Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet • Hacker News Board

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

#241

Post by ramesh31 » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 4:24 PM UTC

notjulianjaynes wrote: post #202

somenameforme wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A cynical take on many governments embracing weed is Soma [1]. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_(Brave_New_World)

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

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

Moral of the story being that every utopia is, by definition, someone else's dystopia.

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

#242

Post by t-3 » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 4:38 PM UTC

guywithahat wrote: post #197

ultimafan wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this in general though of course there are exceptions though from anecdotal experience they're outliers. The amount of people I went through my teenaged and then university years with who adopted the stance of "weed isn't a "real" drug and smoking every day for years on end doesn't make me an addict" when it was clearly affecting their life negatively in a visible way was always baffling. The majority of…

I had a college friend who claimed it wasn't addictive, and then became addicted. Towards the end of freshman year he quit school for a couple weeks, just to determine he couldn't stop smoking and went right back. Last I spoke to him he was still trying to quit, and he had a new method of locking the weed in a box to limit his use. His withdrawals included him becoming extremely anxious, which is presumably why so ma…

Weed isn't physically addictive. Forming habits is a very different thing though - anything can become addictive if you train yourself to need it. I've known heavy smokers who couldn't eat or function normally without weed, but people with less structured and intense habituation who use similar amounts over similar lengths of time without any issues.

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

#243

Post by abracadaniel » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 4:43 PM UTC

aurareturn wrote: post #203

ramesh31 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A cynical take on many governments embracing weed is Soma The marijuana prohibition of the 20th century was a complete anomaly in practically all of human history, driven almost entirely by US policy. Before that humans had used the plant recreationally and commercially without hassle for thousands of years. We'll be just fine.

We will be just fine. Just like cigarette smoking, eventually weed will become unpopular to smoke. Unfortunately, it does seem like there is a big uptake in users after legalization, which hopefully will subside.

I don’t think Cigarette smoking became unpopular without heavy regulation. In countries that don’t have such restrictions, smoking is still ubiquitous.

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

#244

Post by iforgot22 » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 4:43 PM UTC

piva00 wrote: post #221

iforgot22 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kids didn't listen to it, but it was right. It painted weed and harder drugs as pointless and dangerous, which they are.

Pointless is quite wrong though. Drugs can be dangerous and because of it should require a lot of thought, education about, and respect if you partake on it but they are definitely not pointless. If used in ways that doesn't affect someone negatively (and here is where the danger, education, and respect part comes in) it can provide life experiences that you could never, ever have by being sober. Doesn't mean that a…

There isn't much to be educated about. Scientific research about the long-term effects of any of these is inconclusive, even on alcohol and tobacco which is everywhere. All they know is smoking increases the risk of lung cancer.

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

#245

Post by iforgot22 » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 4:51 PM UTC

raincole wrote: post #163

iforgot22 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

D.A.R.E. was right

One interesting I noticed is that the common sentiment online on "War on drug failed" is "so we'd better surrender to drug".

The related "legalizing weed will make people use it less" was a common argument before it was legal. We were actually taught that in college. Did not seem like a good-faith argument.

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

#246

Post by aurareturn » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 5:09 PM UTC

abracadaniel wrote: post #243

aurareturn wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We will be just fine. Just like cigarette smoking, eventually weed will become unpopular to smoke. Unfortunately, it does seem like there is a big uptake in users after legalization, which hopefully will subside.

I don’t think Cigarette smoking became unpopular without heavy regulation. In countries that don’t have such restrictions, smoking is still ubiquitous.

Cigarette smoking stopped looking cool to teenagers and young adults.

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

#247

Post by lfmunoz4 » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 5:10 PM UTC

For me cannabis 100 percent effects sleep. You should determine that for yourself, which quite easy to do by keeping a dream journal for 1 month on weed and completely free from weed. That for me is reason enough not to do it. Sleep in critical for high performance, for many people sleep might not be the limiting factor but it is likely a huge factor to being at your best each day.

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

#248

Post by aurareturn » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC

butterandguns wrote: post #171

Perenti wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've consumed far more than my fair share of cannabis, starting at age 19. I'm also almost certainly ADHD (according to friend who's a psychiatrist, but says I'm untestable), and have a meaninglessly high IQ. I've noticed that amongst very slow people, more _seem_ to have started smoking dope at a very young age (9 to 12). The idea that pot could be very bad for adolescents in particular is not a new one. I certainly…

How do you think those final stages of maturing would have been different for you? I picked up weed in my mid 30s and now in my late 30s am a heavy user. Sometimes I take an edible and hack on a hard problem in the middle of the workday and it turns it into a fun challenge rather than a stressful endeavor. I think finding weed at this stage in my life has made me more introspective and certainly a better husband and…

Weed is better than alcohol. But I think you shouldn’t get too rosy with weed. There are a ton of negative things that come with it, including the potential to disassociate with society and long term memory loss.

I’d recommend visiting r/leaves regularly.

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

#249

Post by aurareturn » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 5:17 PM UTC

interludead wrote: post #213

roughly wrote: post #4

One aspect I’m curious about, especially given the younger cohort, is the causal directionality here - especially when I was younger, I knew a lot of people who were self-medicating with cannabis for things like anxiety and ADHD, which also have effects on working memory and executive function. I’ve known enough heavy users long enough that I do believe there’s long term cognitive effects (whether directly or indirec…

I had a friend who was self-medicating her anxiety and bipolar disorder (as I understand it, she only found out about the bipolar disorder some time after she quit smoking). She was pursuing a bachelor's degree at the time and was highly promising in her field, according to her supervisors. But after six months of use, all her academic achievements turned into failures. Plus, during depressive phases, cannabis someti…

Seems like a common story and I’m glad she came into that realization without wasting a decade or more.

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

#250

Post by qup » Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 5:25 PM UTC

bitxbitxbitcoin wrote: post #208

INTPenis wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is 100% my own anecdote but I believe it helps me with my autism. And I believe that my relative who also has autism and never used cannabis in their life has been impeded by not using it. Just looking at us both now in our 40s, I have a stable career and they are a shut-in on disability. A lot of things lead us here but at the end of the day I think cannabis gave me a release, a way to let things go, not fret t…

Is your username a play on your INTJ result from the Myers Brigg Type test? Regardles, I relate to your comment a lot. Research is coming out from the Network of Applied Pharmacognosy that calls this the stoner neurotype.[0] [0] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/146-pharmacognosy-feat...

...why wouldn't it be a play on the INTP type?