There have been no proven long-term effects on marijuana on the brain. There are on alcohol, nicotine, and even some tentative studies for caffeine, but examinations on chronic, long-term marijuana users found no damage to their mind.
Marijuana does cause short-term memory loss during usage, and thus chronic users may appear absent-minded all the time, but even in the most severe cases memory loss will cease within a few months of abstinence.
Marijuana also lessens aggression by stimulating alpha waves, which are generally associated with meditative and relaxed states. Chronic users may appear abnormally "chill" and talk in a dreamy, floaty way. This has no correlation with brain damage, however, and marijuana has actually been shown to heighten the imagination and improve creativity.
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*** And to the person who said they've experienced IBS symptoms as withdrawal when quitting marijuana, it's probably because you have IBS symptoms. Smoking marijuana is a pain reliever, so there fore would have relieved the pain and unease associated with IBS (or similar symptoms.) When you quit smoking pot, you were not longer on pain relief. Make sense?
Get a grip people.
60 y/o long term user looking to chat with you....
How are you?
Steve
DennisD is a retard who believes everything the government tells him.
You can smoke weed all day everyday, your brain will be fine dude.
Now light up and enjoy.
And if this stupid Dennis c**t replies just ignore him, his life is filled with believing everything main stream media tells him and some belief that "the man" has his best interests at heart.
Get high whilst you can, and enjoy the f**k out of it.
Peace
Well i hear alot of people saying "i'm been a long term smoker or a heavy smoker or bla bla" and a few i believed, and a few i believe were talking out of their bottom. I will say this (and this for anyone really reading for an educated answer):
I've been smoking pot steadily since i was in 7th grade. I went from a lil everyday to now i'm 26 and smoke a few times daily (about 2-3 grams of consumption per day). When i was a younger boy, the pot was alot milder, but now that i'm older and can afford nice things, i smoke a stronger blend. Here is what i honestly notice:
1. If i dont smoke, i'm grumpy. Its more of a mental game, i'm used to smoking like any normal smoker would be and get anxious when i dont have a smoke.
2. My eating habits have changed after long term use. I literally have to smoke a certain bit before getting the appetite i need to eat large meals. Like i said i smoke daily, so if theres a time when i have none, i eat smaller amounts and i lack interest in food.
3. My short term memory or focus is impaired but only when i'm actively high. This occurs usually when i have multiple things to coordinate. If its simply myself and i'm focusing on work, i dont notice any lack of focus. When i have to juggle task or remember things within the high timespan, things can get jaided.
I will state that i dont have ANY long term memory problems. My current job requires that i remember pages of text and quotes and i dont have a problem obtaining that material from my memory.
I will also state that people are wrongly informed that pot kills brain cells (check online to see that study debuked). My mind is still pretty sharp, enough to excel in highschool, reach the presidents list in college, obtain my bachelors degree, and then further develop my own business.
So to break things down, heres the postives and negatives i've gotten out of pot and long term use:
Positives
1. Stress Relief (i personally enjoy it more than alcohol, but different strokes for different folks)
2. Creativity or a different outlook (if you not naturally creative, then i'm sure you wont find any advantages)
3. I just enjoy smoking (i dont like cigarettes or alcohol or any other related vice)
Negatives
1. short term memory/focus loss
2. appetite distortion (mainly a long term problem)
3. costly and shunned by society (self explanatory)
4. Grumpy if i dont have a smoke
I will say....everyone is different and there are alot of variables that effects people differently. These are just personal HONEST observations put out there for people who do above-average amounts daily.
the basic upshot of his study :
if you begin using Cannabis between 14-17 , you have 20x the likelyhood of developing schizophrenia than a person who has never smoked.
if you begin using Cannabis between 17-21 , you have 6x the likelyhood of developing schizophrenia than a non smoker .
if you begin using Cannabis after 21 years old, you have the same chance of developing schizophrenia as a non smoker.
it clearly points to Cannabis has an affect on young brains , and messes with the chemistry of a growing brain .
a developed brain knows how to handle the chemical swings that THC brings.
i started using Cannabis at 25yo , and am now 41.
I have yet to have any significant issues.
Well , a bout of insomnia in 2007 , but not much else.
i eat a healthy diet of fruit , vegetables, fish , eggs , nuts , breads , 4 piccolo latte's daily , with thai takeaway 2-3 times a week .
I don't eat meat.
I drink about 1L of water
Probably smoke 3-4 cones / day .
i smoke using a bong , always filtered with water , and i use a cotton make up pad over the mouthpiece of the bong.
there's a difference in water cooled smoke using a filter , and smoking a joint .
Smoking a joint = dry hot smoke entering your lungs , as well as the smoke from your tally ho paper , with no filter.
Whilst i am no scientist, i am pretty sure after trying both ways , that water filtered smoking
i can go 3-4 weeks without Cannabis without freaking out , but i usually go back to it, cause life is just more fun being a little baked most of the time.
I have a decent paying job, and i am a functioning member of society.
I do plan taking a sabattical from my THC for a few months , as my wife and i are trying to conceive, but i probably will go right back to it i imagine , if we are lucky enough to get pregnant.
Ok i smoked alot in the past, had some strange experiences before hand while smoking and afterwards
while giving up i went through a spiritual awakening and also had some doubious times which later scarred my brain by following the rabbit hole the pshychatrist said i have psychosis
I will say i went and did daily routines while smoking but unlike some peoples here i craved Mary Jane the smell the effect etc at the time
Over the years it affected my nerves, my thought patterns as i later found out as all the routines and paranoid times went into me and caused backlash cause all thoughts are energy - cause and effect people
Following putting bad habits to rest i have had many memories come back to me actually i have some everyday, my eyesight has improved from needing glasses to 20/20 vision
My brains functioning has increased, i havere-learned to eat right and to get out of negative thought patterns and on the road to recovery :)
I agree that abusing anything is bad and that young people should not smoke expecially if they suffer from depression etc
Hemp is something that has great potential in many aspects of life and is great to study
i use it as protien on my diet
Do meditate and it has helped grately i still have a very creative mind :)
Just wanted to post this incase its beneficial to someone
you are so full of sh*t its absurd......................
just like any DRUG people will find an excuse to use and abuse. how about being yourself without "medication" try it sometime it works. if you believe inhaling burning smoke is in any way good for. see you on the darkside of the moon. i'm 30 and have been smoking daily for half of my life. thats 15 years for all u stoner mathmeticians out there. you arent fooling anyone but yourself and are bound to get caught up in either being broke or in trouble with the law and/or your workplace. you can be amazing without pot. take it from a VET.