• CD Moderators: nepalnt21
  • Cannabis Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules

Have I permanently damaged my brain?

G

GenericName12

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 5, 2013
Messages
192
I've been clean the past 2 months. No plans to ever start again. Just to preface my thread, I have nothing against recreational weed use and am not trying to judge anyone here. Weed is a great drug to be used responsibly.

Basically I drank quite heavily for 4 years but never noticed any cognitive damage. When sober, even though I was craving alcohol and was an alcoholic, my brain could function properly. I abused the shit out of weed for about 6-8ish months (I was 21-22 at this time), which allowed me to cut back on my drinking for a bit, even though I was still drinking just not as much as before, thinking it was a healthier solution. In the last few months I ended up drinking just as much as I used to while getting high.. so it didn't quite work. I'm not here to argue which is the lesser evil between alcohol and weed so please don't go off-topic and argue this.

Anyway long story short I'm clean for 2 months with no plans to ever get high or drink again. My brain is still fucked though. My memory is still drastically worse, my ability to process information and come to conclusions about information is messed, I'm having a hard time focusing (although I can probably chalk that up to the cravings), and I'm generally a slower and less effective thinker all round. Originally I had chalked it up to acute weed withdrawal but now I'm not so sure. This leads me to think that weed caused this. When does the clarity return (if ever)? Getting pretty frustrated.

I'm 22.
 
Last edited:
I would associate your problem with alcoholism more than cannabis. I smoked cannabis on a daily basis for well over 10 years before I got clean, and I didn't notice any side-effects. I honestly don't notice a real difference in feeling, other than not having that constant tingle and such from smoking herb. I never noticed having a dull mind while smoking cannabis, and I would be one to argue that it does anything but directly cause this.

How do you notice cognitive damage if you have cognitive damage? I don't think 2 months of looking back on how you were could give you great insight to brain damage.

Alcohol has been proven to cause brain damage. The topic of brain damage and cannabis will probably go on to an argument in science for a long time to come.
 
I'd agree that alcohol caused at least part of this, but some people do go through weed withdrawal for a few months but I've never had problems with quitting. I can't imagine weed doing any of this except maybe the memory but weed does not kill brain cells, good luck I'm sure you'll get over this.
 
I brought up the alcohol use because I was also curious what you guys thought of that.

I'm not really sure anymore. I did notice a significant drop in cognitive ability when I started and got worse as I smoked more. I just felt like I was significantly smarter and able to process information quicker beforehand. And memory has been affected like I said. Perhaps it was just the compounding effect of all the years of alcohol and then adding weed to the mix. I guess we'll never know.

Anyway thanks for your opinions guys. Hopefully my brain comes back soon.
 
How much booze were you drinking a day? I can't imagine either would cause any sort of cognitive damage, certainly nothing that can't be repaired
 
Alcohol is known to cause more mental illness than Cannabis. If anything certain strains may help, check all the medi strains ! But don't smoke loads, less is more. Juts get good buds and you are sorted.
 
Le'Mix said:
Alcohol is known to cause more mental illness than Cannabis. If anything certain strains may help, check all the medi strains ! But don't smoke loads, less is more. Juts get good buds and you are sorted.
Click to expand...

He said he never plans on using again. So that info is pointless.

OP..ones brain continues to develop, especially cognitive and reasoning abilities at least into early 20s. It is quite possibel it was either or a combination or the two. There are going to be a lot of people that jump in here and swear one or the other cannot cause problems but the truth is on a still developing brain a lot of chemicals that are introduced at this point can cause problems. It has only been 2 months so I wouldn't worry that it will be permanent. I think it will take awhile to get back to normal so don't be too worried. PM me if you want some references to articles discussing thism if I post them on here you are just gonna have 50 people jump in and try to point out the "problems" with the research. I'm not against smoking or drinking for that matter (though drinking actually causes a lot of problems) but the facts are what the facts are. I guess everything in moderation is a good motto. But don't be too worried at this point.

Lemix..as far as alcohol causing mental illness, this is true, but it usually occurs in more advanced alcoholism.

Itsallfake..he said he had noticed memory issues and cognitive difficulties..he didn't say he was brain dead. It is quite possible to notice cognitive issues in yourself. I would be more concerned when somneone says they have been using for ten years and NEVER noticed any of these things!
 
yo i smoke dat herb hard all day ereday ill be hitin my bong evrey like 20 minetes maybe u just cant handl ur shit homie
 
missmeyet? said:
He said he never plans on using again. So that info is pointless.

OP..ones brain continues to develop, especially cognitive and reasoning abilities at least into early 20s. It is quite possibel it was either or a combination or the two. There are going to be a lot of people that jump in here and swear one or the other cannot cause problems but the truth is on a still developing brain a lot of chemicals that are introduced at this point can cause problems. It has only been 2 months so I wouldn't worry that it will be permanent. I think it will take awhile to get back to normal so don't be too worried. PM me if you want some references to articles discussing thism if I post them on here you are just gonna have 50 people jump in and try to point out the "problems" with the research. I'm not against smoking or drinking for that matter (though drinking actually causes a lot of problems) but the facts are what the facts are. I guess everything in moderation is a good motto. But don't be too worried at this point.

Lemix..as far as alcohol causing mental illness, this is true, but it usually occurs in more advanced alcoholism.

Itsallfake..he said he had noticed memory issues and cognitive difficulties..he didn't say he was brain dead. It is quite possible to notice cognitive issues in yourself. I would be more concerned when somneone says they have been using for ten years and NEVER noticed any of these things!
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstand. I wa ssimply saying that if he continues to suffer his ailments Cannabis may help, medi strains and all that.
 
420dankshrooms said:
yo i smoke dat herb hard all day ereday ill be hitin my bong evrey like 20 minetes maybe u just cant handl ur shit homie
Click to expand...

LOL

In the end I was drinking and smoking enough daily to black out/pass out/not be able to move 4-5 days a week. the other 2-3 days i just drank a bit to "feel normal" but I wanted more but sometimes I couldn't due to other reasons. Don't really remember exact amounts. A lot.

"I think you misunderstand. I wa ssimply saying that if he continues to suffer his ailments Cannabis may help, medi strains and all that. "

Weed isn't going to help me.. trust me. I can't handle mind altering substances in my life. I don't believe in weed being beneficial at all for anything except helping with pain, nausea, whatever. Basically sick people. I believe otherwise weed is purely recreational, which is fine. nothing wrong with using weed recreationally. I think if you feel better and clearer when you get high, that is you feeling normal because your body is used to being high and you are relieving yourself of weed withdrawal.

@missmeyet, Thanks for the posts. I agree everything is fine in moderation but unfortunately I'm an addict and can't moderate. I'd be happy to see that research so PM me.
 
interested in this. I'm 18 and for the type of work I want to go into intelligence/critical thinking is a must. I definitely feel a little "off" (a little dumber, worse memory) after smoking for days at a time, even when I'm no longer high. But that only lasts a few hours. Recently I've gone from smoking weekly to smoking daily and I'm wondering if I should scale my usage back a little to prevent cognitive damage.

Anyway good luck OP. From what I gather (from the internet/studies), weed can negatively affect your IQ if you smoke regularly as a teen...but by your early 20s your brain should be mature enough to not be permanently damaged. I think you just have to wait a bit longer. Maybe take up some intellectually stimulating activities/hobbies to help kick-start the recovery?
 
^^ read quoted articles below:

Dispute over study's cannabis and IQ link
NICOLE PRYOR
Last updated 09:00 15/01/2013

Young teens who smoke cannabis may not be stunting their intellect, says a new study challenging a claim by New Zealand scientists last year.

The earlier, and widely-praised, Dunedin study found people who started smoking cannabis in their teenage years, and kept using it for years afterwards, showed an average decline in IQ of eight points.

It sampled more than 1000 people, comparing their IQs from when they were 13 to 38 years old.

The study also found those who started using cannabis after the age of 18 did not show the same IQ decline.

But the new study, by the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway, said there were hidden factors in the Dunedin research that were not taken into account.

Ole Rogeberg, the scientist behind the Norwegian study, said socioeconomic status was one of those factors.

In the simulation model Rogeberg created, poverty was able to reproduce the same IQ change as cannabis exposure.

"This model, too, would predict reduced IQ in so far as heavy, persistent, adolescent-onset cannabis use involves a culture and norms that raise the risk of dropping out of school, getting entangled with crime, and other such behaviours," he said.

Because early cannabis use was more common for those with poor self-control, behavioural problems, and those from poor families, Maori participants would be over-represented, he said.

He suggested it was too early to connect cannabis smoking and declining IQ, and further analysis of the Dunedin study might resolve the competing results.

Rogeberg said the political approach to cannabis could change depending on whether there was a change in young smokers' IQ because of the drug itself, or because of living conditions.

He said his study did not mean the results of the Dunedin study were discredited, but it was fair to say the New Zealand study's methodology was flawed and the results premature.

But Professor Richie Poulton, co-author of the Dunedin research, said Rogeberg's data was not taken from real people.

"Rogeberg's challenge is based on simulations, but we used actual data on 1000 people to carry out the analyses he suggested," he said.

"If many cannabis users were former low-SES [socio-economic status] children, Rogeberg says this coincidence could create the false impression that cannabis was responsible for their adult IQ drop."

Poulton said looking only at the children sampled from middle-class homes, the Dunedin findings remained the same.

He also said although many of the cannabis users in the Dunedin study were from slightly poorer homes, not all of them were.

An Australian scientist said it was significant the Dunedin scientists were specialists in psychiatry and psychology, and Rogeberg was an economist.
Click to expand...

unrelated but interesting nonetheless:

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- A high childhood IQ may be linked to illegal drug use in adolescence and adulthood, according to research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Researchers at Cardiff University and University College London based their findings on data from about 8,000 people included in the 1970 British Cohort Study, which has tracked 16,571 babies born in April 1970. Across most illegal drugs, men and women at age 16 and 30 who reported using drugs had a significantly higher IQ score at age 10 than those who reported no use, according to the researchers.

Participants were asked about use of substances including cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, crack and heroin. In a previous analysis of participants in the cohort, high IQ scores at 10 years were associated with an increased risk for excessive alcohol intake and frequent drinking episodes as an adult.

“A possible pathway that emerges from the literature on personality is that high IQ individuals have also been shown to score highly on tests of stimulation seeking and openness to experience,” the researchers said in the article.

At age 30, the 35.4 percent of men who said they’d used cannabis, the most favored drug, in the last 12 months, had a mean IQ of 104.65, compared with 99.04 among those who reported no use. Among women, the 15.9 percent who reported cannabis usage had a mean IQ of 105.73, compared with 98.10 among those who said they abstained.

Drug use was not tracked between ages 16 and 30, during which time participants could have started and stopped using, the researchers said.

--Editors: Robert Valpuesta, Kristen Hallam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at [email protected]
Click to expand...
 
itsALLfake said:
I would associate your problem with alcoholism more than cannabis.
Click to expand...


I completely agree with this. Without giving too much info, I am a psych nurse and have seen people as young as 40 with Alcohol Dementia. However, that takes A LOT of drinking over a period of time to occur, and I'm not necessarily saying that OP has this condition. But alcohol, when heavily abused definitely causes much more cognitive problems that cannabis ever does.

This is just from my personal experience.
 
Isn't it possible that the OP did something stupid while drunk and doesn't remember, or, is this one of the times that drugs are NOT to blame. Whenever something is wrong with me, I assume it is cause of my meds, or the drugs I've done lately, which is most often the case. However, once in awhile it has nothing to do with the drugs. Sometimes things happen that seem to coincide with use
 
Get a copy of BrainAge for NintendoDS. There is also http://www.lumosity.com. As quoted from the commercial with the chick that has a pixie hair-cut, Lumosity is '...some serious brain-training.'. Some people also find that some nootropic drugs (like piracetam) help with cognitive brain function. Just a thought.

I'm sure some people can be negatively affected by cannabis. I highly doubt it is anything lasting though. I would imagine an alcoholic coming off a four year bender to be, slightly depressed/irritated. I mean really, that's coming off any bender. Depression can put you in a place so lethargic that math rock couldn't even calculate. Get some hobbies or something. Give back to your community. Do something positive. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top