This is a discussion thread about Marijuana, Cannabis, Weed, Dank, 420, Pot. It is currently legal in a few states, though they are regulating the usage of it.
contrary to popular belief, weed doesnt cause cancer, it's like alcohol, impairs your motor skills. that's about it.
I figure you young kids will be eventually come into contact with it once you hit your college/high school years, and it would be good to dispel some wrong and wayward thinking brought on by the government.
so please have fun, ask questions, keep it lighthearted.
For others who partake in god's choice smokes please give me some of your favorite dank
Weed is legal in a couple of states, cali, colorado. up in Canada, Vancouver has legalized weed. Amsterdam too.
It's a great experience really, not advocating you should try it, since it is also quite the expensive plant (prices are artificially inflated in legalized areas also for government control purposes)
Negative effects of THC and other cannabinoids on the brain and body:
Damage to the hippocampus (area of the brain responsible for memory) Impairs attention span, judgment, and other cognitive reasoning functions. Impairs coordination and balance. Increases heart rate. Impairs memory and learning functions. Increases risk of upper respiratory infections as well as the likelihood of contracting head, neck, throat, and lung cancers. Increases rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Marijuana smoke contains 50â"70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.
(Source: NIDA/National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Look at these negative effects, then look at those caused by alcohol and tobacco. It is plain that, although there are positive effects of cannabinoids on the brain and body, these are most beneficial for treatment of specific illnesses, and habitual use for recreation is the least beneficial and most harmful on your brain and body.
In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."
Impairs memory and learning functions.
The memory problems only exist in short term memory and only during the high, so saying it causes memory problems without mentioning that is misleading.
Marijuana smoke contains 50â�"70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.
From the same website.
Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana, and in a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung's small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.
So what about the other ways of getting THC into your system? There are other ways of doing so that don't involve smoke what so ever. Is that harmfull to you as well, or is it just the smoke that is hurting you supposadly?
The memory problems only exist in short term memory and only during the high, so saying it causes memory problems without mentioning that is misleading.
Actually long term use damages the hippocampus region of the brain, which controls memory. In multiple studies THC has been shown to cause damage to the hippocampus commensurate with intentional damage to and/or removal of the synapses in that region of the brain, and was also shown to nearly double the damage related to aging, causing the brain to age much faster than normal, which increases dramatically the risks for late onset brain diseases such as alzheimers.
Also, what was not pointed out by your pro-marijuana website, is that although marijuana smokers smoke less frequently than the typical tobacco smoker, they inhale more deeply and hold the smoke in their lungs, greatly increasing the exposure of lung tissue to the carcinogens.
Next time you find a website to quote perhaps you should find one that doesn't have an obvious agenda, and links to double blind, peer reviewed scientific studies.
So what about the other ways of getting THC into your system? There are other ways of doing so that don't involve smoke what so ever. Is that harmfull to you as well, or is it just the smoke that is hurting you supposadly?
Other delivery methods, such as THC pills, do not have the negative effects on your throat and lungs associated with smoking, but the adverse and positive effects on your body from THC binding to cannabinoid receptors in your brain will still be present.
So like vaporizers that heat it up to a super high temperature so that it releases the THC are fine for you, since there is no smoke? Thats pretty much awesome. Buying me one fo those.
Next time you find a website to quote perhaps you should find one that doesn't have an obvious agenda, and links to double blind, peer reviewed scientific studies.
I suggest you follow your own advice. You take your facts from a website that is against the use of all drugs.
You are still putting some carcinogens in your lungs, but definitely a drastically reduced amount compared to using bongs, pipes, or joints/blunts. If you feel you absolutely have to smoke marijuana that's obviously the best way to go.
As I said earlier, there are definite positive and negative effects from it, and each person should be informed of those and weigh the risks for themselves. I personally quit smoking, but for many reasons, but I also think that is the less harmful substance out there and should be legalized, taxed, and supported by our government, but that's a debate for a different time.
I suggest you follow your own advice. You take your facts from a website that is against the use of all drugs.
Right, because the NIDA, (a department of the National Institute of Health, and part of the Department of Health and Human services) a scientific organization for the study and promotion of all health issues, is so biased and against everything. If you look through their information the link to the studies which show the positive and negative effects of drugs on the human body, and show clearly what studies were performed.
