cannabisnews.com: Study: Pot Doesn't Hurt Thinking Skills 





Study: Pot Doesn't Hurt Thinking Skills 
Posted by CN Staff on June 27, 2003 at 08:14:59 PT
By Jenny Diamond 
Source: SignOnSanDiego.com 
Marijuana does not substantially harm thinking skills of long-term recreational users, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego. They analyzed 15 previously published research studies, and the only side effect found was a minimal reduction in learning and memory. "In the case of cannabis, there is a back-and-forth in literature about brain damage," said Igor Grant, M.D., the study's senior author and director of UCSD's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. "We found that marijuana users were surprisingly intact." 
UCSD researchers evaluated the neurocognitive abilities of 704 cannabis users and 484 nonusers. In addition to learning and memory, UCSD researchers looked at participants' simple reaction time, attention and motor and language skills. While the studies included a wide range of marijuana users, Grant defined recreational marijuana users as those who smoke a couple of times a month to a couple of times a week. The marijuana group was slightly more likely to have minor memory problems, said Grant, who is also a professor of psychiatry at UCSD. It's unlikely that the problems identified in the lab would significantly affect the users in the real world, he said. The study will be published today in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. UCSD's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is a state-supported program between UCSD and UC San Francisco that oversees studies of medicinal cannabis. Grant emphasized that only marijuana's residual effects on the brain were studied, not the short-term effects of a marijuana high. He called the analysis' conclusions "curious." "You would expect that a group of heavy marijuana users would have more difficulties," he said. From a neurological standpoint, the analysis suggests that there is a fair amount of safety in short-term medicinal marijuana use, Grant said. In 1996, California voters adopted Proposition 215, which permits the seriously ill to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. A Medical Marijuana/Cannabis Task Force was created to help advise the San Diego City Council on regulating medicinal marijuana. "It's one more factor for policy-makers to look at and consider," said Ed Plank, a task force member. "This will be one more piece of information to help weigh the potential negative impacts versus the benefits." The task force is searching for $35,000 in funding to begin a new medicinal marijuana program. The City Council approved the Voluntary Verification Card Program last year. It will allow people with a card to legally possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. Humbolt County, Marin County and the city of San Francisco have active verification card programs. Marijuana use, however, remains against federal law. "I don't think people should read into the results (of the study,)" Grant said. "The study was not designed to address issues of legalization of marijuana or whether it's appropriate to use recreationally." Grant noted that there were significant limitations in the researchers' evaluation. Complications in the individual studies, such as lingering traces of marijuana in the body and the accuracy of the subjects' self-reporting, posed problems. It was also possible that the participants in the studies used other drugs. Despite the specific focus of the evaluation, Grant said he knows that people will interpret the study to their liking. "I'm sure people will spin this in various ways," he said. Note: Recreational use appraised.Source: SignOnSanDiego.com (CA)Author: Jenny Diamond Published: June 27, 2003Copyright: 2003 SignOnSanDiego.comWebsite: http://www.signonsandiego.com/Contact: http://www.signonsandiego.com/about/ut/contacts.htmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:CMCRhttp://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/Chronic Cannabis Use http://freedomtoexhale.com/ccu.pdfSmoking Pot Doesn't Harm Brain Function - Study http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16706.shtmlHeavy Pot Use Clouds Mental Function - Studyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14858.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by charmed quark on June 28, 2003 at 14:46:29 PT
This actually make me feel better
I've never doubted thar typical recreational use is pretty benign. Simply by observation. But now that I'm having to use a legal form nearly everyday, probably for a very long time, I worry about long-term effects of heavy use, just like I do with any pharmceutical I take.And I've heard so much negative propaganda over the years that, even though I know it is nearly all false, it creates a negative dread in me.So this is a nice little study to hear about.-Pete
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Comment #6 posted by SoberStoner on June 27, 2003 at 16:08:35 PT
Something even more amazing..
Not only did this guy analyze 15 (!) studies and found nothing harmful about cannabis use as pertains to mental capacity over extended periods of time, let us also remember that almost every single study that has been institued over the last 30-40 years has been predisposed to show cannabis as 'the most harmful substance ever!!!!!!'Imagine the results his analysis would have shown if cannabis studies were actually allowed to show both the positive and the negative aspects of mother cannabis.Judging by the reaction of Dr. Grant, I imagine that when this 'study' was commissioned it was also predisposed to finding the long term harmful effects of cannabis use, and it's result is...there is none.Do NOT let this study drift by the wayside like the IOM did..do not let it be ignored like all the rest.FIFTEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!If you cant find harm in 15 (now 16)different studies predisposed to finding it, add the math up....THERE IS NONE!!!!The lie is over...Freedom will never be given, it must be fought for.This is more ammo in our fight...do not waste it.Peace and LoveSS
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Comment #5 posted by CorvallisEric on June 27, 2003 at 12:27:09 PT
Another prohibitionist trick
When all else fails, compare reality with "what could have been."billos said P.S. jonnie pee, please don't write back to try and convince me that if I wasn't a stoner, I would have been a PhD by now. ... Reminded me of the incredible 1999 editorial about Carl Sagan in my ex-hometown paper (changed ownership since then) that ends with:When your teen points to Sagan's pot-smoking habits and then to his scholarly accomplishments, here's what you can say: Think what he could have accomplished without being stoned.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n903/a07.html
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Comment #4 posted by druid on June 27, 2003 at 10:47:46 PT
link to the study
http://www.hnrc.ucsd.edu/publications_pdf/348art2003.pdf
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Comment #3 posted by billos on June 27, 2003 at 10:44:07 PT:
brain power
Alright. After reading this article I have to now confess that I have done my own research, and I was my own guinea pig to boot. I’ve smoked weed moderately most of my life. At 49 y.o. I had been smoking everyday for about 7 years straight. I quit my cushy corporate job because I just couldn’t stand corporate amerika anymore and went back to school. I’m a semester away from an associates degree in information systems, have maintained a steady GPA of 3.75 and managed to work 35 hours a week. Oh yeah, and drink beer too. This is my brain, and that’s the way it is on pot. And jonnie pee thinks I’m dangerous. The End.P.S. jonnie pee, please don't write back to try and convince me that if I wasn't a stoner, I would have been a PhD by now. I'm right on schedule for finishing within the two years. 
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Comment #2 posted by Lehder on June 27, 2003 at 08:50:27 PT
marijuana and brain disease
>>"In the case of cannabis, there is a back-and-forth in literature about brain damage," said
   Igor Grant, M.D., the study's senior author and director of UCSD's Center for Medicinal
   Cannabis Research. "We found that marijuana users were surprisingly intact."The minority of Americans who have not smoked marijuana ought to ask themselves if eighty million other Americans smoke marijuana because they seek to destroy their brains, bear problem children, ruin their health, and end their lives.>>"You would expect that a group of heavy marijuana users would have more difficulties,"
   he said. No, common sense should tell you that tens of millions of Americans smoke marijuana because they find that the quality of their lives is enhanced by marijuana. Only the most obtuse drug-warring idiot would claim that so many suffer from a suicidal brain disease.>>He called the analysis' conclusions "curious.">>"I'm sure people will spin this in various ways," he said.Spin it as you like, but>>"You would expect that a group of heavy marijuana users would have more difficulties,"
   he said. it looks the same from any angle: the myths about marijuana are giving way to the truth that smokers' only problems with marijuana are legal problems. Marijuana should be legal.
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Comment #1 posted by cloud7 on June 27, 2003 at 08:24:26 PT
...
"We found that marijuana users were surprisingly intact." I find it suprising it took detailed analysis of 15 studies to come to this conclusion.
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