Guest guest Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 smoking pot apparently causes similar brain changes as schizophrenia and hastens the onset of the disease in those who are otherwise susceptible. I have often dismissed such research in the past as drug war propaganda, but this is pretty solid stuff done in the fairly liberal socialist democracy of Denmark. It has been my observation over the years that the vast majority of pot smokers who came into my clinic or were my students exhibited a distinct failure to grasp objective reality that always struck me as somewhat akin to schizophrenia. There are certainly exceptions who make up maybe about 1-3% of chronic users. But the tendency amongst pot smokers to embrace mystical and pseudoscientific worldviews speaks for itself, IMO. And I know for a fact that an extremely high percentage of the mystically oriented crowd in the TCM community of southern CA are users. If you can manage it, I would suggest to anyone out there who lights up to stop for six months cold turkey with no lapses and see if your perception changes. Potheads like to think they have opened the doors of perception through their indulgence and the those who don't indulge just have blinders on. While I grant this may be true for occasional use of mind altering substance like pot and mushrooms in an ideal set and setting (as advocated by Timothy Leary back in the day), I now believe believe chronic daily use disturbs the mind of almost all users. If you resist this idea, then reconcile the fact that your brain chemistry probably looks more like someone with mental illness than it does like an enlightened sage. Just cause a little of something may be good doesn't mean a lot is better. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4486548.stm Web/Online Coordinator Adult Degree and Graduate Programs Prescott College http://www.prescott.edu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Todd i think your are stretching the study findings, schizophrenia is a genetic brain disorder with clear differences in normal drug reactions and that is not unique to pot. I agree that very many chronic drug users tend to embrace an alternative frame of mind regardless of what seems to be clear in terms of " logic's " but that has nothing in common with schizophrenia, it has much more to do with group behavior. I can tell you that stoners from other cultures do not nessuseraly embrace the same views and would not endorse nonlogical thought. Oakland, CA 94609 - cha Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:51 PM marijuana - schizophrenia link smoking pot apparently causes similar brain changes as schizophrenia and hastens the onset of the disease in those who are otherwise susceptible. I have often dismissed such research in the past as drug war propaganda, but this is pretty solid stuff done in the fairly liberal socialist democracy of Denmark. It has been my observation over the years that the vast majority of pot smokers who came into my clinic or were my students exhibited a distinct failure to grasp objective reality that always struck me as somewhat akin to schizophrenia. There are certainly exceptions who make up maybe about 1-3% of chronic users. But the tendency amongst pot smokers to embrace mystical and pseudoscientific worldviews speaks for itself, IMO. And I know for a fact that an extremely high percentage of the mystically oriented crowd in the TCM community of southern CA are users. If you can manage it, I would suggest to anyone out there who lights up to stop for six months cold turkey with no lapses and see if your perception changes. Potheads like to think they have opened the doors of perception through their indulgence and the those who don't indulge just have blinders on. While I grant this may be true for occasional use of mind altering substance like pot and mushrooms in an ideal set and setting (as advocated by Timothy Leary back in the day), I now believe believe chronic daily use disturbs the mind of almost all users. If you resist this idea, then reconcile the fact that your brain chemistry probably looks more like someone with mental illness than it does like an enlightened sage. Just cause a little of something may be good doesn't mean a lot is better. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4486548.stm Web/Online Coordinator Adult Degree and Graduate Programs Prescott College http://www.prescott.edu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 for a comprehensive review on the effects of cannabis see http://www.stopteenuse.com/pdf/2003_effects_study_full.pdf Oakland, CA 94609 - cha Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:51 PM marijuana - schizophrenia link smoking pot apparently causes similar brain changes as schizophrenia and hastens the onset of the disease in those who are otherwise susceptible. I have often dismissed such research in the past as drug war propaganda, but this is pretty solid stuff done in the fairly liberal socialist democracy of Denmark. It has been my observation over the years that the vast majority of pot smokers who came into my clinic or were my students exhibited a distinct failure to grasp objective reality that always struck me as somewhat akin to schizophrenia. There are certainly exceptions who make up maybe about 1-3% of chronic users. But the tendency amongst pot smokers to embrace mystical and pseudoscientific worldviews speaks for itself, IMO. And I know for a fact that an extremely high percentage of the mystically oriented crowd in the TCM community of southern CA are users. If you can manage it, I would suggest to anyone out there who lights up to stop for six months cold turkey with no lapses and see if your perception changes. Potheads like to think they have opened the doors of perception through their indulgence and the those who don't indulge just have blinders on. While I grant this may be true for occasional use of mind altering substance like pot and mushrooms in an ideal set and setting (as advocated by Timothy Leary back in the day), I now believe believe chronic daily use disturbs the mind of almost all users. If you resist this idea, then reconcile the fact that your brain chemistry probably looks more like someone with mental illness than it does like an enlightened sage. Just cause a little of something may be good doesn't mean a lot is better. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4486548.stm Web/Online Coordinator Adult Degree and Graduate Programs Prescott College http://www.prescott.edu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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