Anti cannabis pseudo science

[GOD]

Cannabis Exposes Teens to Mental Illness - A recent study has shown that cannabis causes severe psychosis in teenagers

Cannabis has been around for millennia – indeed, as archaeologists have proved, the miracle of cannabis smoke has been puzzling our ancestors ever since the Neolithic age, which means that yes, once humans have found something they really enjoy, it's unlikely they're going to give it up without a fight. Today, cannabis is seen as a drug and its cultivation, possession or transfer are punishable by law in the vast majority of countries around the world.While the medicinal use of cannabis for pain relief has its vocal supporters, there are still countries around the world where cannabis possession is punishable by life in prison or even execution. For those of you who still feel that cannabis is a light drug that's unlikely to have any long-term effects if used moderately, here's a not-so-good piece of news: a recent study conducted in Finland has proved that the earlier we start smoking cannabis, the more exposed we are to developing psychotic symptoms that can evolve into severe mental illness later in life.In the largest study of this kind, Finnish experts from the University of Oulu interviewed over 6,000 youngsters with ages between 15 and 16 and found that those who had used cannabis more than once had a higher average number of symptoms indicating a risk of psychosis. The most prominent three such symptoms experienced by teenagers were found to be an unexplained feeling that they were being followed, difficulty in controlling the speed of their thoughts and an equally unexplained feeling that something strange was going on around them. Of course, frequent drug users run a much higher such risk, but even one-time drug users were proven to be extremely vulnerable to developing psychosis.

"These teenagers are likely to be vulnerable to the mental effects, which means they are probably vulnerable to developing psychosis at some point", stated doctor Jouko Miettunen, who led the Finnish research team. This latest evidence comes to support the point of view that cannabis is by no means a "safe" drug, as many teenagers believe. As a result, they should regard even one-time smoking as dangerous and be aware that the harmless pot is putting them at a very high risk.

 

[st.bot.32]

I would always be against physically underdeveloped brains using substances of any kind. That being said, how much higher a risk? How come the vast majority of psychedelic and pot users I know lead highly productive lives, go on to higher education, etc?

They should carry out a similar study on alcohol.

Puzzled.

 

[restin]

They should carry out a similar study on alcohol.

It is actually confirmed that alcohol makes your brain stop/hold back of growing (at younger age i guess), that's what I've heard.

I've also heard that cannabis exposes you to higher risks of shizophrena (I've heard this from a doctor). Can't be sure about that one but it's hard to deny that often use of cannabis has got long-term effects.

 

[GOD]

Excessive Cannabis Users Risk Partial Brain Shrinking - Memory and emotion regulation areas most affected

The parts of the brain affected by long-term, heavy cannabis use are those where memory and the regulation of emotion functions reside. High resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the brain of 15 men who have been smoking at least five joints per day for periods of time at least 10 years long compared to that of people who haven't been consuming any drugs show that the hippocampus region of the brain of cannabis users has suffered a decrease in volume of about 12 percent, while the amygdala, responsible for controlling fear and aggression decreased by 7.1 percent.The study was conducted by Murat Yucel from the University of Melbourne. The results have a high degree of accuracy since the tested people haven't consumed any other drugs more than 10 times in their lives, but have been drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. Also, the study shows that both long and short term memory has been altered in heavy cannabis users."They are only about 39, but they were performing at the level of a 55- or 60-year-old", Yucel said.Heavy cannabis consumers are also more likely to suffer from paranoia and social withdrawal, while the decrease in the volume of the hippocampus is highly likely to trigger psychotic disorders, even though the tested patients didn't show any symptoms of such afflictions. The volume decrease in the mentioned areas of the brain appears to be directly related to the consumed amount of cannabis, meaning that the drug is most likely responsible for the shrinking.Other similar studies had previously found that cannabis did not affect the brain in any way, probably because they used as test subjects people who consumed moderate amounts of cannabis and the brain scanning techniques were not all that accurate as the high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging used in the investigation carried out by Yucel.

 

[poisoninthestain]

studies don't mean shit.

...that's just my 2 cents.

 

[ararat]

these are the results of 20 years excessive consuming? nice. those are good results, or aren't they?
I'm not going to smoke excessively for 20 years every day anyway.


20 years of alcohol abuse would look quite different, but that doesn't count anyway...



stoned greetings :weedman: