In response to last night's LNC. This is what some of the psychologists at my university are talking about.
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I have read over your comments and have posted grades for Discussion # 3 - Legalize Marijuana ? A few quick comments. Overall a good job ..... for those who posted. Sounds like most of us agree that marijuana is not a horribly dangerous drug and that legalization might serve some good purposes (like use enforcement money for more serious drugs, raise money by taxing it, stop putting OK people in prison, etc.). All good points. Also sounds like most of us agree that marijuana is not without some problems and that we are concerned about people using any drug (including alcohol) and then driving or using heavy machinery. I also would throw in things like flying a plane or doing surgery. The problem here is that unlike alcohol there is no clear way to measure impairment -- marijuana seems to affect people differently. I also have real concerns about long term effects. I believe that people who use on a regular basis do develop memory problems and often lose motivation (the TV image of the stoner is not totally inaccurate though it may be exaggerated). Of course, the current research is about people who chose to use illegally so may be a biased sample. The other good reason to legalize is tax revenue. I believe marijuana is the number one cash crop in California and now generates no tax money at all. The Colorado "experiment" in legalization will be interesting ---- will it raise tax money or will people continue to use illegally ? Will "normal" people who use show symptoms now shown by "stoners" ? Will legalization get the crime cartels out of it ? Will legal use cause more drug-related problems ? I think the next few years will be very interesting as we watch what happens there. I have a friend who is a cop in Texas --- he tells me Texas cops and drug agenst will be watching cars traveling back from Colorady very closely and expect to make a lot of drug busts on those who go to Colorado to buy legal marijuana. Anyway -- good job.
I do not have sources with me at home, but a quick google of "long term effects marijuana" shows several articles. If you look at these, be aware of the source as many of the "studies" are very biased depending on the views or the audience of the article. I based my comment as much on my long term study (very small sample size) of friends who smoked a lot as well as things I have read over the years. Some of my very good grad school friends simply never got around to finishing and did not graduate after 4-5 years in grad school even though they were very intelligent. I think a big factor is that the people who choose to use drugs are different in some ways from those who choose not to use (for better or worse). For example, users tend to have lower anxiety but also may have lower goals. There also is some confusing data suggesting that people who become schizophrenic later in life tend to use marijuana when younger at higher rates than non-schizophrenics. This also may simply depict "self-medicating" to get rid of feeling odd. It is an area that needs more-better research. Maybe as it becomes legal we will finally get valid research. Hope this makes sense.
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TRUMP 2020
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I think it's a decent bullet point. From a research perspective, assessing "long-term" effects with MJ presents problems, because many of the adverse long term effects are likely to be subtle.
A good example is the "amotivational syndrome" mentioned. How do you quantify and collect data on something like that? It's very difficult. I also agree with the problems assessing impairment, but frankly, the difficulty in assessing drug impairment exists with ALL psychoactive substances.
-------------------- ...the whole experience is (and is as) a profound piece of knowledge. It is an indellible experience; it is forever known. I have known myself in a way I doubt I would have ever occurred except as it did. Smith, P. Bull. Menninger Clinic (1959) 23:20-27; p. 27. ...most subjects find the experience valuable, some find it frightening, and many say that is it uniquely lovely. Osmond, H. Annals, NY Acad Science (1957) 66:418-434; p.436
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