NationStates Jolt Archive

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

He's wrong.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 12, 2008, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi’s Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed that levels of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time.

http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/news29672/thc-levels-in-marijuana-increases-report-states.shtml

Well, that was easy.

No.

Anything taken in extreme doses can be bad for you, but very little in moderation is.

It is unknown. Some studies have indeed shown indications that regular weedconsumption over a prolonged period of time can alter the workings of the brain for the worse - but there is no conclusive evidence.

Up to you if you consider it worth the risk.

It is unknown. Some studies have indeed shown indications that regular weed consumption over a prolonged period of time can alter the workings of the brain for the worse - but there is no conclusive evidence.

Up to you if you consider it worth the risk.

Hardly moderation. I'm talking getting a little sweetened on every other weekend or so. And I haven't sampled the stuff since Bush 41.

He's wrong.



http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/news29672/thc-levels-in-marijuana-increases-report-states.shtml

Well, that was easy.

Well that average was a lot higher than .5%. My doc said that some of the marijuana in town has been 60% and it had some kind of hash resin oils or something on it. I am not sure if all marijuana has hash resin oils.

He's been swindled by smooth-talking marijuana sellers. "This shit is 60% TCH man, it'll fuck you UP!" Probably he picked this misinformation up the last time he bought an eighth for him and the wifey.

At any rate, marijuana doesn't cause brain damage.

Your doctor is wrong, and is only giving out propaganda.

The highest THC concentration in most marijunana plants is around 8-14%, some of the highest only being around 20%.

You can get pure THC oil, but it's rediculously expensive and hard to make. Well, not really.

Point being, long term marijuana use really doesn't has no where near as much effect as anti-drug things would lead you to believe. You're not going to kill people or anything stupid like that.

Almost 100% of the time, you just want to relax, listen to some good music, play some games and have a good time, maybe go on a hike or draw, find a waterfall or lay in the grass.

Well that average was a lot higher than .5%. My doc said that some of the marijuana in town has been 60% and it had some kind of hash resin oils or something on it. I am not sure if all marijuana has hash resin oils.

If you read my post carefully, you will note that he is wrong about the 0.5% too.

Most things are bad for you in some way. I wouldn't be surprised if that included marijuana.

Alcohol is bad for you and can be bad for those around as well but that didn't stop them legalizing & taxing it.

Well that average was a lot higher than .5%. My doc said that some of the marijuana in town has been 60% and it had some kind of hash resin oils or something on it. I am not sure if all marijuana has hash resin oils.

Then guess what? It's hash, not marijuana. Problem solved.

Your doctor is wrong, and is only giving out propaganda.

The highest THC concentration in most marijunana plants is around 8-14%, some of the highest only being around 20%.

You can get pure THC oil, but it's rediculously expensive and hard to make. Well, not really.

Point being, long term marijuana use really doesn't has no where near as much effect as anti-drug things would lead you to believe. You're not going to kill people or anything stupid like that.

Almost 100% of the time, you just want to relax, listen to some good music, play some games and have a good time, maybe go on a hike or draw, find a waterfall or lay in the grass.

...and eat your body weight in damn near anything.

The pot lifestyle can be addictive, to be sure -- but that's the same with any lifestyle.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

Nope, of course it causes brain damage, it starves your brain cells for oxygen. Of course, if you are within 100 ft of someone who has smoked pot in the last 3 years, you won't die, but no one makes as many ridiculous claims as druggies try to refute. Marijuana is bad for the brain, and lungs, simply because of what it is in general, whether or not it causes specific chemical harm is perhaps debatable, but remember that smoking is bad for you, now, one cigarette isn't enough to kill, well probably anyone, but merely because they aren't as harmful as say, arsenic, or a gunshot to the head does not mean they are not harmful.

Alcohol is bad for you and can be bad for those around as well but that didn't stop them legalizing & taxing it.

You're right, becuase one thing can be harmful, and is legal, we should legalize everything that oculd be harmful... handguns are legal, we should legalize heavy ordnance for normal civilian use.

Your logic is excellent... oh wait, not really.

Nope, of course it causes brain damage, it starves your brain cells for oxygen. Of course, if you are within 100 ft of someone who has smoked pot in the last 3 years, you won't die, but no one makes as many ridiculous claims as druggies try to refute. Marijuana is bad for the brain, and lungs, simply because of what it is in general, whether or not it causes specific chemical harm is perhaps debatable, but remember that smoking is bad for you, now, one cigarette isn't enough to kill, well probably anyone, but merely because they aren't as harmful as say, arsenic, or a gunshot to the head does not mean they are not harmful.

So cigarettes cause brain damage, too? What about athsma inhalers?

Show me a link, any link that backs your spurious claims.

You're right, becuase one thing can be harmful, and is legal, we should legalize everything that oculd be harmful... handguns are legal, we should legalize heavy ordnance for normal civilian use.

Your logic is excellent... oh wait, not really.

Pot? Meet kettle. Black much?

Handguns and heavy ordnance are an order of magnitude apart in virtually every aspect. Alcohol and marijuana are not even close to that far apart. It's your logic that needs reviewing. You're just grasping at straws, posting nonsense and hoping nobody notices.

So cigarettes cause brain damage, too? What about athsma inhalers?

Show me a link, any link that backs your spurious claims. I think you misread/misinterpreted something.

So cigarettes cause brain damage, too? What about athsma inhalers?

Show me a link, any link that backs your spurious claims.

Not breathing causes brain damage, and asthma inhalers might as well (though they are typically used with less frequency, and for shorter time periods than cigarettes).

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/neuro/archive/5145.html

It might not be really professional, but it confirms that the brain does not like not getting oxygen, I'm not making an anti-smoking statement, or a chemical statement, merely that one starves the brain for oxygen... please try to read critically sometimes, it will really help clear things up for you.

EDIT: A better site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001435.htm

Pot? Meet kettle. Black much?

Handguns and heavy ordnance are an order of magnitude apart in virtually every aspect. Alcohol and marijuana are not even close to that far apart. It's your logic that needs reviewing. You're just grasping at straws, posting nonsense and hoping nobody notices.

Actually, I was exaggerating to better underline my point, you are arguing that because some dangerous things are legal, 'dangerous' is not a valid qualification for illegality, and as such, nothing danerous should ever be illegal because it is dangerous, you're the one who made the whimsical claim, I just carried it to it's logical extreme to show you how the logic is laughable.

EDIT: Bolded text added.

I think you misread/misinterpreted something.

Thank you.

Actually, I was exaggerating to better underline my point, you are arguing that because some dangerous things are legal, 'dangerous' is not a valid qualification for illegality, and as such, nothing danerous should ever be illegal because it is dangerous

Hmmm. Danger to self vs danger to others is an aspect you overlooked. I in all honesty could not care less if someones decides to pump themselves full of drugs, but dislike the idea of them firing a gun at others.

Of course, alcohol, drugs and so on do increase the chance that someone becomes a threat to others. E.g.: drunk driving.

Hmmm. Danger to self vs danger to others is an aspect you overlooked. I in all honesty could not care less if someones decides to pump themselves full of drugs, but dislike the idea of them firing a gun at others.

Of course, alcohol, drugs and so on do increase the chance that someone becomes a threat to others. E.g.: drunk driving.

I think that's the key issue, and the standpoint that most anti-drug proponents speak from.

It's a civil rights vs potential harm to others issue, IMO.

Alcohol is legal, but drunk driving is not, so even in alcohol, there is noticable compromise between rights vs public safety, however, drunk driving still does occur, in large part because alcohol effects decision making abilities strongly.

I was just arguing Intangleons perspective that everyhting potentially dangerous should be legal, all because alcohol is. (Yes, I know that he probably does not subscribe to that belief, but thats the argument he used to argue for legal substance abuse).

Hmmm. Danger to self vs danger to others is an aspect you overlooked.

Not actually overlooked. I didn't respond to it, because it didn't come up directly. Merely because heavy ordnance would be legal, doesnt mean everyone would use it on each other, the idea is that they would be better able to, and again, it was a gross exaggeration to better illustrate my point.

There is long term loss of short term memory (when I was using marijuana, I actually experienced this).

It also makes asthma worse, something else I experienced.

Needless to say, I don't do it any more.

There is long term loss of short term memory (when I was using marijuana, I actually experienced this).

It also makes asthma worse, something else I experienced.

Needless to say, I don't do it any more.

You have asthma? It seems, then, an extremely prudent decision on your part.

I've also noticed a memory problem in a family member of mine, who regularly consumes marijuana, in addition to astounding lethargy, which is too bad, because this person is otherwise highly motivated, and intelligent, but it's pretty much all thrown away at this point. :(

Aye it can be bad for you. It totally fucked my friend up, for example, which is pretty tragic for onlookers of all kinds.

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

While I don't know about numbers, I'm pretty sure THC content has risen as compared to the stuff was smoked in the past (as in, our grand-grandfathers). And studies say it's bad for memory and stuff, but of course there are other studies to prove the opposite...

Though marijuana is not bad for me, 'cause I have and will never take any.

I've seen plenty of pictures of brain scans done on chronic users of all different substances, including marijuana. Yes, it can cause damage to your brain. Sometimes the damage is lasting, sometimes it isn't. I don't know what the severity of the damage is compared to legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.

I do know that while marijuana can hurt your lungs by burning cilia (which, you know, anything hot you breath in can, 'cause we really aren't meant to be doing that) it does not contain anything that in itself causes cancer, unlike cigarettes. And even if you just look at damage from drawing hot smoke into your lungs, habitual pot smokers are less likely to suffer ill effects on their lungs than habitual cigarette smokers, because, even compensating for dragging deeper and holding it in longer, there just aren't a lot of 20-joint-a-day potheads.

Erowid (http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_health.shtml)provides some links to the effects of canabis on physical and mental health.

The long-term heavy use of cannabis does not produce the
severe or grossly debilitating impairment of memory,
attention, and cognitive function that is found with
chronic heavy alcohol use.2 Electrophysiological and
neuropsychological studies show that it may produce more
subtle impairment of memory, attention, and the
organisation and integration of complex information.41–43
The longer cannabis has been used, the more pronounced
the cognitive impairment.41 These impairments are subtle,
so it remains unclear how important they are for everyday
functioning, and whether they are reversed after an
extended period of abstinence.2 Early studies that
suggested gross structural brain damage with heavy use
have not been supported by better controlled studies with
better methods.41 Research in animals has shown that
chronic cannabinoid administration may compromise the
endogenous cannabinoid system3,41 (its function is unclear,
but it has roles in memory, emotion, and cognitive
functioning, as mentioned above). These results are
consistent with the subtlety of the cognitive effects of
chronic cannabis use in human beings.41

The paper also states that the average amount of THC found in a a joint is .5 to 1.0 grams, and that THC delivery varies between 20% and 70%. This may be the origin of some of the confusion.

Is marijuana really be bad for you?

Defense rests.

I've also noticed a memory problem in a family member of mine, who regularly consumes marijuana, in addition to astounding lethargy, which is too bad, because this person is otherwise highly motivated, and intelligent, but it's pretty much all thrown away at this point. :(

It always astounds me how many people don't realize that marijuana is a depressant. Not that you're necessarily one of those people, just saying. My ex girlfriend (not the psychotic one) always talks about how tired and depressed she is, and every time I remind her that depressants, like marijuana and alcohol, are called depressants for a reason.

Geez and there i was thinking marijuana was as harmful as chocolate :headbang::headbang:

Yes facts do get skewed by people trying to run a scare campaign against it but really why on earth wouldnt you think that illegal drugs are in some way dangerous?

Even alcohol which in the past was classified as illegal is dangerous if you consume too much of it. It is also addictive like marijuana. Whilst a very small dose wont kill you I would never recommend trying any drug supplied by an unaccountable back alley party (DRUG DEALER)

Geez and there i was thinking marijuana was as harmful as chocolate :headbang::headbang:

Yes facts do get skewed by people trying to run a scare campaign against it but really why on earth wouldnt you think that illegal drugs are in some way dangerous?

Even alcohol which in the past was classified as illegal is dangerous if you consume too much of it. It is also addictive like marijuana. Whilst a very small dose wont kill you I would never recommend trying any drug supplied by an unaccountable back alley party (DRUG DEALER)

Wrong, as has already been demonstrated in this thread.

I think you misread/misinterpreted something.

No, he was saying that smoking marijuana causes brain damage because of deprivation of oxygen. That means that cigarettes, inhalers -- anything you inhale besides air -- also cause brain damage. It's ludicrous, and if he's exaggerating to make a point, he needs to say so.

Not breathing causes brain damage, and asthma inhalers might as well (though they are typically used with less frequency, and for shorter time periods than cigarettes).

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/neuro/archive/5145.html

It might not be really professional, but it confirms that the brain does not like not getting oxygen, I'm not making an anti-smoking statement, or a chemical statement, merely that one starves the brain for oxygen... please try to read critically sometimes, it will really help clear things up for you.

EDIT: A better site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001435.htm

No need to get pissy. You made a ludicrous statement, and I called it ludicrous. Simple as that.

Actually, I was exaggerating to better underline my point, you are arguing that because some dangerous things are legal, 'dangerous' is not a valid qualification for illegality, and as such, nothing dangerous should ever be illegal because it is dangerous, you're the one who made the whimsical claim, I just carried it to it's logical extreme to show you how the logic is laughable.

What are you talking about?

I do believe that nothing dangerous should be made illegal based on it merely being dangerous. How is that claim even remotely whimsical? Where do you get this air of superiority from?

I do believe that nothing dangerous should be made illegal based on it merely being dangerous. How is that claim even remotely whimsical? Where do you get this air of superiority from?

Obviously he hasn't been hitting the pipe. ;)

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?
One of my friend's doctor recommended that she smoke up to help her insomnia.

Pot in moderation isn't bad for you, I know a lot of very brilliant people who get stoned now and then and remain brilliant.

Even alcohol which in the past was classified as illegal is dangerous if you consume too much of it. It is also addictive like marijuana. Whilst a very small dose wont kill you I would never recommend trying any drug supplied by an unaccountable back alley party (DRUG DEALER)
Marijuana isn't physically addictive. It's only addictive in the same way that this message board is addictive, psychologically. If we banned things that were bad for you in large quantities and psychologically addictive, the internet would be banned too.

And if pot were legal, you wouldn't have to worry about buying some from an unaccountable back alley party, you could buy it in a store.

There is long term loss of short term memory (when I was using marijuana, I actually experienced this).

It also makes asthma worse, something else I experienced.

Needless to say, I don't do it any more.

Actually you have it backwards - asthma treatment is one of several potential medical uses for cannabinoids, as a bronchodilator.

* British Medical Association
Acute doses of cannabis and THC exert a definitive bronchodilator effect on the small airways of the lungs. The mechanism of this effect is not known, but it appears to be different from that of other drugs used at present as bronchodilators for asthma. (…) However, there have been very few studies on the bronchodilator effects of cannabinoids in asthmatic patients. All of these were studies carried out in the 1970s. Tashkin et al. studied 14 asthmatic volunteers and compared smoked cannabis (2%THC), oral THC (15mg) and the drug isoprenaline (0.5%). They found that smoked cannabis and oral THC produced significant bronchodilatation of at least two hours duration. The effect of smoked cannabis was nearly equivalent to the clinical dose of isoprenaline. Smoked cannabis was also capable of reversing experimentally induced bronchospasm in three asthmatic subjects. (…) Williams et al. compared a THC aerosol containing 0.2 mg THC with a salbutamol aerosol (0.1 mg) in 10 asthmatic subjects. Both drugs significantly improved respiratory function. The onset of effect was more rapid with salbutamol, but the effects of both drugs were equivalent at one hour. Tashkin et al. compared several doses of THC aerosol (5-20mg) with a standard dose of isoprenaline in 11 normal volunteers and five asthmatic subjects. In the normal subjects and three of the asthmatics, the bronchodilator effect of THC was less than that of isoprenaline after five minutes, but significantly greater after one to three hours.
(Please note: This text has been taken from a scientific article. Some sentences have been changed to improve understandability.)
British Medical Association: Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1997.


* Franjo Grotenhermen
The treatment of asthma includes the use of anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids) and bronchodilators. THC and cannabis are bronchodilators and may also exert some anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic action. Cannabis smoke contains combustion products qualitatively similar to those found in tobacco smoke, among them several carcinogens that may damage the mucosa. The inhalation of these combustion products should be avoided or strongly decreased. To avoid the intake of combustion products cannabis can be taken orally. To decrease the amount of inhaled carcinogens cannabis or THC can be inhaled by a vaporizer, and/or cannabis with a high THC content can be used/smoked. In several situations, a combination of a basic oral medication and a demand inhaled medication in acute asthma attacks may be useful to reduce the risks from smoking and the risk of overdosage with oral administration. The availability of a THC aerosol is desirable.


* Calignano and colleagues
An international research group has discovered why marijuana causes coughing in some situations but may inhibit bronchospasm and cough in others. This finding could lead to better treatments of respiratory diseases. In a report in the journal Nature scientists from the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Budapest (Hungary), the University of Naples (Italy) and the University of Washington (USA) showed how the endocannabinoid anandamide influences the airways in the lungs. In animal studies with guinea pigs and rats, anandamide exerted a dual effect on bronchial responsiveness. If the muscles in the lungs were constricted by an irritant (capsaicin) the endocannabinoid relaxed the smooth muscles and strongly inhibited coughing. But if the airways were relaxed (by removing the constricting effect of the vagus nerve) anandamide caused a coughing spasm. Anandamide is synthesized in lung tissues and its effects are mediated by cannabinoid receptors. (…)
IACM-Bulletin of 12 November 2000; Calignano A, et al: Bidirectional control by airway responsiveness by endogenous cannabinoids. Nature 2000;408:96-101.
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/faq/03-asthma.htm

The truth is, no one really knows exactly what the physiological effects of marijuana are, because there has never been a truly unbiased study. From personal observation, I would say it depends very much on individual body chemistry and mental health. I've known people who smoked massive amounts of weed for decades with no real ill effects, and I've known others who messed themselves up in maybe three years- although to be fair, the latter individuals were somewhat unstable to begin with. Marijuana does have a tendency to exacerbate problems that already exist, but I would say it's unlikely to create new ones.

The real danger of drugs is not what they do to the individual, however; rather it is what their prohibition does to our civil liberties. Our legal system is based on precedent; therefore, if the government can ignore constitutional restrictions on unreasonable search and seizure to fight the retardedly named "Drug War", as they very often do, that means they can make a strong case for doing so in other incidents as well, and the fourth amendment becomes nullified.

As for Der Teutoniker's safety argument, I have to say that it is a very typical error these days, but nonetheless contemptible. To anyone who thinks in such a way, I say this: someday you are going to die. Exercise all you want, take all the right vitamins and never do anything unhealthy, all that's fine- but you're still going to die, and furthermore you could die tomorrow, or right now. This isn't even really a bad thing; death is the only thing in life that's fair: everybody gets exactly one. Passing laws to sanitize the world and remove all danger will not succeed in their goals; all they will do is make life not worth living. As Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Defense rests.


Resting? I think sleeping on the job is the more applicable phrase.

You are apparently contending that Glorious Freedonia's incorrect grammar is the result of marijuana use (thus supposedly supporting your anti-marijuana claim). Unfortunately you have absolutely no evidence that GF is a user of marijuana whatsoever, or that if he is, his grammar is the result of marijuana usage. And sadly, even if you did, your 'argument' here is nothing more than an ad hominem which does not really deserve the recognition and treatment I have just given it.

Actually you have it backwards - asthma treatment is one of several potential medical uses for cannabinoids, as a bronchodilator.


http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/faq/03-asthma.htm

Well, perhaps my personal experience, being only anecdotal, was in error. All I know is that whenever I smoked the stuff, all the neat semi-hallucinogenic effects aside, my sinuses burned for a week, my lungs felt like someone had injected them with straight fire, and I used my inhaler on an average of three times as much as I did when I didn't smoke it.

I don't argue that it should be illegal. I see no reason for it to be illegal. It's certainly no more dangerous than alcohol and is far less dangerous than cigarettes, but, certain medical uses notwithstanding, it's not generally good for you - especially if you happen to be driving or operating heavy equipment.

For the record, I don't smoke, seldom drink and no longer indulge in cannabis.

How can something so good be so bad?

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

He might be wrong on the % but he is correct, long tem MJ use will most likely cause mental health issues.

Well that average was a lot higher than .5%. My doc said that some of the marijuana in town has been 60% and it had some kind of hash resin oils or something on it. I am not sure if all marijuana has hash resin oils.

All of them do. The better weed will have a lot of resin, but the average dealer isn't going to have anything spectacular.

And the only person who I've seen with a deteriorating brain was also addicted to cocain, acid, Ex, mushrooms and everything else imaginable. You're gonna have to smoke a LOT of resin to hurt yourself.

Is marijuana really be bad for you?
Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. [...] Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.
Looking at the bolded part, I think the spelling there kinda proves his point.

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

Few if any drugs are always harmless.

However, marijuana is decidedly less harmful to you than many legal recreational drugs. Alcohol and most importantly tobacco are doing by far more harm.

The truth is, no one really knows exactly what the physiological effects of marijuana are, because there has never been a truly unbiased study.

Indeed, and almost ALL evidence thrown around is purely anecdotal.

The truth is that marijuana changes you, for the good or worse is probably up to the individual and the quantity consumed.

Mind you even if I think marijuana being completely illegal is silly I'm not for full legalization of teh weed because we don't need another alcohol (http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=4196330).

Few if any drugs are always harmless.

However, marijuana is decidedly less harmful to you than many legal recreational drugs. Alcohol and most importantly tobacco are doing by far more harm.

http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/60640.html

However, two caveats must be noted regarding available data, warns the author. Firstly, the studies to date have not followed cannabis smokers into later adult life so it might be too early to detect an increase risk of chronic diseases that are potentially associated with the use of cannabis.

Secondly, the low rate of regular cannabis use and the high rate of discontinuation during young adulthood may reflect the illegality and social disapproval of the use of cannabis. This means that we cannot assume that smoking cannabis would continue to have the same small impact on mortality if its use were to be decriminalised or legalised.


What we need is unbiased long term studies of marijuana....which we, naturally, are unable to achieve because of the legal status of marijuana....Well, perhaps some long term - decades - animal testing is required?

Looking at the bolded part, I think the spelling there kinda proves his point.

See above (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13826156&postcount=38). Nothing is "proved" here, except that some people have a high willingness to engage in ad hominem fallacies and make completely unfounded assumptions with which to base irrational conclusions on.

Your doctor is wrong, and is only giving out propaganda.

The highest THC concentration in most marijunana plants is around 8-14%, some of the highest only being around 20%.

You can get pure THC oil, but it's rediculously expensive and hard to make. Well, not really.

Point being, long term marijuana use really doesn't has no where near as much effect as anti-drug things would lead you to believe. You're not going to kill people or anything stupid like that.

Almost 100% of the time, you just want to relax, listen to some good music, play some games and have a good time, maybe go on a hike or draw, find a waterfall or lay in the grass.

I am 99.9999% certain thta my doctor was not lying and spreading propoganda he is an excellent professional and a decent gentleman. That being said, i could have misheard him because he speaks rather fast. I know that he mentioned something about hash oil or hashish oil being 60% THC and I guess from what you are telling me that this is an oil that is extracted from marijuana and then placed on marijuana prior to smoking?

Anyway, the point was not that this stuff is lethal or that it puts you into a coma but that it is not good for the brain at all. He said that after years of daily use your math speed will be much worse for example. That was the only example he mentioned.

I am not saying that the stuff should be illegal. I am just saying that it appears to be not as harmless as I had thought.

One of my friend's doctor recommended that she smoke up to help her insomnia.

Pot in moderation isn't bad for you, I know a lot of very brilliant people who get stoned now and then and remain brilliant.

I think that you are right. However, brilliant folks might be less brilliant if they do a lot of pot for a long period of time.

I like to get home from work, spark up a fat one, then, munch out, and do the Sodoku puzzle, and the crossword in the local paper...Kill the braincells...then regenerate them...easy...;)

BTW different strains are going to effect an individual differently...The highest THC level is 20-25% (White Widow, and the NYC Deisel respectively)
In other words, a lighter THC count is better for a wake and bake, unless there are no plans for the day...:)

Nothing is "proved" here, except that some people have a high willingness to engage in ad hominem fallacies and make completely unfounded assumptions with which to base irrational conclusions on.

Which drug does destroy the sense of humour?

Is being bad sentence comes from marijuana?

I be please to writing like stoned.

Which drug does destroy the sense of humour?

Forgive me. It's hard to tell the difference, online, between a silly point made earnestly and the same silly point being made in jest.

What's harmful is when a doctor want's prescribe marijuana to someone like a chemo patient but the law says no.

Today I had lunch with my doctor who told me something quite shocking. He told me that marijuana is actually really really bad for your brain. I thought that it was a relatively harmless drug. Apparently, the Kinsey Harvard tests involved marijuana with a THC level of 0.5%. Now we have marijuana with THC levels of 60%. He analogized it to the difference between taking one aspirin and 200 hundred aspirins. In small doses it is safe but in big doses it is not good for you at all. Apparently, the problem is that it causes brain damage.

Is anyone else surprised by all of this? Any thoughts?

That's nuts. 60%? You'd be able to see chunks of TCH with the naked eye. There wouldn't be enough cellulose to hold the plant together. It would have to be a big berry full of goo.

That's nuts. 60%? You'd be able to see chunks of TCH with the naked eye. There wouldn't be enough cellulose to hold the plant together. It would have to be a big berry full of goo.

A good friend of mine claimed that he bought some crazy $85 eighth from a Cannabis Club and that the buds were rather like that--they looked normal on the outside, but were somewhat gooey on the inside.


I trust him and I think he was being sincere, but I have yet to see anything like that with my own eyes.

While you guys were talking, I, uh, I got high. Teeheehee.

That's nuts. 60%? You'd be able to see chunks of TCH with the naked eye. There wouldn't be enough cellulose to hold the plant together. It would have to be a big berry full of goo.

I know. I wish I could buy some like that. Unfortunately, it only grows in the nightmares of prohibitionists. :(

it isn't really good for you, physically, mentally i'm not sure, and how anyone feels about it spiritually i'm not attempting to address, to recreationally consume any neurotropic substance. there are however worse things. and keeping it unlawful is one of them.

if alcohaul or tobacco were illegal they'd "lead to" harder drugs too, because of in for a penny in for a pound.

=^^=
.../\...

It seems marijuana really be bad for you, yes.

EDIT: Beaten to it, I see. Never mind.

Marijuana has had many studies linking it to increasing the risk of become schizophrenic.
http://bipolar.about.com/od/relateddisorders/a/schizo_pot.htm
http://http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

Like any study, there is a risk of a chicken and egg scenario. Is it a case that if you are schizophrenic, you are more likely to take pot, or is it because you took pot, you became schizophrenic. The last link's comment about alcohol and psychosis links is interesting.

Is pot bad for you?


Well speaking as someone who works with regular pot users, including one who used to smoke lots of the stuff .
I notice a difference in their behaviour in the morning after they'd been at the weed, and the mornings when they had'nt

Now the heavy using one has given up pot (he's found booze instead :rolleyes:) the difference in his behaviour and his mental abilities is amazing.
He can pick up stuff we are trying to teach him better, and when things go wrong, he does'nt lash out at everyone in frustration.

Pot makes 1 in 100 go nuts..... do you want to be that special 1 ?

Pot makes 1 in 100 go nuts..... do you want to be that special 1 ?

It does, huh? So of the 70 million who have tried marijuana, 700,000 are now "nuts" as a result? I think not.

Marijuana has had many studies linking it to increasing the risk of become schizophrenic.
http://bipolar.about.com/od/relateddisorders/a/schizo_pot.htm
http://http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

Like any study, there is a risk of a chicken and egg scenario. Is it a case that if you are schizophrenic, you are more likely to take pot, or is it because you took pot, you became schizophrenic. The last link's comment about alcohol and psychosis links is interesting.

That may be true. Of course, if you are "genetically at risk" to developing schizophrenia, it stands to reason there are a great many activities which could exacerbate your situation. None of this is much of a good argument against marijuana, and I can't help but be reminded of earlier attempts to link marijuana use with, say, impulses to rape white women.

Is pot bad for you?


Well speaking as someone who works with regular pot users, including one who used to smoke lots of the stuff .
I notice a difference in their behaviour in the morning after they'd been at the weed, and the mornings when they had'nt

Now the heavy using one has given up pot (he's found booze instead :rolleyes:) the difference in his behaviour and his mental abilities is amazing.
He can pick up stuff we are trying to teach him better, and when things go wrong, he does'nt lash out at everyone in frustration.

Pot makes 1 in 100 go nuts..... do you want to be that special 1 ?

Nice try.

Every human metabolism is different. The "1 in 100" is misleading as a result, and way overstated. You also pulled it out of your ass.

Just like not everyone can eat or even be in the presence of peanuts, not everyone can use marijuana without side effects. Some can use it for life without a single problem -- just like alcohol. And yet one is illegal. Dumb.

Which drug does destroy the sense of humour?

Conservative politics.

I was going to make a thread, but then I got high.
It sounded so good in my head, but then I got high.
Now it don't be make no sense, and I know why...
Because I got high.

Because I got high.






Because I got high.

I was going to make a thread, but then I got high.
It sounded so good in my head, but then I got high.
Now it don't be make no sense, and I know why...
Because I got high.

Because I got high.






Because I got high.

AfroMan, ftw! I first heard that song at the end of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, and it was perfect.

No.

Anything taken in extreme doses can be bad for you, but very little in moderation is.

Sugar taken in mild doses is worse for your health, both sugar and salt can kill you in high doses, marijuana cannot. You can harm yourself with smoking anything though, even though with pot you don't run the Cancer risk.

Sugar taken in mild doses is worse for your health, both sugar and salt can kill you in high doses, marijuana cannot. You can harm yourself with smoking anything though, even though with pot you don't run the Cancer risk.

"Worse" than what?

I didn't say "kill you", I said "bad for you". If you want to refute me, make sure you read my words and understand them.

You run a similar cancer risk smoking anything. Mass-produced cigarettes are the worst, though, given their chemical composition.

Sugar taken in mild doses is worse for your health, both sugar and salt can kill you in high doses, marijuana cannot. You can harm yourself with smoking anything though, even though with pot you don't run the Cancer risk.
Any proof that marijuana can't kill you in high doses?

Well, other than their active substance, tobacco and marijuana are pretty much identical in terms of the the various other things produced by burning and inhaling their smoke. Personally, I figure both have their risks and their benefits but unlike tobacco marijuana is generally non-addictive; of course, there is a low chance of some psychological problems from prolonged marijuana use, but it's quite rare and hardly a threat to only occasional users.

Full disclosure: I do smoke, and plan to smoke marijuana once I'm back at college...I know the risks involved, and I cannot honestly encourage or discourage anyone to do either even if I personally enjoy it.

Yeah, marijuana is bad for you. It's probably one of the weakest drugs there is, but it is still harmful.

Just because something makes you feel good for a short time does not mean its beneficial.

Marijuana does decrease mental capacities. Smoking pot and driving are a dangerous combination, as your reaction time is decreased.

i Was Going To Make A Thread, But Then I Got High.
It Sounded So Good In My Head, But Then I Got High.
Now It Don't Be Make No Sense, And I Know Why...
Because I Got High.

Because I Got High.






Because I Got High.

Awesome!!!!

Awesome!!!!

Yes, I am.

Any proof that marijuana can't kill you in high doses?

Water can kill you in high doses. I'm sure that marijuana could too, somehow. However, to date there are no known cases of death caused from marijuana alone. There are several cases of death caused by drinking too much water.