Peter Hitchens - We'll go down as the nation that smoked itself stupid

edgarshade

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Daily Mail

01 September 2012 11:14 PM

With reader comments

Cannabis makes you stupid. I know this already, from the feeble arguments and moronic insults that I get from the dope lobby when I argue for harsher, more effective laws against this dangerous, unpredictable poison.

But now you and your children don’t need to take my word for it. Science has at last caught up with the blazingly obvious. Smoking cannabis in your teens permanently reduces your IQ – official.

A highly reputable study traced a sample of more than 1,000 people from birth for 38 years. They controlled for all the other variables. Marijuana was the consistent factor in the lives of those whose IQ shrank and stayed shrunk for ever. The more they smoked, the worse it was.

People who smoked the drug in their teens were still held back by the time they reached the age of 38. Even these people’s friends confirmed that their memories and their attention spans had declined.

Imagine if some electronic device or prescription medicine were found to have this effect. Human habits would change overnight. The company responsible would probably go out of business, after being forced to pay out billions in compensation.

The newspapers and the airwaves would rock and shudder with the row. ‘BAN THIS DRUG THAT WRECKS MINDS!’ they would shout, ‘BAN IT NOW!’ And Parliament would act.

More...
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co...-as-the-nation-that-smoked-itself-stupid.html
 
Imagine if some electronic device or prescription medicine were found to have this effect.

Watching hours of crap tv a day or a benzo habit will probably do that, maybe it's not so permanent though. Probably reading this blog too.
 
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He actually mentioned prescription medication as a point for his side... Amazing.

I'll show you a kid who took morphine once, OD'd, went into a week long coma, came out with partial brain damage (you can tell when you try to have an actual conversation with him) What a terrible thing to happen. I don't think that ANYONE educated would disagree with me when I say morphine is a miracle drug. Yeah, it can kill you, it can fuck your whole life up from trying it once.. Still an amazing medication.

I personally can't tell if my IQ is lower than it should be. How would anyone be able to tell. Even if they monitored me from birth until now it would still be a 'chicken or egg' question... Do I have a lower IQ than the majority of my peers BECAUSE I smoked a lot of pot? Or did I start smoking a lot of pot because I am boring/stupid/uninteresting? Neither... I will smoke 20 bongs and have a debate with this guy any day and send him back to his sad, boring basement to contemplate all the ridiculous shit he has to say.
 
"A highly reputable study ... They controlled for all the other variables. Marijuana was the consistent factor..." So, genetics, cultural influence, social status and environment, were all taken into account. No other confounding variables?? Well, then, Mr. Hitchens, I just have one thing to extend in your direction after reading about such a revolutionary study- a cordial invitation to go step in front of a greyhound bus, you self-deceptive dick. I was having a nice day..
 
A highly reputable study traced a sample of more than 1,000 people from birth for 38 years. They controlled for all the other variables. Tobacco was the consistent factor in the lives of those whose IQ shrank and stayed shrunk for ever. The more they smoked, the worse it was.

People who smoked the drug in their teens were still held back by the time they reached the age of 38. Even these people’s friends confirmed that their memories and their attention spans had declined.

Fearmongering now?

A highly reputable study traced a sample of more than 1,000 people from birth for 38 years. They controlled for all the other variables. Being employed in construction was the consistent factor in the lives of those whose IQ shrank and stayed shrunk for ever.

How about now?

A highly reputable study traced a sample of more than 1,000 people from birth for 38 years. They controlled for all the other variables. Being ethnically Black was the consistent factor in the lives of those whose IQ shrank and stayed shrunk for ever.

How about now?
 
Imagine if some electronic device or prescription medicine were found to have this effect. Human habits would change overnight. The company responsible would probably go out of business, after being forced to pay out billions in compensation.
if there is such a place as journalist-hell... ...
 
Imagine if some electronic device or prescription medicine were found to have this effect.

Well it wasn't electronic or a prescription... but it was banned in the US in 1920! Sure didn't go out of business though...
 
isn't he refering to the study that also concluded that people that started after the age of 18 didn\t get the same problem ?
 
^Yep, and as Howard Marks pointed out, that is a reason to legalize and regulate, not implement harsher punishments. Drug dealers don't care how old users are. A regulated market would have to enforce minimum age requirements. Peter Hitchens is almost arguing against himself by bringing up that study.

Peter Hitchens Hitler.
Peter_Hitler.jpg
 
Given that the brain is not fully grown and developed until around age 25, the same could be said of alcohol and any other mind altering substances. If marijuana truly made anybody who touched the stuff stupid, it would not only be legal but the government would be handing out joints to everybody on the street for free. They one thing that they really want is a stupid population to control.
 
He seems to do that a lot in his first sentence. In both exchanges with Russell Brand he used veiled or direct ad hominem attacks such as "alleged comedian" and, "Why is a comedian being given a programme on the BBC to push a policy about drugs?".
 
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