Cannabis Access and Academic Performance • Hacker News Board

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#81

Post by majurg » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:16 PM UTC

a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #69

Ensorceled wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, it would have to be worse than the impact on your life for getting a felony charge for possession. This whole "we have to put people in jail and destroy any and all future job prospects for their own protection" is madness.

That simply doesn't happen in America. Cannabis is de facto legal throughout the USA. I repeat: marijuana is in practice legal in America, and all these people talking about drug charges ruining lives don't know what they're talking about. The only way you get serious charges or any jail time at all for marijuana in America is when you've been arrested for serious crimes, but a District Attorney goes with "possession…

Not true at all. Out side of progressive areas like major coastal cities posession of marijuana can in some cases be a felony offense. Contrary to what you have stated, people ARE arrested regularly for simple possession of the drug, almost always meaning very limited life prospects in the future.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#82

Post by papaf » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

I would never argue against science but the following is a true anecdote:

A friend of mine was up all night smoking pot and drinking alcohol. She had a University exam the next day that involved writing essays.

She picked herself up, went to the exam and passed. She did so well that she got an award for the best peformance that year.

True story.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#83

Post by sv123 » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:26 PM UTC

a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #69

Ensorceled wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, it would have to be worse than the impact on your life for getting a felony charge for possession. This whole "we have to put people in jail and destroy any and all future job prospects for their own protection" is madness.

That simply doesn't happen in America. Cannabis is de facto legal throughout the USA. I repeat: marijuana is in practice legal in America, and all these people talking about drug charges ruining lives don't know what they're talking about. The only way you get serious charges or any jail time at all for marijuana in America is when you've been arrested for serious crimes, but a District Attorney goes with "possession…

You are misinformed, there were over 700,000 arrests made for marijuana last year. Even without jail time, a possession charge can have serious consequences for young people. Being ineligible for federal financial aid, losing your job, and losing public benefits just to name a few.

Imagine what better things our police officers could be doing if they didn't have to churn a kid through the system every 51 seconds.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#84

Post by 0x49 » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:27 PM UTC

willholloway wrote: post #58

acomjean wrote: post #46

I think things like drugs and alcohol are worse for growing brains. From a NYC teacher (One reference point) "I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my student…

I think this teacher should take this as an opportunity to examine what it is he, and the institution he works for is offering these students as an alternative, and consider the students are making rational choices that serve them better. We know from the Rat Park study that rats in an enriched environment full of positive social engagement and freedom do not choose morphine. [1] If the students are choosing drugs, i…

"Cannabis based friendships while in high school form extremely tight, rewarding social bonds. With a shared group identity and shared activities. Going to a concert and getting 'so high' can be an extremely life affirming peak experience that strengthens social bonds."

Do you have any stats to back this up besides anecdotal evidence?

"The people with their boot on your face don't have your best interests at heart. Believe in yourself, and find your own way."

This may be the case, but MJ use at an early age is pretty much known by the medical community to cause issues that will directly effect learning. I'm not sure why, if we are a community about learning, we should be encouraging this and spreading outright propaganda.

There may be people that are successful after smoking MJ for years at a time, but everyone that I know that smoked in highschool regularly never really accomplished anything and many are still in the same place (no career, always trying to make ends meet, barely an education).

Here is a good link on teen drug use and the effect on learning:

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/marijuana

It's really not something we should be encouraging.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#85

Post by justifier » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:28 PM UTC

acomjean wrote: post #46

I think things like drugs and alcohol are worse for growing brains. From a NYC teacher (One reference point) "I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my student…

did you intend to leave off the first two sentences of this post?

    I hate pot. I hate it even more than hard drugs. ..

i am trying to understand why this comment is on top for this article

the comment fail to address the linked study and instead quotes an unrelated third party,

the quote is truncated and anecdotal(One reference point) ,

the source of information for this teacher is eavesdropping on teenagers' bravado,

and the teacher seems to confuse his own conclusion seemingly for some rhetorical zing

   I hate when people say that it’s just experimenting. Because from what I’ve seen, it’s when my students stop experimenting.

the argument of 'just experimenting' i understood meant the kids were experimenting with the chemical processes of their bodies, but the teacher convolutes the term with all forms of experimenting

from this quote i recognise this teacher only references his world in relation to cannabis, and to be choosing which students he is friendly with based on how they talk about cannabis among themselves

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#86

Post by wmeredith » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:33 PM UTC

a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #69

Ensorceled wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, it would have to be worse than the impact on your life for getting a felony charge for possession. This whole "we have to put people in jail and destroy any and all future job prospects for their own protection" is madness.

That simply doesn't happen in America. Cannabis is de facto legal throughout the USA. I repeat: marijuana is in practice legal in America, and all these people talking about drug charges ruining lives don't know what they're talking about. The only way you get serious charges or any jail time at all for marijuana in America is when you've been arrested for serious crimes, but a District Attorney goes with "possession…

This is pure disinformation. I was arrested for possession of marijuana in college. There was no other charge, there was no other crime. I was a white middle class male stopped in a middle class suburb of a smallish college town in the midwest.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#87

Post by thenerdfiles » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:34 PM UTC

_98fj wrote: post #6

It appears that regular cannabis use [0] decreases dopaminergic brain-activity [1]. Dopamine is often referred to as "pleasure"-transmitter, but it's function in certain parts of the brain is better thought of as "regulating expectation", therefore influencing drive & motivation. It makes it possible to work on stuff you don't particularly enjoy by focussing on an expected long-term reward. This works by enabling you…

    It makes it possible to work on stuff you don't particularly enjoy by focussing on an expected long-term reward.

This statement asserts causation where only correlation, particular of neural correlates, only justifies.

That part of the brain plays a role in the process of expectation — it does not, by itself, make it possible. Language, other brain functions, social inertia, etc. makes expectation possible, and there is a critical question of the content of expectation.

Cannabis obviously increases appetite and drives a greater motivation for munchies. Therefore, the reduction of dopeminergic brain-activity alone does not isolate cannabis as the defeater of all motivation but rather of certain kinds of motivation dependent on pleasure-data. Obviously what if I derive pleasure from making logical deductions or from reading? What of children who are synesthes, and who mix up stimulae as a neurotypicality modality that is atypical?

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#88

Post by willholloway » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 4:42 PM UTC

0x49 wrote: post #84

willholloway wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this teacher should take this as an opportunity to examine what it is he, and the institution he works for is offering these students as an alternative, and consider the students are making rational choices that serve them better. We know from the Rat Park study that rats in an enriched environment full of positive social engagement and freedom do not choose morphine. [1] If the students are choosing drugs, i…

"Cannabis based friendships while in high school form extremely tight, rewarding social bonds. With a shared group identity and shared activities. Going to a concert and getting 'so high' can be an extremely life affirming peak experience that strengthens social bonds." Do you have any stats to back this up besides anecdotal evidence? "The people with their boot on your face don't have your best interests at heart. B…

I'm not encouraging teenage drug use. I'm pointing out how intellectually, emotionally and economically harmful modern high school is for young people.

Before and during alcohol prohibition, demonizing alcohol was the only way that society had to talk about the problem of domestic violence, because society could not address the problem directly. So alcohol was made the scapegoat.

I believe that we currently use drug use in teens as a similar scapegoat, because we can't talk about the reasons teenagers are in distress.

In my opinion the way we do modern education in its current form is harmful to young people. If it wasn't we wouldn't see such high rates of anxiety, depression and ADHD.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#89

Post by mlucero » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

jbhatab wrote: post #77

acomjean wrote: post #46

I think things like drugs and alcohol are worse for growing brains. From a NYC teacher (One reference point) "I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my student…

I couldn't disagree more. I didn't know code at all and learned over 50% of what I know about code today high. Thousands of hours of high coding. I am now a full stack developer. I was actually the most productive of my entire life when I would wake up and smoke at 8AM every day and continue smoking throughout the entire day. I would also regularly go into class high and have riveting conversations with my professors…

I agree with you that it needs more study. Were you prescribed Marijuana? If not, then it seems like you may have just coincidentally been one of the few people who's performance improved as a result taking this drug.

Re: Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

#90

Post by Floegipoky » Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 5:27 PM UTC

acomjean wrote: post #46

I think things like drugs and alcohol are worse for growing brains. From a NYC teacher (One reference point) "I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my student…

Let me give you another reference point. I know this teacher; I sat in their classes for years listening to them drone on and on about subjects I have no interest in. I listened to them explain to me that '[the next test] will determine my future'. This is the teacher that told me I needed to take 3 years of Spanish in high school or I wouldn't get into a good college.

I know this teacher well, because I was one of their students who started smoking pot.

I went to the beach. I dove in the surf, laughed with my friends, tossed a frisbee, smoked a bowl and fell asleep under the light of the stars listening to the waves crash in.

I went to a concert. A symphonic metal band opened my ears to creative possibilities that I had never before imagined.

I started hanging out with different people. I had previously associated mostly with high academic achievers; most of my new friends were on a different path. They were from the other side of town. They hung out in the school's computer lab, and so did I. They were also some of the most kind and loyal people I'd ever met, and I still count most of them among my closest friends.

At the beginning of sophomore year I was ranked 3rd in my class. I graduated 7th. This teacher was very disappointed in me.

I graduated college with a ridiculous job offer at a growing tech company building systems that save lives every day. Most of the students who slurped up what this teacher was offering didn't realize it was horse shit until they finished school and had to move back in with their parents.