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Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

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Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brave New World is actually a utopian story told from the perspective of a weird shut-in who only reads Shakespeare and the Bible.

And in another drug-parable 'The Matrix', Cypher is actually the hero, advocating the acceptance of the blue-pill retreat into synthetic chemical fantasy as opposed to the harsh depressing truth of reality. His failure ultimately leads to 'system failure' and the deaths of billions of adults unable to mentally deal with their expulsion from the dream-world.

The recent Matrix movie is certainly bad, but I strongly believe that a single change would have been cool: in the scenes where it's revealed to the viewer that Neo looks like a different man[1], he should look like Cypher. Someone famous, important, struggling to reintegrate, joylessly chewing on some steak, etc. ...

1. https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2021/09/08/46-1631115261242.p...

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#232
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it great to live in a world where everybody is entitled to their own opinions, eccentric though they may be.

The (western) world today is incredibly divisive, and differing opinions are not only met with hate but lies are rampant and people in power use this propaganda to keep themselves there, sucking resources from everyone else and cause untold amounts of suffering to satiate their infinite greed. I’m not advocating for a world where people can’t speak their mind, but it does feel like a stretch to call the current situa…

aren't propagating proprietary agendas the foundational problem, constituting the lies and the fraud that both the hate and it's recipients reactive actions result from, not the other way around?

it looks like it's not even a cycle, though it might look like one because the coal is shoved top down into the boiling boiler room, to reward and insentivize, the business and marketing psychologists and the disseminatora of the algorithms that keep the information flows to the population as separate as necessary. all under the auspice of cultural friction and artifical obstacles to keep the convection rate as limited as is necessary to keep political and social leaders in fear so that they don't even have to come running for advice when (some)one sparks a civil micro conflict.

the older cousin of the "small wars theory" ... a knife attack here, a truck into a christmas market there ... and suddenly people don't need to vote Right, AND their conservative party doesn't have to ruin their image by taking the upRight stance ... the situation demands it, after all, the people need protection

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And in another drug-parable 'The Matrix', Cypher is actually the hero, advocating the acceptance of the blue-pill retreat into synthetic chemical fantasy as opposed to the harsh depressing truth of reality. His failure ultimately leads to 'system failure' and the deaths of billions of adults unable to mentally deal with their expulsion from the dream-world.

The recent Matrix movie is certainly bad, but I strongly believe that a single change would have been cool: in the scenes where it's revealed to the viewer that Neo looks like a different man[1], he should look like Cypher. Someone famous, important, struggling to reintegrate, joylessly chewing on some steak, etc. ... 1. https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2021/09/08/46-1631115261242.p...

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Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#234

I'm inclined to believe that there is fairly likely to be long-term negative health effects from cannabis use, but that the very obvious correlation many people in this thread can probably identify with their friends in highschool is just that, a correlation, for some reason or series of reasons. My friends who really got into weed at that time were absolutely addicted to it, and some of them I do believe let it affe…

Personal observation and common sense logic are often disregarded as 'unscientific', yet they are more powerful tools for learning about the world around us than sifting through hundreds of papers we are not trained to on scholar.google

Weed make you dumb short term? Probably make you dumb long term.

Friends who smoke weed end up dumb and underachieving? Correlation established.

Life is not a college science test. Sometimed you have to just put 2 plus 2 together.

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#235
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a bunch of anecdotes where the only successful people from the same school and friend group are the ones that regularly smoked and still smoke weed? They have the best memories of the people you know? >Weed isn't going to give you a leg up in life, but it's not a guarantee that you're going to end up in a dead end job and live with your parents forever either. Sure, and smoking doesn't guarantee lung cancer.…

I have anecdotes of them having good jobs and being successful. I do not have anecdote of them being the ONLY successful. Success wise, they are around the same as everyone else. > Sure, and smoking doesn't guarantee lung cancer. It sure as hell makes it more likely, though. And even with smoking it is possible to exaggerate health risks it poses. Just like you severely exaggerated marihuana risks.

How did I severely exaggerate anything? I am not OP

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#236
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is marijuana considered so wonderful? It isn't considered "wonderful". It's just not worth putting people into prison over. It's still a vice, like tobacco, alcohol, or gambling. There are also some important differences between it and cigarettes. 1. Way less actual smoking needed. Or not needed at all because edibles exist. 2. It isn't chemically addictive or habit-forming for most people. 3. There are legitim…

> 2. It isn't chemically addictive or habit-forming for most people. I've never understood why people claim it's not addictive when there are well established symptoms experienced when withdrawing. Disruption in sleep quality, vivid dreams, insomnia, etc. I was a nightly smoker for a long time (only after 8pm, never during the day) -- it took extraordinary effort and multiple attempts to quit. Perhaps there isn't a s…

"for most people"

If you were a nightly smoker you were already addicted. Most cannabis users don't use it daily. In that way it's like alcohol. This is in contrast to tobacco users, who use it like caffeine.

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#237
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend getting evaluated for ADHD. Both drugs and non-drug management strategies can radically improve your quality of life. I don’t see how you can be “untestable.” There is no test- they interview you and other people in your life to see if you have the symptoms or not.

Living with attention challenges doesn't require a formal diagnosis to start implementing helpful strategies. I was diagnosed with ADHD ten years ago and while medication helped with focus issues, it came with significant side effects. Instead, I adopted these practices: - Creating daily schedules - Preparing essentials (clothes, lunch, gym gear) the night before - Regular exercise - Meditated daily - Quitted weed -…

There have been huge advancements in specific life strategies for ADHD- many of them organically from the community, but they aren’t the same things that work for people without ADHD to add structure and discipline- they are adapted to require less executive control. You don’t need a professional diagnosis to try them- but it helps you know what is more likely to actually work, and can be helpful for some people to take it more seriously and deeply investigate and try ADHD specific strategies.

For me, the "Hacking Your ADHD" podcast has been life changing- after trying a number of productivity advice books and not knowing why I couldn't get any to work, this podcast mentions ones that work for me.

Moreover, while not everyone with ADHD does well on or needs medication, for a lot of people it is absolutely life changing... and people end up suffering needlessly for years because of preconceptions that prevent them from trying it. It’s worth trying and finding out. Personally, I think more people would benefit from the less used non stimulant medications and/or lower doses of milder stimulants- most people that have bad side effects are taking heroic doses of amphetamines. I think a lot of doctors are just incompetent when they are starting people out like that.

I do all of the things you listed above plus an extremely low dose of ritalin, and neither would work for me without the other. Structure, discipline, and habits are life changing for anyone- but a lot of ADHD people try the regular advice for implementing them unsuccessfully for years.

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#238

I'm inclined to believe that there is fairly likely to be long-term negative health effects from cannabis use, but that the very obvious correlation many people in this thread can probably identify with their friends in highschool is just that, a correlation, for some reason or series of reasons. My friends who really got into weed at that time were absolutely addicted to it, and some of them I do believe let it affe…

> As South Park put it, weed lets you feel ok about doing nothing, and that's dangerous in aggregate. I'd say, this is a huge feature, because in modern society we're losing the ability to just sit and do nothing. Look at old people, sometimes they spend hours just sitting and looking through the window, completely zoned out. I can't do that for five minutes no matter how stoned I am. My life revolves around having a…

From my experience with meditation and weed I'd claim that sitting, "zoning out" and doing nothing requires significant effort.

Weed works in opposition to that. It more likely makes the mind wander more, not less. That's not always a negative thing, but I think it's almost the opposite of meditation.

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#239

I'm inclined to believe that there is fairly likely to be long-term negative health effects from cannabis use, but that the very obvious correlation many people in this thread can probably identify with their friends in highschool is just that, a correlation, for some reason or series of reasons. My friends who really got into weed at that time were absolutely addicted to it, and some of them I do believe let it affe…

Personal observation and common sense logic are often disregarded as 'unscientific', yet they are more powerful tools for learning about the world around us than sifting through hundreds of papers we are not trained to on scholar.google Weed make you dumb short term? Probably make you dumb long term. Friends who smoke weed end up dumb and underachieving? Correlation established. Life is not a college science test. So…

Funny. I have smoked regularly for two decades, yet also have two STEM degrees, a full time EE job, occasional side work, and I’m fixing up a 100 year old house.

But I started in farm land learning to build with raw materials, fixing tractors and other machines, growing food, while most of my peers sat inside watching TV. My muscle and cognitive memory is well developed from development of electronics products, a life of building homes and barns to stripping cars to frame and rebuilding them.

Weed has nothing to do with underachievement. It’s a contemporary culture that champions low effort fail up office work or asset ownership. Having worked in web apps the last 10 years, the only challenge I’ve faced is keeping pace with low output office lifers who never learned to rotate a tire or grow a potato.

Weed just makes someone more of their inner self. I get stoned and take on a project because that’s what I’ve done my whole life (built new garden boxes and ripped up an old sagging deck last weekend). A stoned couch surfer was already a lazy couch surfer.

Re: Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet

#240

I'm inclined to believe that there is fairly likely to be long-term negative health effects from cannabis use, but that the very obvious correlation many people in this thread can probably identify with their friends in highschool is just that, a correlation, for some reason or series of reasons. My friends who really got into weed at that time were absolutely addicted to it, and some of them I do believe let it affe…

Personal observation and common sense logic are often disregarded as 'unscientific', yet they are more powerful tools for learning about the world around us than sifting through hundreds of papers we are not trained to on scholar.google Weed make you dumb short term? Probably make you dumb long term. Friends who smoke weed end up dumb and underachieving? Correlation established. Life is not a college science test. So…

We learned nothing from your casual observation. You took 2 parts and combined them together to form a conclusion based on hearsay. So not better than what you're arguing against.
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