Don't kill the messenger boys.


http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/12/18/marijuana-tough-on-teenage-brain/10288.html


Smoking pot every day can permanently alter a teenager's brain, new research from McGill University says.

The results of the study at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre so surprised the scientists, they redid it twice. "We didn't believe in our results, so we did it three times. We always had the same results. All of the subjects responded in the same manner," Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher and McGill professor, told the media.

Those results showed that long-term use of marijuana by a teenager decreased the compounds serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain, which in turn sapped the subjects of motivation and the ability to handle stress while increasing depression. The study suggests the long-term effects are irreversible.

"It means cannabis is more dangerous than we thought for adolescents," Gobbi said.

"It's not an easy message to transmit. In the last 10 to 20 years, marijuana was perceived as a safe drug. It's not easy to change this culture."

In the short-term, Gobbi said, there was evidence that marijuana in low doses increases serotonin, giving an "antidepressant effect." The long-term effect, however, was the opposite.

"This doesn't mean adults are not affected," said Gobbi. "But we didn't expect to see this strong an effect on adolescence" when brains are still in development.

Previous studies have tracked changing attitudes in teenagers who smoke pot, but Gobbi said this is the first to nail down the impact on "the neurobiology mechanism," or chemistry of the brain, when tracked against consumption.

The McGill study used rats, which have a 20-day adolescence, said Gobbi. They were exposed to marijuana for all 20 days.

"The implications are that there should be a warning about the consumption of cannabis during adolescence because of the long-term effects in the brain devoted to the regulation of emotion."

The study was funded by the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation and published in Neurobiology of Disease.

I can agree with that. The entire time I lived in Lewis County I wanted to shoot myself. I never thought it could be the medical-grade ganja they used to have down there.

Some things are so common sense that it is almost surprising that scientists would make the effort to study them...almost. A pharmaceutical company, which will remain nameless, recently tried to develop a treatment for obesity by creating an inhibitor to the canaboid receptor, which is the receptor that is stimulated by the active agent in weed. Although the drug worked for the targeted indication (patients lost weight...i.e. the anti-munchie), it had side effects, namely ,depression. Scientists being the science nerds that they are, and having never experienced true college life, thought they could out science/smart a condition. However, if you were to ask your run of the mill college student what the opposite effect of weed would be and I guarantee most would say it would be a sense of being bummed out (i.e. the anti-giggles). The drug failed in phase II clinical trials, of course, due to non-desired psychotropic effects (i.e. enrolled patients felt bummed out.)...DUH!!!

I was reading this then I lost motivation and got kinda stressed out which I couldn't handle so I quit
JD

Dude, major buzzkill.

Kinda brings a stronger meaning to the term : "Moderation"....

JMHO, but kids under 18 should not have access to cannabis unless on recommendation of an MD, anyway.

ISO

Yeah, I'll buy that.
I started smoking when I was 15-16, smoked almost daily for about 9 years. When I stopped smoking it, I started having horrible panic attacks and nasty anxiety. Took a run or two of serotonin uptake inhibitors to get back on an even keel.
But, it passed after a year or so and I really enjoy the stuff every once in a while nowadays.
Every persons results will vary.
Moderation, just like everything in life is the key.

Point... too much weed when your young is bad.
With that being said 5 of my friends/classmates have died of alcohol and other drugs in the past decade.
My stoner buddies are doing just fine, better than most actually.

the only thing this study may prove is that adolescents RATS should not be given cannabis and humans are humans and not adolescent rats
my conclusion is that the adolescent rats were stoned enough to realize that they where in fact in a cage while being involved in a propaganda war and that warranted the depression and lack of motivation
nothing more
nothing less

I see nothing wrong with rats that lack motivation.

shocking JG! i didn't think you approved of our democrat controlled government

This is depressing. I may need a toke. Where's Dan?

Sg

I don't understand how I got this reputation...................

that explains what happened to my life....

I've never been a proponent of kids smoking weed, even though I started when I was 13. I will say studies are bias, and the parting sentiment that resinates from the relationships I have had is that I am "different" when I smoke and drink. Last time around I said, "No shi%, I don't spend my hard earned cash for weed and booze to think and feel about things the same way I do without them."

Dewbie??

Mf

I smoked a [censored]-ton of weed and did all kids of other drugs for years and it never altered my brain .

Enjoy the Holiday brownies. I wonder how many domestic violence calls are generated from John Doe #1 after he put down A fifth versus calls generated after John Doe #2 smoked half of his twan. I tend to think Subject 2 is going to be a little more laid back and non violent/confrontational than subject 1 all hopped up on some whickey. Just a thought.

sorry ta say----it has NOT repaired the damage, just makes it more bearable for the rest of us.

I don't understand it either Dan?

I think I have said it before but I have never even seen weed, let alone tried it. I teach my kids to avoid any substance than can alter mind and behavior or that may lead to addiction, that can be habit forming and expensive to use. It looks like I'm vastly in the minority but that is just how I fly. I had no idea that pot is so prevalent...guess I'm just naive.

But I gotta say, I love AA's avatar! On second thought, sex/porn may cause changes in behavior, cause addiction, and be expensive. Go figure.

I have two sons and now have two new grandchildren. One of the sons likes to fish and make things bleed, while the other is living in whatcom cnty and likes to smell the flowers. The whatcom grandson has a mother who loves the bong and is nursing my 5 mo. old grandson. The kid is very happy all the time but also at times seems awfully lethargic. It kinda scares me that she may be doing some damage and yet there is very little research that I have found that proves it.

Wife says don't worry about it, the boys turned out alright. The weed wasn't quite the same in the late seventies as we have today.

Touchy subject to discuss and they are too old to put on restriction.

So I vent to a bunch of smelly fisherman? Happy New Year!

If those scientists need a human to feed that stuff to, I'll take one for the team. LOL.
I smoked it daily when I was younger through highschool and beyond a few years but quit a couple years ago and I didn't notice any of those side effects. I call BS that just because rats were effected in 20 days doesn't mean humans are the same. Our great gov't probably even paid a grant for that stupid study. You know the difference between a drunk and a smoker? The drunk blows the red light, the smoker stops at the green. Tell me which one is worse. I think daily alcahol use is physically worse for you too. Might as well sell it at gas stations, tax the crap out of it and get the U.S out of debt.

Can of Worms anybody

LOL


LOL


LOL


LOL!!!!!