Posted on 09/26/2014 6:15:59 PM PDT by Mariner
Right, it wouldn't be turning away from God, destruction of the family, abortion, homosexuality or anything like that, would it be?
that’s some extraordinary research right there, I don’ care who you are.
But they'll still get it and smoke it and there's nothing anyone can realistic do to stop it.
I think other, more serious factors are in play when it comes to dumbing down the American mind. This substance, like any, should be subject to limits and moderation, but should not subject to criminal prosecution in every instance. This is one area where, if Republicans played the cards right, they could gain a substantial coalition in terms of general liberty and respect for the Constitution. Mind you, that does not mean libertarianism, as if no one is accountable to his neighbor.
This distinction between developing brains and not, does it come into effect at age 70 or so?
Marijuana my butt!
The real threat is islam
Wake up and smell the jihad!
For one thing, the n sample size is too small to be confident of conclusions. Since this is a non-interventional approach, and no harm to subjects comes about, a larger study using hundreds of subjects is needed. A second criticism involves the self-statements of the subjects as to how often they smoked, which was seen to correlate with degree of "abnormality". This is likely to be wildly variable in reality and some subjects have reasons to not give correct answers, yet the amount of smoking was found to predict abnormality by degree very nicely, in a manner which seems a little too good to be true, especially in such a small study. A third criticism is that no functional description is tied to the abnormal brain structures, other than the rather large leap to the animal study and the conclusion about diminishing efficacy of natural reward. No test scores, etc. Individual brains vary a lot from one person to another. It is conceivable that the "abnormality" could even be superior in some way, if it in fact exists as a result of the THC ingestion.
My impression is that these neuroscientists (a field in which I was trained also) went into the study to prove something and By God did they ever find what they were looking for! Maybe a little too enthusiastically. We will have to wait for future larger, longitudinal, and function-measuring studies to clarify the real cause and effect involved here, and if the "abnormalities" are found reliably and even matter.
Among other things.
But marijuana isn't even close to the top of the list.
It’s hard to answer someone who argues against himself. Legalizing , “harnessing the power of the market, “ alcohol and cigarettes, has not limited the availability to minors. The Harvard / Northwestern study showed significant brain changes in “casual users;” that’s not something your pop psychologists at Psychology Today demonstrated in alcohol users. Legalizing most anything is going to increase availability because “ there’s no law against it. “ Furthermore, it’s well demonstrated that children pick up their parents ‘ habits. But of course, it will be only the’best parents” who will be buying marijuana, they won’t be smoking marijuana in front of their kids, or leaving a few joints around that will be easily picked up.
BTW, the trend may be down in Colorado for thinking this was a good idea: “
“Most of the attention paid to the new survey of Colorado voters by Suffolk University and USA Today has focused on what respondents had to say about the election contests for governor and U.S. senator.
But pollsters asked a lot of questions about other matters — including marijuana. And the results, issued Wednesday, seem to show a change in thinking about the legalization of pot.
Fifty percent of likely Colorado voters now disagree with the decision to legalize recreational marijuana in Colorado; 46 percent agree with that change.And 49 percent says they disapprove of the way the state is managing legal pot sales, versus 42 percent who approve.”
I’m sure Soros can reverse the trend with an advertizing blitz though.
One was multi drug toxicity, another heroin overdose, and another had full blown AIDS. Don’t know exactly what the AIDS victim’s certificate if death said. The only one involuntarily committed was for suicide attempt, but I didn’t actually see the certificate there, but that’s what the guy told me. Another hears voices and is borderline. The others are at all levels of dysfunction—abuse of multiple substances and array of self destructive behaviors (stripping, prostitution, dealing, thievery, inability to hold a job, a long list. It hurts to see it.
Does your critique apply to the Psychology Today study cited as well?
I lost a couple friends to pot induced accidents, both falls. One died, and one suffered brain injuries such that he could not remember anything before the fall. I suspect pot was probably the main contributing factor in a couple other driving deaths of my friends.
But I'm still a proponent of legalization. People, including kids, have no problem getting it today. They might as well get it from a tax paying American farmer instead of funding Mexican cartels.
No problem for some to run over people in their cars either, but we need adults, not addicted recreational drug abusers.
Well, I have to extend my congratulations that you did in fact provide an unexpected list of etiologies. However, I see all kinds of things on that list but not marijuana. Apparently those of us who presumed that marijuana was the main problem for these poor people were incorrect. And I know you aren’t going to tell us that marijuana causes full-blown AIDS or somthing like that.
I contend Cheese burgers and fries do far more damage to both the health of the nation, and individuals.
Arteries to the brain are blocked by the over-consumption of saturated fat and transfats.
AND it blocks arteries going everywhere else.
I could list HUNDREDS of per-reviewed studies to support my contention from THE most respected publications in the world.
10's of millions die prior to reaching the age of 70, as awarded in the Bible, as a DIRECT RESULT of the consumption of transfats and saturated fat in combination.
No but it sure doesn’t help from what I see. Another illicit behavior that holds people back. Stunted and wasted potential, wasted resources, drawn into a downward spiral.
Like-minded people like Bloomberg and Michelle Obama are doing much to advance your cause. Rejoice!
Our nation has a strong proclivity toward redefining "illicit".
I agree with you; heavy chronic (daily or almost daily) use is really bad. But the fact is that if these same individuals (chronic users) did not have marijuana many would probably be involved in some even more harmful drug, one entailing a true addiction and other hazards including infection and contamination. Some people just get into trouble and not always much you can do about it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.