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When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

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Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#51

Post by gbrown »

narzu wrote: post #16
zaroth wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Do much better” is a platitude - it conveys zero information as to what you actually believe should be done differently.

We should move towards the elimination of all drugs. Prohibition has worked wonderfully well for tobacco in many countries, cutting consumption in half and even more.

Would you seriously contend that prohibition doesn't come with awful side effects? The cartels in Mexico and South America are big fans.

We tackle smoking and alcohol abuse through education (and tax, to a certain extent). Meanwhile prohibition is being selectively enforced in the US to criminalize being non-white. I see zero reason to continue the madness, and economics, social science, and history tend to agree.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#52

Post by [deleted] »

narzo wrote: post #33
sigi45 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And? It is not your choice to tell me if I wanna get buzzed or not. I don't mind others smoking. I mind wrong advertising, advertising to kids, cigarettbutts, the stink etc.

Actually yes, it's society's choice to tell you what you can do or not. Deal with it, or maybe go to live to Liberland.

[deleted]

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#53

Post by dclowd9901 »

heurist wrote: post #40
lou1306 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, being "more benign" does not imply that it won't have any effect on a developing brain.

I don't think anyone is saying it wouldn't. But it is worth noting that usage among teens in Colorado has been declining since legalization: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/11/follo... Perhaps reducing the black market and reassuring that the option will be open to them down the line makes the drug less accessible and less immediately desirable.

The implication was there and it was worth calling out. I’ve heard surprisingly little about the negative effects of marijuana in general conversation, to the extent that it seems to be above reproach (for some unknown reason).

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#54

Post by simion314 »

df24g3t36 wrote: post #29
narzu wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should move towards the elimination of all drugs. Prohibition has worked wonderfully well for tobacco in many countries, cutting consumption in half and even more.

We should move towards the elimination of authoritarianism. Giving those the right to push their beliefs, no matter how apparently beneficial, cuts human freedoms. Let people do what they want to do as long as it doesn't harm others. It's not your business otherwise.

The problem is that you have big financial interest from tabacoo (or other) industry that promotes consumption of X and on the other hand you have an under-budgeted health department that will try to spread information and make studies etc. So the average person will be tricked by the gigantic adverting campaigns... my point a person can't do a correct choice when big money companies have the intrest he does the wrong choice.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#55

Post by adonnjohn »

narzu wrote: post #16
zaroth wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Do much better” is a platitude - it conveys zero information as to what you actually believe should be done differently.

We should move towards the elimination of all drugs. Prohibition has worked wonderfully well for tobacco in many countries, cutting consumption in half and even more.

We should start a war on drugs and check back in in 40 years.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#56

Post by chosenbreed »

beaconstudios wrote: post #36
jerf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have done much better. Look at tobacco usage. It hasn't plummeted because it was outlawed. I don't think we'd necessarily get the same plummet with marijuana, because the health story isn't quite as uniformly bad, and I get the sense that pot users don't get as acclimated as cigarette users, who seem to be smoking not to feel good but to avoid withdrawal. (Just on the drug's own terms, tobacco is a really bad deal…

as an ex-smoker who sometimes relapses for short periods, for me it's not to avoid withdrawal. It relieves stress and anxiety, and also gives me an excuse to step out of the office for a few minutes for a break or to collect my thoughts.

> It relieves stress and anxiety, and also gives me an excuse to step out of the office for a few minutes for a break or to collect my thoughts.

Should we really need excuses to step out of the office to get some fresh air, collect our thoughts, etc for a few minutes?

I think there is much to be said about cigarettes relieving stress and anxiety...

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#57

Post by dclowd9901 »

mylons wrote: post #41
lou1306 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, being "more benign" does not imply that it won't have any effect on a developing brain.

brake dust causes dementia. if you live in a city, you're killing yourself from teh air you breath.

Totally the same as actively choosing to smoke weed.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#58

Post by koliber »

geff82 wrote: post #15
S0ckpupp3t wrote: post #4

A drug more benign than alcohol. Smoke too much, take a nap. Smoke too often, cut down and get sharp again. Drink too much, you get flu symptoms. Drink too much too often, you get a new liver, or die.

Smoke once and it will be detectable in your body for weeks, drink once and no one will ever detect it in a linear number of hours after. The body has enzymes for alcohol, but non for pot. Drinking too much too often is another problem, of course.

Detectable vs. functioning are two different things. For cannabis, it is metabolites that are detectable for some time afterwards. They are no longer actively having an effect on the person. These metabolites get deposited into some tissue, like hair or fat, and can be detected later.

Imagine you eat cherries and accidentally stain your hair. This means that the cherry substance will be detectable in your hair for a long time, but any effects of you eating the cherries will be long gone.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#59

Post by 5trokerac3 »

S0ckpupp3t wrote: post #4

A drug more benign than alcohol. Smoke too much, take a nap. Smoke too often, cut down and get sharp again. Drink too much, you get flu symptoms. Drink too much too often, you get a new liver, or die.

"more benign" !== "benign"

Everyone I know that smokes daily (a lot of people) is less cognitive than those I know who don't smoke, in every arena except artistic pursuits. And not everyone reacts to weed the same way. I decided to quit when I recognized a lessened ability to solve complex coding questions the day after smoking.

Re: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

#60

Post by mbrock »

toyg wrote: post #49
empath75 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mostly agree with that, but I think we should definitely still be telling teens not to smoke pot, or really take any psychoactive drugs. And I say this as someone who has done a lot of them. Given that a lot of adults find it impossible to use drugs responsibly, teens definitely should be avoiding them. I also think we should be doing it honestly and not telling them that their brain is going to immediately leak ou…

> we should definitely still be telling teens not to smoke pot, or really take any psychoactive drugs. And I say this as someone who has done a lot of them. Man has this annoying tendency not to believe facts unless they are experienced directly. You can tell teens what you want and they will still do what they want, especially if they know you did the same and ended up alright. I agree that honesty is the best polic…

Teens also have this horribly annoying tendency to go on the internet and find other points of views. Like, I remember finding that essay where Carl Sagan explains how sensible cannabis smoking helped him appreciate art and music, gave him good ideas for articles and books, and was generally a hell of a nice time.
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