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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

#141

Post by GrumpiNerd »

rv-de wrote: post #125
empath75 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Weed makes you feel - provided one responds positive to it - not weary, not impatient and one finds the present activity overly interesting. That's basically what he said. You're doing something that you'd ordinarily find boring, but now you don't feel bored. Feeling bored is your mind telling you that you should be doing something else.

And how is that bad? Okay - so you normally would feel unpleasant. Now you don't because of weed. Of course you can argue weed is unhealthy - totally possible. But regarding the perceived state change. How is that causing harm? Because s/he's not going to become wealthy or "successful"?

Being able to not rely on government assistance for ANYTHING, including health care, would be a start.

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

#142

Post by gbanfalvi »

zaarn wrote: post #80
Waterluvian wrote: post #67

Maybe this is too reductionist but I once heard someone describe it as, "there's nothing fundamentally dangerous about pot, but one of its (often intended) effects is that is slows our engines down. And some of us need to be firing on all cylinders." School was a tricky time for me. I'm thriving intellectually now, but I was a C- student pretty much 4th-12th grade. I needed those cycles that pot would have robbed me…

One the other hand, people who feel like their engines are firing on all cylinders all the time (ie ADHD and friends) might find some relief in a drug that allows them to slow down and switch of their head radio while firing on only one cylinder...

The problem with ADHD and friends cause is that my brain actually _doesn't_ fire on all cylinders. While I think I feel the same way as everyone else and I have the same cognitive ability, I don't have the energy to structure my work, complete it and keep track of things in ways other classmates/coworkers magically can.

Cannabis certainly has a calming effect that could lower the hyperactivity component, but it doesn't address the attention deficit part.

The reason the most common treatment are stimulants like Ritalin, is because it "wakes us up" and brings us ADHD people to an alertness level similar to what our peers have by default.

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

#143

Post by Balero »

rv-de wrote: post #125
empath75 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Weed makes you feel - provided one responds positive to it - not weary, not impatient and one finds the present activity overly interesting. That's basically what he said. You're doing something that you'd ordinarily find boring, but now you don't feel bored. Feeling bored is your mind telling you that you should be doing something else.

And how is that bad? Okay - so you normally would feel unpleasant. Now you don't because of weed. Of course you can argue weed is unhealthy - totally possible. But regarding the perceived state change. How is that causing harm? Because s/he's not going to become wealthy or "successful"?

I think sometimes, not a big deal.

The problem is if you do it to excess. When you would rather stay in and get high, than meet up with friends, drop out of school etc. When you are not living up to what you consider successful for yourself. Then you have a problem.

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

#144

Post by macspoofing »

nabla9 wrote: post #118

Pediatric neurology and neurology are different specialties in medicine because developing brains are very different from adult brains. I'm all for legalizing pot and it's just natural that young people _experiment_ with drugs. That does not mean that constant drug use during adolescence should be perceived as normal or harmless.

>it's just natural that young people _experiment_ with drugs.

Is it?

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

#145

Post by sigi45 »

geff82 wrote: post #43
sigi45 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And?

And? It's ok if you do not care. But I wanted to make clear that for the body there is a difference between alcohol and other drugs as alcohol, to the body, is mostly just another nutrient (I mean almost all ripe fruits contain a certain amount of alcohol, yet we eat them without problems).

Weed is very natural. Very old.

Alcohol is responsible for many illnesses. It is NOT 'just another nutrient'.

There is a difference between a few slight trails of alcohol vs. what we drink.

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

#146

Post by unethical_ban »

rv-de wrote: post #127
conception wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Weed makes you feel - provided one responds positive to it - not weary, not impatient and one finds the present activity overly interesting." - Exactly. It makes you ok with being bored rather than feeling weary and impatient and prone to go and do something instead of finding whatever banal activity you're doing overly interesting.

What's wrong with "banal" activities?

You're right, it's a matter of values.

Banal: Overeating/overdrinking/overconsuming, sitting around, reading reddit/HN for hours, playing video games or twitch.

Not banal: Challenging yourself to new activities or hobbies that require skill. Seeing the world, interacting with other people IRL. Learning (new topics, reading, etc). Building things. Getting out of your comfort zone.

Essentially, being passive/not learning/not engaging vs. learning/challenging oneself and trying to be more than you are.

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

#147

Post by josefresco »

thrower123 wrote: post #135
narzu wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that alcohol and tobacco are legal doesn't mean we should legalise all drugs that are somewhat healthier than alcohol and tobacco. I think we can do much better.

Tobacco shows probably the most effective way to reduce consumption of something - make it legal, but put heavy sin taxes on it. It's hard to keep a heavy cigarette habit going when a pack of Marlboros is like $10. I don't smoke marijuana, but I'd like to see it legalized, if for no other reason than to shift law enforcement resources to more important things - when people are dying every day from Fentanyl overdoses,…

Heavy taxing and regulation will be (and is) a boon to the cannabis black market. In my state (MA), cannabis was legalized, but individual towns are preventing recreational shops from opening. The result? A booming, home-grown cannabis market.

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

#148

Post by [deleted] »

rv-de wrote: post #123
IanCal wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As far as my observations go this is particularly not fitting the perception experienced under the influence of weed. And that is the point of what they're saying. Being bored can be uncomfortable. One route out of that is to do something more interesting and productive, another is to alter your perception so that you are ok with it.

I think it depends on your definition of boredom. What does feeling bored mean to you?

[deleted]

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

#149

Post by gwbas1c »

zaarn wrote: post #80
Waterluvian wrote: post #67

Maybe this is too reductionist but I once heard someone describe it as, "there's nothing fundamentally dangerous about pot, but one of its (often intended) effects is that is slows our engines down. And some of us need to be firing on all cylinders." School was a tricky time for me. I'm thriving intellectually now, but I was a C- student pretty much 4th-12th grade. I needed those cycles that pot would have robbed me…

One the other hand, people who feel like their engines are firing on all cylinders all the time (ie ADHD and friends) might find some relief in a drug that allows them to slow down and switch of their head radio while firing on only one cylinder...

Exactly!

My study strategy in college was to review my notes for about an hour, take a bong hit, and watch a movie. Then I would get a great night sleep.

Otherwise, test anxiety would keep me awake and do more harm than good.

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

#150

Post by icebraining »

GrumpiNerd wrote: post #141
rv-de wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how is that bad? Okay - so you normally would feel unpleasant. Now you don't because of weed. Of course you can argue weed is unhealthy - totally possible. But regarding the perceived state change. How is that causing harm? Because s/he's not going to become wealthy or "successful"?

Being able to not rely on government assistance for ANYTHING, including health care, would be a start.

Good luck finding a single person on a developed country who fits this description. If anything, people with incredible drive lean on government assistance the most (e.g. Elon Musk and his two heavily-subsidized companies), because they know how to find leverage to accomplish their goals.
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