When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves • Hacker News Board

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

#31

Post by CuriouslyC » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:34 PM UTC

jlawson wrote: post #7

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 too often, cut down and get sharp again. Unfortunately not. If you spend a long time smoking you'll end up permanently slower in the brain. Also, let's not forget our friend lung cancer.

I've seen research that smoking can impact the brain development of adolescents, but nothing that shows it permanently impairs the cognition of adults. Please post that research, I'd like to take a look at it.

As for lung cancer, that's a straw man, vapes and edibles make that a non-issue.

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

#32

Post by brainzap » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:34 PM UTC

Is it not related to sleep?

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

#33

Post by narzo » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:35 PM UTC

sigi45 wrote: post #26

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.

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.

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

#34

Post by kranner » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:35 PM UTC

geff82 wrote: post #27

jlawson wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Smoke too often, cut down and get sharp again. Unfortunately not. If you spend a long time smoking you'll end up permanently slower in the brain. Also, let's not forget our friend lung cancer.

And also let's not forget that about everyone with big psychological problems in my peer group started to smoke early on (and developed mental health problems later).

That's just correlation. Maybe they started smoking early on because they had big psychological problems already.

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

#35

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:36 PM UTC

[deleted]

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

#36

Post by beaconstudios » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #18

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.

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.

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

#37

Post by simias » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:39 PM UTC

geff82 wrote: post #9

Who would have thought this! While enzyms in the human body are totally able to cope with alcohol and (which I absolutely do not favor either, for the record), the human body has to "wash out" the remains of pot in the synapses of the brain (which is why there is ZERO alcohol in the blood after a few hours but even after months, smoking pot can sometimes be detected in urine). I personally have a big problem with rea…

I don't know much about biology, medicine or toxicology so I can't really refute your argument but your first sentence triggers all sorts of red flags for me, mainly because it appears way too simplistic and fails to provide any source or real scientific argument.

What does "washing out" mean and why is it bad if remains of pot can be detected in urine months later? What does the fact that the human body is able to "cope" with alcohol quickly have to do with the relative danger of the substances? I seem to recall that the human body is able to process cyanide pretty quickly to get rid of it for instance, I don't think that's enough to say that it's less dangerous than pot.

I definitely don't think we should push people to smoke more (I'm not a smoker myself, pot or otherwise) and we should definitely fight teenage smoking but your pseudo-scientific babble and anecdotal evidence resembles way too much the type of "argument" I see from anti-vaxxers and similar unscientific movements for me to take it seriously.

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

#38

Post by kofejnik » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:39 PM UTC

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 move towards the elimination of all drugs.

I agree. While we're at it, also elimination of all crime and immorality. Let's start by executing offenders on the spot. Guaranteed to deter drug usage in adolescents. And adultery, too.

Also, we could and should do better than allow people to harm themselves by unhealthy food choices. It logically follows that we need to ban cheeseburgers and sugary drinks!

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

#39

Post by geff82 » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

sigi45 wrote: post #20

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.

Legalizing is doing better. Also society doesn't has the right to keep some drugs illegal while keeping others legal. Stop criminalising someone who chose another drug than you prefer. Illegal should it be when it harms others.

There is a big difference between criminalising/punishing people and hyping drugs as all those cannabis activists do. Smoking may be your personal choice - but I honestly think it would be bad for society if the majority did it. There is a reason that under current law using/selling drugs is punished: society as a whole might suffer.

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

#40

Post by heurist » Wed, Oct 31, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

lou1306 wrote: post #21

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.

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.