (referenced in the post) is typically an abuser of multiple kinds of intoxicants, and has most likely (as a "dealer") spent significant portions of his life under the influence of a wide range of actual cell-destroying chemicals such as cocain, crack, heroin and so on. I would hesitate to claim that this person's problems are even remotely linked to marijuana use.

[Bevis]

You misspelled undeniable, pothead.

[Guest]

The fact that you can confuse misspelling (i.e., a conscious ignorance of the correct spelling of a word) with a typographical error (i.e., the absence of a letter in a given word) would imply that, despite not being a pothead, you are a f***ing moron. edit: yes, I realize you were kidding. But no, I was not.

[Bevis]

I love guests.

[Jebus]

I'd be careful about hugging him, he wears small pointy objects under his clothing which cause extreme pain to anyone who tries it.

[eriador]

11 Common Misconceptions About Marijuana

Very informative and well-supported.

[AnthonyByakko]

Good link, eri.

[anonshadow]

Thank you, eriador.

I just have a few comments--

6.) You think marijuana’s not addictive? Think it’s safe? There’s no harm in having a few drinks and smoking some pot? As is evidenced by the legality of proven addictive substances like caffeine and tobacco and alcohol, this argument is largely beside the point. But no, I do think marijuana is addictive (though only slightly so), I do think marijuana is harmful (though only slightly harmful when compared with legal drugs), but no, I do not believe there is any harm in having a few drinks and smoking some pot if that is how you choose to recreate. But let’s see what you have to say, drug expert!

This is a little nitpicky of me, but:

Yes, marijuana can be addictive--but behaviorally, not chemically. Now, pretty much everything under the sun can be behaviorally addictive, from food to sex to television. I'm definitely not arguing with his rationale. I just wanted to point that out, because, again--I'm a little nitpicky sometimes.

I really appreciated the distinction made between correlation and causality, because it's one that often gets used inappropriately. It's the same thing as saying, "people who are diagnosed with one psychiatric disorder are more likely to go on to be diagnosed with other."

Very true. But that's not because having ADD (for example) causes bipolar disorder.

7.) You think marijuana is a “safe” drug, a clean one, with no sketchy dealers or strung out violent people roaming the streets? I think it is a relatively safe drug. Yes, there are some sketchy dealers (but this is a symptom of forcing it into the black market) and yes, there are “strung out violent people roaming the streets” but generally they are using other drugs like heroine, crack, or crystal meth.

That just made me crack up. Sketchy dealers happen when things aren't legal. Abortion was dangerous, too, when people were performing it in back alleys.

(In short, I agree with him. I just find the original statement to be so f****** STUPID.)

A long-term study of 1,000 children found that those who had used marijuana by the age of 13 were more than three times as likely to develop a mental illness as adults. A tenth of these youth developed schizophrenia, compared to three percent of the non-using group. Yet one more incidence of misinterpreting correlation for causation. Youths susceptible to mental problems are much more likely to seek out substances in an attempt to self-medicate. According to an article in the journal Psychiatric Research, their “findings do not support a causal link between cannabis use and schizotypal traits.” Further, while incidences of pot smoking have increased over the years, incidences of psychosis have not.

Again, a little nitpicking--

Diagnoses of most psychological illnesses in adolescents and teens have been on the rise. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children has taken a huge spike in the last few years. I don't know about schizophrenia (I don't have it, so I'm not as aware of the stats), but that may be true for it as well.

However, I really doubt that pot has anything to do with the disorders actually developing, although I can see it (rarely) making the situation worse. That, though, is true of anything you might put into your body--I hardly think that pot should be demonized for a trait that most other drugs share.


As far as teens smoking marijuana goes... I know a hell of a lot of people who smoked pot in high school. Hell, even I got second-hand high once or twice, and I tend to stay away from non-perscription drugs, because of (unrelated) chemical imbalances in my body.

The idea of teens smoking pot gives me pause--but you know what? Teens (and younger kids) really shouldn't be exposed to a lot of drugs, because their brains are still developing.

Putting teens on a lot of psychiatric medications should be avoided if possible. That doesn't mean those medications should be illegal.


... obviously, I am in favor of legalizing pot. I find it ridiculous that jail space and money is wasted on prosecuting people who have only smoked pot. I'm not in favor of legalizing other drugs (with a few exceptional circumstances), but pot--as things go, it's minor.

I do think that smoking a lot of it will wreak havoc with your memory. I had a girl in my class once who was about 30, and she had spent the last fifteen years smoking at least one or two joints almost every single day. Her memory was s***. The same is true of my cousin, who probably smokes four or five joints a day (plus cigarettes).

But a little recreational use? It's not going to kill you.

And beyond that, f****** with your memory through smoking a lot of pot is not much different than f****** with your liver through drinking a lot of alcohol.

[zeroguy]

I do think that smoking a lot of it will wreak havoc with your memory. I had a girl in my class once who was about 30, and she had spent the last fifteen years smoking at least one or two joints almost every single day. Her memory was s***. The same is true of my cousin, who probably smokes four or five joints a day (plus cigarettes).

I've heard a lot about pot being bad for memory (hell, I even remember it being in a scene in Half Baked). Is it permanent, or more caused because that person keeps smoking at least one or two a day? (I.e. if they stopped, would their memory slightly/gradually get better?)

[AnthonyByakko]

I do think that smoking a lot of it will wreak havoc with your memory. I had a girl in my class once who was about 30, and she had spent the last fifteen years smoking at least one or two joints almost every single day. Her memory was s***. The same is true of my cousin, who probably smokes four or five joints a day (plus cigarettes).

I've heard a lot about pot being bad for memory (hell, I even remember it being in a scene in Half Baked). Is it permanent, or more caused because that person keeps smoking at least one or two a day? (I.e. if they stopped, would their memory slightly/gradually get better?)

As far as I know, the memory-lapse problems associated with marijuana use are anecdotal rather than empirical. While one cannot deny the widespread acceptance of this side-effect, we don't really know how it affects memory, and subsequently, whether the issue is temporary or long-term. Anecdotally, users report a decrease in memory-lapses after a short period (depending on the length of prior use, from a few days to a few weeks) of abstaining from it. This is more congruent with my statement that cell-death does not occur as a result of use, and rather, a by-product of the blockage of certain neural receptors.

[mr_thebrain]

certainly has effected this woman's crain bells!

[mr_thebrain]

crack ain't much better!

[mr_thebrain]

this isn't a surprise either.

[ti_ama]

Bevis Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:43 am Post subject:

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You misspelled undeniable, pothead.


Guest Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:43 pm Post subject:

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The fact that you can confuse misspelling (i.e., a conscious ignorance of the correct spelling of a word) with a typographical error (i.e., the absence of a letter in a given word) would imply that, despite not being a pothead, you are a f***ing moron. edit: yes, I realize you were kidding. But no, I was not.

Haha, it's been waaaaay too long. I really did miss PWeb.

[luminousnerd]

Admittedly I haven't read every post here. I am a fanatic on the issue, though. Marijuana actually CREATES brain cells, believe it or not. See this article: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6324 or Google for "Marijuana Brain Cells". It's a myth and there was never any evidence to support it.

Additionally, a lot of this information about marijuana that comes from the government is false.

I won't rant too much here, since I rant so much on my blog. Here, read this: http://www.luminousnerd.com/2006/marijuanacannabisthc

[Bevis]

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/200 ... 86424.html

Plants don't kill brain cells. People kill brain cells.

[luminousnerd]

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/200 ... 86424.html

Plants don't kill brain cells. People kill brain cells.

I find the advertisements on that page genuinely offensive. How dare you un-mute something I just muted? How dare you make me hear something without permission in the first place? Curse you Forbes! Rot in the deepest, darkest pit of Hell.

In addition, the article is very vague...

[liquifiedrainbows]

In response to the title who f****** cares? People are going to do what they are going to do and I am pretty sure that anyone who uses marijuana knows smoking it kills brain cells.

[luminousnerd]

In response to the title who f****** cares? People are going to do what they are going to do and I am pretty sure that anyone who uses marijuana knows smoking it kills brain cells.

Umm, they know that the government says it does. But most of them know that those are lies. Again I say, marijuana is the only known substance actually proven to GROW brain cells! This is the complete opposite!

[AnthonyByakko]

I have never been able to verify the claim of "growing" brain cells with any objective research from a reputable agent, but I do know that it does not kill them. You should read through some of the posts on this page.

[Bevis]

I've changed the title of this thread because people keep refering to it. It was meant to be a joke. Oops. Anyhoo, I'll continue to post links to stories of stoners acting silly here and anyone else can post thier opinions on pot here. Or make believe the new title has some kind of importance.

As for my own opinions on marijuana, all of my experience deals with abuse or, at least, over use. I'm willing to believe it could be smoked responsibly. Just not by me.

As for me razzing on stoners doing stupid sh!t, I razz on most everything else. Why the hell should burnouts be left out of the mix?

[luminousnerd]

No dude, I completely agree. There are some stupid-ass stoners out there and it's quite fun to make fun of them. I was only arguing the case for responsible smokers

[ti_ama]

Umm, they know that the government says it does. But most of them know that those are lies. Again I say, marijuana is the only known substance actually proven to GROW brain cells! This is the complete opposite!

Yes! And little do people know, acid doesn't actually make holes in your brain, it fills them in! And alcohol doesn't cause problems, it solves them!

The government may say we are at war, but they are lying! Nasty, terrible lies that have caused so much trouble. ..

[mr_thebrain]

oh and 9/11 was a conspiracy.




and the moon landing was faked.

[zeroguy]

and the moon landing was faked.

U DONT THINK WE WENT TO THE MOON WHY NOT TELL LOUIS ARMSTRONG TO HIS FACE

[luminousnerd]

Umm, they know that the government says it does. But most of them know that those are lies. Again I say, marijuana is the only known substance actually proven to GROW brain cells! This is the complete opposite!

Yes! And little do people know, acid doesn't actually make holes in your brain, it fills them in! And alcohol doesn't cause problems, it solves them!

The government may say we are at war, but they are lying! Nasty, terrible lies that have caused so much trouble. ..

Umm...I don't know what gives you the idea that spouting out a bunch of sarcastic lies makes my comment false...but you're very, very wrong.

[fawkes]

and the moon landing was faked.

U DONT THINK WE WENT TO THE MOON WHY NOT TELL LOUIS ARMSTRONG TO HIS FACE

Didn't one of those moon landing guys deck somebody because they were harassing him about the "fake" moon landing? I'll have to look for the vid...

[zeroguy]

To try and avoid the endless circle... lum, do you know of a source where we can find the proof that marijuana grows brain cells?

[AnthonyByakko]

To try and avoid the endless circle... lum, do you know of a source where we can find the proof that marijuana grows brain cells?

More importantly, do you know of a source where we can find proof that marijuana kills brain cells?

[luminousnerd]

Look up a few posts, I already posted a link.

[AnthonyByakko]

and the moon landing was faked.

U DONT THINK WE WENT TO THE MOON WHY NOT TELL LOUIS ARMSTRONG TO HIS FACE

XKCD fans are dumb.

[luminousnerd]

(stuff...)

Marijuana actually CREATES brain cells, believe it or not. See this article: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6324 or Google for "Marijuana Brain Cells".

(more stuff)

Here, read this: http://www.luminousnerd.com/2006/marijuanacannabisthc

[AnthonyByakko]

(stuff...)

Marijuana actually CREATES brain cells, believe it or not. See this article: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6324 or Google for "Marijuana Brain Cells".

(more stuff)

Here, read this: http://www.luminousnerd.com/2006/marijuanacannabisthc

Luminous, while I wholeheartedly agree with you on the topic of legalization, and while I personally respect the work NORML is dedicated to, I think that posting a link to a site that is entirely directed to legalization is not exactly an unbiased perspective.