cannabis and neurotoxicity

[Dysphoric]

it helps me with anxiety

I LOL'ed!

I don't understand why for some it's so hard to believe it being flawed in some way. I could most definitely see it being toxic to some degree. No drug is flawless, sorry.

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

Honestly of all drug users the hard core militant stoners piss me off the most, yeah a joint after work isn't going to kill you but neither is a beer.

But to dump evidence that it can cause harm:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21560077
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21628706
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21899795
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21420833

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21049267 However, if you look at studies on alcoholics they also show tolerance to some of the cognitive negatives of alcohol

 

[jazz hands]

^Lol, funny that you quote a study as proof that claims this:

RESULTS:
Current cannabis use was associated with poorer performance on immediate verbal learning, processing speed and working memory (Cohen's d -0.20 to -0.33, p<0.005). Lifetime cannabis use was associated with better performance on acquired knowledge, facial affect recognition and face identity recognition (Cohen's d+0.17 to +0.33, p<0.005). There was no significant interaction between cannabis and status on cognitive functioning.
CONCLUSIONS:
Lifetime cannabis-using individuals might constitute a subgroup with a higher cognitive potential. The residual effects of cannabis may impair short-term memory and processing speed.

(your third link)

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

As I said, negative effects on cognition. Hell meth doesn't even seem to cause long term cognitive deficits.

RESULTS:
Current cannabis use was associated with poorer performance on immediate verbal learning, processing speed and working memory (Cohen's d -0.20 to -0.33, p<0.005). Lifetime cannabis use was associated with better performance on acquired knowledge, facial affect recognition and face identity recognition (Cohen's d+0.17 to +0.33, p<0.005). There was no significant interaction between cannabis and status on cognitive functioning.
CONCLUSIONS:
Lifetime cannabis-using individuals might constitute a subgroup with a higher cognitive potential. The residual effects of cannabis may impair short-term memory and processing speed.

 

[jazz hands]

^ But the very sentence before what you bolded says "Lifetime cannabis-using individuals might constitute a subgroup with a higher cognitive potential." It's a trade-off of scattered thinking for altered learning potential, which is the exact reason many marijuana users will give for using the drug.

I don't disagree that too much marijuana is a bad thing. I was just pointing out that in the very studies that you quoted as evidence of harm, there is in fact evidence of "higher cognitive potential".

 

[Amu]

Yeah, militant stoners piss me the fuck off too, not saying anyone here is one though. The poor cognitive effects of marijuana/THC are well recorded, if CBD wasn't saving all the stoners' graces they'd have very poor memory/attention/learning. THC is also directly neurotoxic to cells in vitro, as long as the CBD to THC ratio is reasonable stoners will still be able to smoke daily

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

^ But the very sentence before what you bolded says "Lifetime cannabis-using individuals might constitute a subgroup with a higher cognitive potential." It's a trade-off of scattered thinking for altered learning potential, which is the exact reason many marijuana users will give for using the drug.

I don't disagree that too much marijuana is a bad thing. I was just pointing out that in the very studies that you quoted as evidence of harm, there is in fact evidence of "higher cognitive potential".

You're right on that part, but what might be the case here is that smarter individuals might simply prefer to smoke more or try it. There's nothing saying that cannabis use caused them to have that kind of learning style. I'm mainly playing devil's advocate here, but yes there probably is a "safe" dose/usage pattern for cannabis.
http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2011/10/28/jech-2011-200252.short
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/gpr/14/4/382/

However, with all the data we're only now finding out about the epigenome and drug use/life events I'm not comfortable recommending anything but low infrequent doses and not in children or adolescents.

Granted I've been known to be a binge drinking fratboy from time to time

 

[SNR]

I'd like to add that NMDA antagonists such as DXM or N20 do offer protection against MDMA induced neurotoxicity.

It would definitely NOT be a good idea to administer either of these substances in combination with MDMA.

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

Cannabis use has its ups and downs, many chemicals are like this anyway (caffeine, cocaine, 5HT2a agonists, etc.). Case closed?

Honestly arguing the pros and cons of various drugs is one of the many things I do to fund my university, and there is much more to argue haha.
Its fairly well established that individuals under at least 15 should not toke, but what about the other end of the spectrum? How about in individuals experiencing cognitive decline due to old age or aggravation/protection against "chemo-brain"?

 

[ebola?]

That sounds like the point at which one would open a case, not where one would consider it closed.