Community | June 04, 2008 | 24 comments

Smoking pot all day, every day might not be good for you

source: http://blog.norml.org/2008/06/03/smoking-pot-all-day-every-day-might-not-be-good-for-you/

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Enjoy_Cannabis
Ever wonder why the studies purporting to ‘prove’ marijuana’s health risks only recruit subjects who smoke pot 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

"Heavy marijuana use shrinks brain parts
via Reuters

Brain scans showed the hippocampus and amygdala were smaller in men who were heavy marijuana users compared to nonusers. … The men had smoked at least five marijuana cigarettes daily for on average 20 years."

The answer: If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be any purported risks left to write about.

I mean, seriously, imagine if these scientists had tried recruiting 15 subjects who drank at least five shots of vodka every day for 20 years? That is, if they could find 15 subjects who were still alive.

"Marijuana may up heart attack, stroke risk
via Reuters

Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of a particular protein, perhaps raising a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday. …The marijuana users in the study averaged smoking 78 to 350 marijuana cigarettes per week."

The study did not look at whether the heavy marijuana users actually had heart disease.

So here we go again. Three-hundred and fifty joints per week?! Who are these people? And what’s with the caveat at the end of the story? If the purpose of the study is to assess whether there might be a link between ridiculously heavy pot use and heart disease, then why not, you know, look to see whether the subjects actually suffered from heart disease? (Likely answer: aside from the abnormal protein level, the patients were probably otherwise healthy.)

Bottom line: smoking pot all day, every day probably isn’t good for you (though I find it interesting that, even among the most prolific pot users, most of the herb’s purported dangers are either speculative or are only apparent on hyper-sensitive brain scans and multi-tiered neurocognitive tests). Fortunately, 99.9 percent of pot smokers don’t behave this way.

And no, it’s not prohibition that curbs their use habits; it’s the recognition that too much pot is not conducive to an otherwise healthy, responsible lifestyle (just as pounding five shots a day wouldn’t be conducive to, well, life).

So what lesson can be learned from the two studies above (aside from the fact that our government has no interest in investigating the health of ordinary cannabis consumers)? It’s that pot, like alcohol, is best consumed in moderation, and that pot prohibition — even when compared to the excessive use of the drug itself — still poses the greatest threat to health.

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
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24 comments // Smoking pot all day, every day might not be good for you

  • samonster34
  • resin_lungs420
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • Who can function that way and get anything done with all that short term memory loss?

      It should be something to relax with something spiritual; in my opinion, not something to make you forget about what an insane world it is that we live in right now. For that we need to have our senses about us so we can read the signs.

    • 3 years ago
  • jubal
  • stephenthomson
    • 0
      stephenthomson  

    • Friends - The Current Moderators have removed all of my comments on this thread. Apparently I'm not allowed to encourage illegal activity. Of course they TOTALLY missed the point in that I was discussing safe healthy ways of ingesting the plant.

      'Marijuana's baad, mmk?'

    • 3 years ago
  • YourMothersMilk
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • YourMothersMilk:

      I don't know if it's a record, or just a statistic used to discredit anyone who talks about cannabis/hemp as 'all' being wildeyed druggie.

      Some people only think in extremes. When studies are done which want a certain outcome, they can be rigged to get the outcome they want.

    • 3 years ago
  • cibalin
  • twodee
  • cerealforeal
    • 0
      cerealforeal  

    • Why don't they do studies on alcohol like they do on marijuana? Why not with fast food? I'm sure smoking everyday is a lot healthier than drinking, eating fast food, and taking pain medicine daily.

      If I had to choose, I would choose nature's plant over a foreign poison to our body.

    • 3 years ago
  • abreecdefg
  • Thargor19
    • 0
      Thargor19  

    • "Brain scans showed the hippocampus and amygdala were smaller in men who were heavy marijuana users compared to nonusers. …"

      well if anyone has read up on neuroscience, one would know that in anger in men these 2 features are enlarged unnaturally, so in essence the prolonged usage of cannabis may help reduce these "monkey brain" leftovers of early-mans needs, increasing perceptual intelligence. Yet the strikes on our short-time memory seem to improve long-term memory making it easier for us to recall past events and important bits of information.

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
  • robbyyyface
    • 0
      robbyyyface  

    • I love how you all are saying
      i'd rather smoke weed than drink vodka everyday
      as if its an escape from everything else
      i have an idea that seems pretty wise
      why not use any of that shit, and you wont have to worry about your body.
      unbelievable

    • 3 years ago
  • Conniepae
  • johnmcstupid
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • Hey Virtual Will Rogers, that is a good advise for the kids! Stay out of it as much as you possible can. Do not ever touch on cigarettes, they are dirty! Learn how to say, NO Thanks!

    • 3 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • I understand what you mean Stephen. Some of my friends also like the pleasure of smoking with paper. As Enjoy_Cannabis said, vaporizers seems to work better. Make sure you clean it and disinfect it time to time. Actually sterilization should be a normal thing to do for each day of intake. I wish they could make paper without any chemicals. Not sure if that is possible. Hey Stephen, change your vaporizer by a glass one!

    • 3 years ago
  • Virtual_Will_Rogers
    • 0
      Virtual_Will_Rogers  

    • How many small time marijuana users are in prison in America right now?.........How many big time sex predators are not?......including Catholic priests.......stopnoise is right...........smoking is not natural......unless you have been hit by a lightning bolt........be a natural animal......let your senses start to work for you.........you will be amazed......Golden Ruler........Will.............

    • 3 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • Like I said on previous posts. Smoke is Smoke no matter how you want to put it. Make some brownies, avoid paper cellulose, avoid inhaling ashes or burned ashes into your lungs and esophagus. Take care of your personal physical health. Simple precautions and moderation is really the name of the game here.

    • 3 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • stopnoise:

      Even if you say it over and over again, it doesn't make it fact. Fact is I think the smoke issue is questionable. I would think facts would over rule what we think?

      Facts are not judged and changed by 'group think'. 'Group think' can rule by opinion, but they can not change 'group think' into fact.

    • 3 years ago
  • BetterWatching
  • 96thdayofrage
  • ivxx
    • 0
      ivxx  

    • It's not the size that matters but how you use it, baby ya!

      I don't smoke that much but I do stay high all day.

    • 3 years ago
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