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bigmike7104
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Registered: 07/12/10
Posts: 1,395
Loc: USA
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Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain
#14605375 - 06/13/11 10:24 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain OpposingViews
A study on the effects of chronic marijuana use was presented at a recent annual meeting of the Society for Nuclear Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. The study was a collaboration between the US National Institute of Mental Health and US National Institute on Drug Abuse. It was presented on Monday night at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
What they highlighted in the presentation were imaging scans of chronic daily use of marijuana – images that they said show the detrimental effect of the brain that heavy use of marijuana causes. The researchers said that heavy use causes a decrease in the number of receptors that are involved in important functions such as concentration, pleasure, pain tolerance, memory, appetite and movement coordination.
They said when smoked or ingested, cannabis’ psychoactive chemical binds to numerous cannabinoid receptors in the brain and throughout the body, and then affects a range of mental states and actions.
The study was conducted comparing the brain scans of 30 daily marijuana smokers to the brain scans of non cannabis users over the course of four weeks. They used molecular imaging in the study and researchers were able to see the changes in participants brains. They found the CB1 receptor, one of the two known types of cannabinoid receptors, decreased by roughly 20 percent compared to the non-consumers.
Lead Author of the study, Dr. Jussi Hivonen said in a news release that with the study, they have been able to “show for the first time that people who abuse cannabis have abnormalities of the cannabinoid receptors in the brain”.
Interestingly, the researchers re-scanned 14 of the cannabis smokers after a one month of not using cannabis and found an increase in the receptor activity in the area that were deficient at the beginning of the study. They concluded with these findings that adverse effects of chronic marijuana use are reversible.
Even though we know that the receptors play a role in pleasure, appetite, pain tolerance, we do not yet understand the extent of the role or the extent to which reduction in the CB1 receptors cause mental or physical problems. The study was only presented, and has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, so the data and the conclusions are preliminary.
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aj123
smot poking



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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14605456 - 06/13/11 10:42 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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'They concluded with these findings that adverse effects of chronic marijuana use are reversible'
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AbstraKt_I_Am


Registered: 12/21/10
Posts: 1,898
Loc: Abroad.
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: aj123]
#14605602 - 06/13/11 11:12 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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this article makes me happy.
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Dave Bowman
Albert Hoffmans Apprentice




Registered: 08/30/07
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: AbstraKt_I_Am]
#14605869 - 06/13/11 12:05 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Feels High Man!
One day in my life I will stop using cannabis and reverse the effects!
Maybe...
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Fronnis


Registered: 04/11/11
Posts: 1,033
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: AbstraKt_I_Am]
#14605892 - 06/13/11 12:09 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Interesting, but the results are just preliminary. If these finding can be backed up by being repeated and peer assessed, then the evidence would be a great reason for it to be legalized, opposing the belief of long term permanent effects.
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GuruBushHippie
MountainMan


Registered: 04/28/11
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14605896 - 06/13/11 12:09 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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"Lead Author of the study, Dr. Jussi Hivonen said in a news release that with the study, they have been able to “show for the first time that people who abuse cannabis have abnormalities of the cannabinoid receptors in the brain”."
That's the same thing that psychiatrac drugs to to other receptors but i dont see any studies being done on those drugs, their adverse effects, or their IRREVERSIBILITY in most cases. Blow trees.
-------------------- Two roads diverged in a wood, and I cut straight through the forest, and that has made all the difference.
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blazenn
rawdog the whale.


Registered: 05/13/09
Posts: 4,584
Loc:
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14606139 - 06/13/11 01:04 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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i remember reading another article about this except it was pointing out how the temporary reduction in cannabinoid receptors is responsible for the "withdrawal" that we stoners go through when trying to quit weed, and you go through those withdrawal's until you're receptors have had enough time to recuperate.
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CosmicLion
Organical



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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14606158 - 06/13/11 01:07 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Great, so they proved that when you smoke you build a tolerance and when you don't smoke you return to normal...
Tell me something I DON'T know...
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Earth's Essence
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blazenn
rawdog the whale.


Registered: 05/13/09
Posts: 4,584
Loc:
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: CosmicLion]
#14606175 - 06/13/11 01:11 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
CosmicLion said:

Great, so they proved that when you smoke you build a tolerance and when you don't smoke you return to normal...
Tell me something I DON'T know...

it actually has nothing to do with tolerance though.
it's pretty much talking about why you have a hard time eating and going to sleep or get a little angrier than usual when you quit smoking weed after doing it every day for awhile. basically this article is talking about why we get "weed withdrawals" only it doesn't go into much detail.
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CosmicLion
Organical



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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: blazenn]
#14606215 - 06/13/11 01:19 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
blazenn said: it's pretty much talking about why you have a hard time eating and going to sleep or get a little angrier than usual when you quit smoking weed after doing it every day for awhile. basically this article is talking about why we get "weed withdrawals" only it doesn't go into much detail.
The language they use, such as:
Quote:
images that they said show the detrimental effect of the brain that heavy use of marijuana causes.
implies that this cannabanoid receptor down-regulation has negative effects aside from during withdrawal.
The real question is this... is a brain or body with a down-regulated cannabanoid system supplemented daily with extrogenous cannabanoids "detrimentally" inferior to a 'normal healthy' system regulated by endogenous compounds.
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Earth's Essence
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mushiefeet
Soggy Sock's Rainy Day's



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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: CosmicLion]
#14606343 - 06/13/11 01:43 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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What I want to know is whats chronic use to them? They dont explain that it could be .5 everyday or it could be 5+ grams be awesome if they actually found that out. Either way this is good news toke up!
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group



Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 45,414
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14606866 - 06/13/11 03:10 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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1000 studies on cannabis and not one on the negative affect of imprisoning a contributing member of society who happens to toke. Seems a wee bit unbalanced.
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bigmike7104
Stranger

Registered: 07/12/10
Posts: 1,395
Loc: USA
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: GuruBushHippie]
#14607508 - 06/13/11 05:11 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
GuruBushHippie said: That's the same thing that psychiatrac drugs to to other receptors but i dont see any studies being done on those drugs, their adverse effects, or their IRREVERSIBILITY in most cases. Blow trees.
from another news article
Quote:
"You have to call it change, not damage," Dr. Marc Galanter, director of the division of alcoholism and drug at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, told CBS News. "If you give someone an antidepressant, it changes their neurotransmitters - it's not necessarily damage."
There's no evidence that cannabinoid receptor activity affects behavior, Dr. Galanter said. But he called the study significant, because the findings help scientists better understand the mechanism of effect of THC on the brain.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20070070-10391704.html#ixzz1PCUgZ7Rr
i'd imagine the same thing is also true for other things such as people who drink caffeine everyday seeing as they can go withdrawal, it's just different receptors are being affected.
-------------------- Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines
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breeg89
i'll tell ya hwhat

Registered: 05/04/11
Posts: 3,120
Loc: mass
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: bigmike7104]
#14608649 - 06/13/11 08:30 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I look forward to seeing conclusions after peer review.
And I can smoke multiple times a day for upwards of 3 weeks at a time, and then just quit cold turkey, without experiencing any unpleasant effects. Is that just me?
Edited by breeg89 (06/13/11 08:31 PM)
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LightShedder
Trading currencies



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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: Dave Bowman]
#14609927 - 06/14/11 12:44 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Synthettek said:

Feels High Man!
One day in my life I will stop using cannabis and reverse the effects!
Maybe...
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420Experience
GC#3



Registered: 08/13/10
Posts: 701
Loc: Searching the Rabbit Hole...
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Re: Study Examines Chronic Marijuana Use, Affect on Brain [Re: GuruBushHippie]
#14610697 - 06/14/11 07:10 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I may be thinking about this entirely wrong, but it seems quite logical... Tolerance anyone?
-------------------- And as far as I'm concerned, it's like I say, drugs are not the problem. Other stuff is the problem. ~Jerry Garcia I am a catepillar surfing on smoke through Shpongleland...
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