Study: Intelligence, cognition unaffected by heavy marijuana use. By William J.
Cromie Gazette Staff The new study of cognitive changes caused by heavy marijuana use has found no lasting effects 28 days after quitting. Following a month of abstinence, men and women who smoked pot at least 5,000 times in their lives performed just as well on psychological tests as people who used pot sparingly or not at all, according to a report in the latest edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry. That's the good news. The bad news, not included in the study, is that most heavy users admit that pot has had a negative effect on their physical and mental health as well their functioning on the job and socially.
"If there's one thing I've learned from studying marijuana for more than a decade, it's that proponents and opponents of the drug will put opposite spins on these findings," says Harrison Pope, a Harvard professor of psychiatry and leader of the research. Withdrawal produces impairment Unsatisfied lives "It's a chicken and egg situation," Pope admits. 33 U.S. Clinical Studies Show Marijuana’s Medical Use. Seven Things You Didn't Know About Medical Marijuana. Get Topic Updates Share Slideshow Written by Emily Lapkin and Medically Reviewed by Scott Pearlman, M.D. 1.
Legal in 15 States. National Cannagraphic Magazine @Cannagraphic.com. What cannabis actually does to your brain - io9. Chances are they would've ended up brainless morons with or without the pot.
Dad Gives 2 year old son battling with Brain Cancer Medical Marijuana. Marijuana for Your ADHD Kid. Jamaican Study Of Pregnant Mothers Shows That Marijuana Doesn't Harm Newborns. By Janelle Stone It’s almost too taboo to discuss: pregnant women smoking marijuana.
It’s a dirty little secret for women, particularly during the harrowing first trimester, who turn to cannabis for relief from nausea and stress. If you were to inquire about pot and pregnancy on the Web, Baby Center offers a strongly worded warning from Gerald Briggs, pharmacist clinical specialist. Briggs says that pot affects the baby’s growth and development and–gasp! –may even cause childhood leukemia. More than 50 pages of comments were posted to the site about Briggs’ statements. Pregnant women in Jamaica use marijuana regularly to relieve nausea, as well as to relieve stress and depression, often in the form of a tea or tonic. Dreher studied 24 Jamaican infants exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 infants that were not exposed. Most North American studies have shown marijuana use can cause birth defects and developmental problems. “March of Dimes was supportive,” Dreher says. Dr. Pot Kills Cancer and Our Government Has Known for 36 Years. Top 10 Cannabis Studies the Government Wished it Had Never Funded « bluehoney.org.
Study: Marijuana Doesn't Affect Driving Performance. It's something most seasoned pot smokers already know, but still it's nice to get more scientific confirmation: Marijuana doesn't make you wreck your car. Subjects show almost identical driving skills just before and just after smoking marijuana, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Investigators from Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine measured the simulated driving performance of 85 people in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Volunteers responded to various simulated events associated with auto crash risk, such as avoiding a driver who was entering an intersection illegally, deciding to stop or go through a changing traffic light, responding to the presence of emergency vehicles, avoiding colliding with a dog who entered into traffic, and maintaining safe driving during a secondary (in-the-car) sound distraction.
More links from around the web! THC Gives Cancer Cells the Munchies Too : The Scientific Activist. Through the results of widespread experimentation of the… well… let’s say “non-scientific” variety, it’s pretty well known that marijuana has the side effect of making the user very hungry.
This is one of the many physiological effects of the active ingredient THC (? 9-tetrahydrocannabinol). More relevantly, however, THC and other cannabinoids are actively being investigated for various useful clinical purposes, including the treatment of cancer through the inhibition of tumor growth. A new study by Salazar et al. in The Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that THC causes tumor cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside (a process called autophagy, i.e.
“self-eating”). Despite the imagery that the title of this post (and maybe even casual experience) may imply, it’s not that THC causes cancer cells to ravenously and indiscriminately destroy themselves. Mostly, this is interesting (to me) more for the big picture aspect and the implications for clinical medicine.