Heavy Marijuana Use Doesn't Damage Brain

[LegendZ3]

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/n...t-damage-brain

Heavy Marijuana Use Doesn't Damage Brain
Analysis of Studies Finds Little Effect From Long-Term Use
By Sid Kirchheimer
WebMD Medical News

July 1, 2003 -- Long-term and even daily marijuana use doesn't appear to cause permanent brain damage, adding to evidence that it can be a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of diseases, say researchers.

The researchers found only a "very small" impairment in memory and learning among long-term marijuana users. Otherwise, scores on thinking tests were similar to those who don't smoke marijuana, according to a new analysis of 15 previous studies.

In those studies, some 700 regular marijuana users were compared with 484 non-users on various aspects of brain function -- including reaction time, language and motor skills, reasoning ability, memory, and the ability to learn new information.

Surprising Finding

"We were somewhat surprised by our finding, especially since there's been a controversy for some years on whether long-term cannabis use causes brain damage," says lead researcher and psychiatrist Igor Grant, MD.

"I suppose we expected to see some differences in people who were heavy users, but in fact the differences were very minimal."

The marijuana users in those 15 studies -- which lasted between three months to more than 13 years -- had smoked marijuana several times a week or month or daily. Still, researchers say impairments were less than what is typically found from using alcohol or other drugs.

"All study participants were adults," says Grant, professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research Center at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

"However, there might be a different set of circumstances to a 12-year-old whose nervous system is still developing."

10 States OK Marijuana Use

Grant's analysis, published in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, comes as many states consider laws allowing marijuana to be used to treat certain medical conditions. Earlier this year, Maryland became the 10th state to allow marijuana use to relieve pain and other symptoms of AIDS, multiple sclerosis, cancer, glaucoma, and other conditions -- joining Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Medicinal marijuana is available by prescription in the Netherlands and a new marijuana drug is expected to be released in Great Britain later this year. In the U.S. and elsewhere, Marinol, a drug that is a synthetic form of marijuana and contains its active ingredient, THC, is available by prescription to treat loss of appetite associated with weight loss in AIDS patients.

Grant says he did the analysis to help determine long-term toxicity from long-term and frequent marijuana use. His center is currently conducting 11 studies to determine its safety and efficacy in treating several diseases.

"This finding enables us to see a marginal level of safety, if those studies prove that cannabis can be effective," Grant tells WebMD. "If we barely find this effect in long-term heavy users, then we are unlikely to see deleterious side effects in individuals who receive cannabis for a short time in a medical setting, which would be safer than what is practiced by street users."

Grant's findings come as no surprise to Tod Mikuriya, MD, former director of non-classified marijuana research for the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Narcotics and Drug Abuse Studies and author of The Marijuana Medical Handbook: A Guide to Therapeutic Use. He is currently president of the California Cannabis Medical Group, which has treated some 20,000 patients with medicinal marijuana and Marinol.

'Highly Effective Medicine'

"I just re-published a paper of the first survey for marijuana toxicity done in 1863 by the British government in India that was the most exhaustive medical study of its time in regards to possible difficulties and toxicity of cannabis. And it reached the same conclusion as Grant," Mikuriya tells WebMD.

"This is merely confirming what was known over 100 years ago, as well as what was learned by various government findings doing similar research -- marijuana is not toxic, but it is a highly effective medicine."

In fact, marijuana was available as a medicinal treatment in the U.S. until the 1930s.

Lester Grinspoon, MD, a retired Harvard Medical School psychiatrist who studied medicinal marijuana use since the 1960s and wrote two books on the topic, says that while Grant's finding provides more evidence on its safety, "it's nothing that those of us who have been studying this haven't known for a very long time.

"Marijuana is a remarkably safe and non-toxic drug that can effectively treat about 30 different conditions," he tells WebMD. "I predict it will become the aspirin of the 21st century, as more people recognize this."
SOURCES: The Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, July 2003. Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine; director, UCSD Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research Center. Tod Mikuriya, MD, president, the California Cannabis Research Medical Group, Oakland; former director of non-classified marijuana research, the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Narcotics and Drug Abuse Studies. Lester Grinspoon, MD, professor emeritus of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston; author, Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine and Marihuana Reconsidered.
© 2003 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.

[Turbo]

Well, with 4/20 coming up, I suppose that's good news.

[VicVictory]

Here's another article on marijuana, and more recent, that states smoking the pot is not linked to lung cancer.

http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/new...to-lung-cancer

Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer Study Shows No Increased Risk for Even the Heaviest Marijuana Smokers By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD May 23, 2006 -- People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests. While a clear increase in cancercancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users. Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers. The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth. “We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer. Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.Boomers Reaching Cancer Age The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years. “People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says. A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in. All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status. The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints. While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers. The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all. The THC Connection Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50% higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancerlung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the inhaled smoke in their lungs longer. So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancercancer risk? The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke. Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD. In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke. The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite. While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the very weak association was probably due to chance. Cancer risk among cigarette smokers was not influenced by whether or not they also smoked marijuana. “We saw no interaction between marijuana and tobacco, and we certainly would not recommend that people smoke marijuana to protect themselves against cancer,” he says.

[ThreePointShot]

This close to legalizing marijuana. :D

[Behad]

Um...

Crap. I was gonna post something, but I forgot what it was......

[Drizno]

(Loading a Bowl as I type.)

I wonder what kind they used? Like Reggie or Hydie? (<---Sorry...Slang!)

I would think the levels of THC were controlled. I doubt they told the test subjects...

"OK... this week in your bag you will find 2 grams of Sweet Tooth and 2 grams of AK-47..."

They prolly got some "seed and stem" dirt weed.

Oh well...

[DonkeyMagic]

i remember reading something about a potential for detouring alzheimer's as well.

[Plowman]

Count hyperactivity among the many afflictions that pot helps with.
It actually has the ability to greatly enhance the lives of those of us touched by ADD or ADHD allowing one to process huge amounts of data and get "in sync".

http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/2...juanas-effects

[RocketMan Tex]

It most definitely helps control seizures in those afflicted with epilepsy.

[weslinder]

Considering that Willie is as good now as he's always been, I certainly believe this.

But the cancer study is the first that showed no link, after many that showed a link between marijuana and lung cancer. I'm pretty sure every cancer specialist would tell you that the traditional assumption of one joint = 1/2 pack of cigarettes probably still holds.

[ima_drummer2k]

It can also help with....DUDE, I totally forgot what I was talking about!

I....wait....what was that noise???? I think there's someone hiding in the closet!! Quick, someone get me some Cheetos!! I can't stop laughing!!!!

[Plowman]

Many of those cancer specialists that say 1 J equals 1/2 pack of cigs are smoking out of bongs.

[leroy]

My name is leroy420 and I approve of this thread.


To be honest, none of this is new info. There are simply fewer and fewer logical reasons why marijuana remains illegal as they find more and more reasons why this is such a wonderful plant...even aside from the obvious.

[zoork34]

theres no way that breathing in black smoke from ANYTHING can actually be good for you. just use common sense. if you need that stuff to have fun/relax/forget your worries/etc, you need to get a life.

[jo mama]

Originally Posted by zoork34 theres no way that breathing in black smoke from ANYTHING can actually be good for you.

first of all, pot smoke is not black. second, the article doesnt claim it is "good" for you. just that any harmful effects are minimal at best.

Originally Posted by zoork34 if you need that stuff to have fun/relax/forget your worries/etc, you need to get a life.

so i take it you feel this way about alcohol as well?

"i dont need drugs to enjoy this...just enhance it"

-otto the busdriver at a fireworks display.

[leroy]

Originally Posted by zoork34 theres no way that breathing in black smoke from ANYTHING can actually be good for you. just use common sense. if you need that stuff to have fun/relax/forget your worries/etc, you need to get a life.

Did one person in here say anything about need? I don't need s*** to have fun, relax, etc. I choose to do certain things because I enjoy them on occasion.

Please keep your lectures to yourself.

[LegendZ3]

Originally Posted by zoork34 theres no way that breathing in black smoke from ANYTHING can actually be good for you. just use common sense. if you need that stuff to have fun/relax/forget your worries/etc, you need to get a life.

So these people need to get a life?

[tbplayer22]

http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/au...jah_chorus.mp3

[Kyakko]

We're sooo turning into a nanny state.

[Plowman]

Originally Posted by zoork34 theres no way that breathing in black smoke from ANYTHING can actually be good for you. just use common sense. if you need that stuff to have fun/relax/forget your worries/etc, you need to get a life.

Oh what a sheltered life you must live.

Why don't you "educate" yourself before making statements like that?

Try the path of enlightenment dude....and I'm NOT talking about weed.
Open your mind and heart.

I'm sitting here checking out my trading screens with Lake Tahoe front and center about to hit the slopes.

Find that innerpeace and open up......You can do it anywhere...in our fair city of Houston for instance.