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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

#91

Post by Waterluvian »

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...

ADHD was pretty much the reason I struggled in school. The diagnosis gave me access to medication which turned a knob between two settings:

Be social, happy, energetic, hungry, incapable of succeeding in the education system of the 90s, 00s. (default me)

Be quiet, jittery, never eat, anti-social, depressed at times, but kick ass at school.

Tried a lot of different ADHD medications and generally found success in simply selectively switching that knob when I wanted to be a human or when I wanted to be a learning machine.

I wonder what pot would have done... never really thought about it.

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

#92

Post by bryanlarsen »

geff82 wrote: post #17
chickenfries wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prohibition doesn’t work. Legalization and regulation do. Alcohol and Tobacco are the proof. We can do much better than a cure which has shown to be worse than the disease.

Legalization mostly works in the way that more people consume it. (punishing the use does not lead anywhere either).

There are very definitely ways to do decriminalization that result in lowered usage: Portugal and heroin is the standard example.

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

#93

Post by dredds »

jlawson wrote: post #78
CuriouslyC wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>As for lung cancer, that's a straw man, vapes and edibles make that a non-issue. Isn't that kind of like saying "drunk driving is a straw man, Uber makes it a non issue"? Of course we know there's less harmful ways to consume these substances. We also know many, many people will not make use of those less harmful ways.

Again, show us the evidence that a non-tobacco-smoking average pot smoker has increased risk of lung cancer.

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

#94

Post by dsfyu404ed »

i-am-charmander wrote: post #70
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.

A family member of mine basically smoked away her future, in a sense, throughout middle and high school. She wasn't always the brightest candle in the box, but the heavy marijuana use certainly didn't help. She has the cognition and mental maturity of a 14-year old, now at 30 years. Seeing how it affected her prompted me to "take a hint" and I've avoided the stuff since. That's not to say I avoid alcohol at all, howe…

Your anec-data is pretty common. Most people went to high-school with a couple people who have basically the same story you describe. One of the people in my class "smoked himself stupid" over the course of sophomore and junior year. He tried to clean up his act and he cut back a lot toward the end of junior year and did manage to graduate but he was certainly not the same person. Maybe those changes would have happened regardless of the pot (he smoked at least daily), maybe not. I have no idea where he is now.

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

#95

Post by acct1771 »

beaconstudios wrote: post #87
frereubu wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nicotine is a stimulant. I'd argue that stepping out of the office for a few minutes is what relaxes you and reduces your anxiety, not the cigarette. Unless you're a regular smoker when smoking stops withdrawal symptoms. (I'm an ex-20-a-day smoker)

the stress and anxiety relief also works outside the office, otherwise I wouldn't bring it up.

Stepping away from your issues and gaining new perspective can be just as effective as drugs.

Source: performance enhancing cannabis user

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

#96

Post by PhasmaFelis »

geff82 wrote: post #19
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.

I just upvoted your comment because it is the truth and most probably you will be heavily downvoted for not being mainstream :)

It is literally false. There are only two countries with actual tobacco prohibition, Bhutan and Turkmenistan, and only since 2005 and 2016, respectively. We have decades of evidence from dozens of countries that total prohibition of recreational drugs is disastrous. Sensible regulation is what's needed.

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

#97

Post by bdcravens »

empath75 wrote: post #24
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 imagine that a lot of successful people you know right now smoke pot and don't tell you about it.

Successful people learn when and how often to enjoy what life has to offer and still remain successful. What was meant by "regular pot smoker" is up in the air, but I interpret that those who smoke a bit more than they should, in the same way you can do that with alcohol (or sex, or food, or HN, or whatever, and still remain successful)

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

#98

Post by 5trokerac3 »

tosser8398b9 wrote: post #68
5trokerac3 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

I’ve had many programming design breakthroughs while lifted. Write ‘em down, check ‘em the next day - many remain awesome (and some are confused). Something about the heightened ability to focus on a single thing, deeply. As you say - it’s a deeply personal thing. I also never actually smoke anymore. Edibles FTW

One might consider that an artistic/creative revelation. Weed is definitely good for that.

"Why is this code breaking?" Not so much...

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

#99

Post by gmadsen »

frereubu wrote: post #83
beaconstudios wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Nicotine is a stimulant. I'd argue that stepping out of the office for a few minutes is what relaxes you and reduces your anxiety, not the cigarette. Unless you're a regular smoker when smoking stops withdrawal symptoms. (I'm an ex-20-a-day smoker)

smoking definitely reduces stress when smoking, but it also makes you a more stressful person.

Its like rubbing yourself with poison ivy, just so you can have the relief of itching a scratch

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

#100

Post by puranjay »

5trokerac3 wrote: post #59
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.

I've met so many proponents of weed who say it makes you more creative and artistic

Trouble is, all these people just smoke up and watch TV instead of doing anything creative

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