Does habitual Marijuana consumption really lower intellectual potential?Because I have been habitually toking for approximately two months and am a highly accomplished, successful high school student (cumulative GPA= 3.99 despite rigorous academic courses, ASB president, 110 hours of community service) who most would say is a role model and do not desire to reduce my potential for success in the future by lowering my intellectual capacity.
(I don't wish to sound braggadocious, I just want you to know more about me so you can analyze this situation completely and thoroughly in an objective manner.)
Is it alright if I just toke on weekends (1-3x/week)?
And if it does truly have these negative effects on intelligence, then how drastic are these effects?
Honestly, were it not for the ridiculous social stigma associated with Marijuana consumption, I do not see anything wrong with it (except for the obvious respiratory physical health effects of smoking, which can be avoided by eating or vaporizing). The only thing I might be concerned about is the effects on the brain...
Because I am 16 and trying to find a job and when a potential employer reviewed my application letter, she said that after reviewing thousands of resumes and application letters, mine was "up there with MBA's," which definitely riled me up about my potential in the future.
I don't know what to do...
I stopped toking cold turkey 3 days ago after toking daily for 2 weeks in order to lower my tolerance and now I feel more clear-minded and better overall (despite the withdrawal symptoms which pestered me but have now mostly subsided.) However, these results cannot directly be attributed to my cessation from weed consumption because, at the same time that I began my break from smoking, I fixed my circadian rhythm; prior to the break, I had my sleep cycle reversed: I was sleeping during the day and awake at night, but I have now successfully regulated my sleep cycle and am back to normal (waking a couple hours after sunup, sleeping a few hours after sundown).
I need some advice. Help a brother out, please.
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PS: Now you know that not all people who consume marijuana are moronic buffoons. Open your mind and analyze the situation for what it's worth. Do not take ideologies into consideration; consider only scientific facts from personal research and your own experiences in life. Stimulate your mind, for however cliche the saying may be, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste," which is why I am now beginning to reconsider my habitual toking...
By reconsider I mean lower frequency of consumption... I don't want to stop completely because Marijuana does have medicinal value (legal for rx use in CA!!! YAY!!!) and is a great way to unwind after a hard day's work (or hard week's work.)
doumbek
"I stopped toking cold turkey 3 days ago after toking daily for 2 weeks in order to lower my tolerance and now I feel more clear-minded and better overall"
You really did answer your question, in spite of the justification you've added afterward. And I know these are justifications because,
"(despite the withdrawal symptoms which pestered me but have now mostly subsided.)"
There are no physical withdrawal symptoms to pot. All of this is mental, in spite of what anyone says. There are no addictive qualities to marijuana; you can just as easily get "addicted" to Pepsi. Research has done their job well by clouding the difference between "habit" and "addiction" in reference to pot. It's a habit, not an addiction, especially after two months. Which leads me to my next point,
Two months is really nothing. You won't see any of the REAL detrimental effects unless you smoke daily, and after 3-6 months.
The larges detrimental effect will be motivation. Pot is amotivational, you'll just start losing the desire to care . . . get up to change the channel, go for something you know you should, whatever. In this respect it WILL affect intellectual capacity because you'll stop doing all the things you do to FOSTER intellectual capacity. You'll stop reading, exploring, expanding your horizons.
However you slice it, habitual use will hold you back, and you'll have to work harder to keep up.
There's an old joke.
Pot smoking leads to . . . . uhhh . . . . I forget.
Short term memory loss also begins to creep in after long term habitual use. You won't see it coming. And as you know, STML is a big factor in intellectual capacity.
Darius Denzel Wesley Dpretty
nope just your sex drive sike no all your brain cells that go away come right back like a ball bouncing from another wall trust me
lensmen2
Duh, oh wow man, that was a heavy question dude....
Ahhh... What did you ask again..????
M
First of all, you're absolutely right. Not all people who smoke pot fit the pothead stereotype.
Secondly, not all people get affected the same way by marijuana. Different people = different genes. Different genes = same things will have different effects. Some people can eat McDonalds every day and not get fat, others become obese. Some people drink alcohol and become alcoholics, others drink all the time and never become alcoholics. Same with marijuana. Some people will have significant and permanent brain damage, others will be fine.
Marijuana does affect the brain. I don't think anybody could discount that. It does cause a dopamine release (high), and a dopamine release WILL cause your brain to change (the neurons rewire). How permanent and by how much depends on your genes.
Here's something taken from by Behavioral Neuroscience textbook (Physiology of Behavior, Niel R. Carlson) on marijuana that might be helpful to you:
THC, like other drugs with abuse potential, has a stimulating effect on dopaminergic neurons...The hippocampus contains a large concentration of THC receptors. Marijuana is known to affect people's memory. Specifically it impairs their ability to keep track of a articular topic; they frequnetly lose the thread of a conversation if they are momentarily distracted. Evidence indicates that the drug does so by disrupting the normal functions of the hippocampus, whihc plays such an important role in memory.
We might exepct that facilitating long-term potentiation in the hippocampus would enhance its memory functions (basically, marijuana excites the hippocampus, which controls memory. Normally, if you excite a brain part a lot, it works faster and more efficiently). However, the reverse is true. Hampson and Deadwyler found tha the effects of cannabis on a spatial memory task were similar to those produced by hippocampal lesions. Thus excessive activation of CB1 receptors in the field CA1 appears to intefere with normal functioning of the hippocampal formation.
[EDIT]: By the way, some other poster said that marijuana is not addictive, just a habit. That's completely wrong. Dopamine release causes habits, yes. That is what keeps you drinking when you're thirsty and eating when you're hungry, and having sex. But the dopamine release produced by marijuana is more than normal. It is not as much as that produced by nicotine or methamphetamine, but it is a lot more than what is natural. So no, marijauna is not a habit, it is an addiction in individuals that are susceptible to addictions.
bunbunner2
Well, maybe your an exception to the rule. However lower sperm count can be linked to marijuana use, but that doesn't mean go out an have unprotected sex.
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