Reversing bad physical effects of cannabis

[uacvax]

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted already in this forum, or maybe it is and I didn't see it, but anyway here goes. It's a well known fact that cannabis can make a person "slow", as well as cause memory problems. The memory problems are effected by an inhibition of vasopressin when cannabis is smoked. Vasopressin is used in the hypothalamus to create new memories.
Also, blood flow is slower in cannabis smokers. I think this is caused by the blood vessels in the brain shrinking.

So from what I gather, there are 2 main reasons that cannabis can impair one's functioning. I'm a student so I really need to recover my mental capabilities, but at the same time I'm like any other pothead and I really need the toke, so here's my question.

Supplementing with a vasopressin source can greatly improve memory in tokers, and taking selective vasodilators such as vinpocetine can enlarge the blood vessels in the brain, so would taking these 2 supplements for the most part return a stoner's mental capabilities to normal? Obviously I'm looking for someone knowledgeable in neurochemistry or with experience with what I'm talking about.

 

[Ximot]

I am not very knowledgeable in neurochemistry, but I will allow myself to post here nonetheless. Since your post is in "healthy living" I suppose the answer as to how to reduce the ill health effects of smoking cannabis will quite simply have to be "cut down on the pot" - simple as that.

What you aim to do is not reduce the ill-health effects but merely mask symptoms. Addign one chemical to another in order to cancel out side-effects may work on the symptom side of things at first, but be assured that you will only tax your body further and that other complications will follow, sooner or later.

I went through a phase of being very keen on nootropics myself, and during that time I also used desmopressin (the closest you can get to vasopressin these days, I don't think vasopressin is easily obtained any more). While I did like the nootropic effect, I found it very hard to urinate and got severe fluid retention one day when drinking beer after using it. Even without drinking beer, I got some fluid retention - something I personally do not like at all, as it makes me feel bloated and toxic. I'd guess that this is a common side-effect as the drug is prescribed to kids for bedwetting. The bottle has now been sitting in the fridge untouched for quite some time . . .

Sory I couldn't answer your question, but just keep my 2 cents in mind when you start suing vasopressin/desmopressin.

 

[killakillakam]

And here i always thought that vasopressin made you pee.

 

[bingey]

getting slowed down is what weed is all about

just smoke less if it bothers you

or drink some beers before during , i haven't smoked without drinking before for a year almost now.

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

I dont think drinking beer which damages your brain even MORE will help stop the negative effects of cannabis. Im not saying dont do it, but dont offer it up as a solution to this problem, it wont help.
My only solution is smoke 1 time a week or less, maybe once every two weeks. That way, like with using e or anything else, your brain and body have time to heal in between. I doubt you will notice any bad effects from using at this frequency.
You are probably thinking your dont want to cut down that much, but if thats true I think you should decide whether using cannabis is worth the negative effects, to you. Trying to find a supplement to fix the damage while still using, to me, seems like squirting an oil fire with a squirtgun while throwing more oil on top.

Maybe Im wrong though? I dont know anything about the supplements you are talking about here..

 

[mentaldent]

Simple cure and it feels good because you've earned it: Treat weed as a reward for jobs well done and work completed on time and as required. Pretty simple, no?

 

[bingey]

^

that's really a good one

deja i agree alcohol ain't the solution to the problem but if you are gonna drink every day and smoke everyday why not combine? I'm not saying drinking to get drunk more like 1-2 beers so you don't get paranoid and like more euphoric , im sure when you smoke or most people who have smoked for a long time do this.

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

Simple cure and it feels good because you've earned it: Treat weed as a reward for jobs well done and work completed on time and as required. Pretty simple, no?

Good point.

Bingeboy a good compromise on that topic would be to only smoke when you drink, and save both for just once or twice a week. I think if one is drinking every day weed is the least of their problems..I guess one beer or glass of wine would be okay..but I dunno. Alcohol is the worst of all drugs IMO...

 

[uacvax]

Yeah I think too much thc has accumulated in my system I'm going to taper off from pot by first going a day, then 2 days, then 4 and so on without smoking. I really need to do this because I'm a student and my grades have suffered so much I might get kicked out of school unless I get my rear in gear.

I'm still probably going to toke every once in a while, especially if I ever get a grasp on studying.

Antidiurectics don't mix well with diuretics.

 

[StagnantReaction]

There are no bad physical effects from cannabis. Short term memory loss being labelled as "bad" is wholly subjective.

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

There are no bad physical effects from cannabis. Short term memory loss being labelled as "bad" is wholly subjective.

Exactly. It is subjective. But what you gotta realize is making a generalization such as " there are no bad physical effects from cannabis" is as bad as someone saying "weed will ruin everyones life and lead to hard drug use". I personally have felt some very bad physical effects from cannabis. Feeling groggy all of the next day after using, staying sick much longer when Ive smoked when sick, feeling tired all the time. Not to mention the bad MENTAL effects Ive experianced (paranoia, panic attacks, having zero motivation for my life whatsoever, and of course memory loss, which a lot of people have experianced, anti social feelings....these all lessened greatly when I stopped smoking every day however) You are lucky if you have never experianced these things but a lot of people have. It seems from my personal experiance about half, maybe a little more than half of the people Ive known in my life have had these kind of effects. Then there are the people who can smoke every day of their life, be high all day, go to work like that, and live totally happy, successful lives. The thing about weed is it effects different people very differently, almost like a totally different drug.

 

[xXTOKERXx]

There are no bad physical effects from cannabis. Short term memory loss being labelled as "bad" is wholly subjective.

I beg to differ.

Cannabis is a great drug, just look at my name.

But to say there are no bad effects?

Paranoia/Anxiety are extreme problems with MJ that most wont identify as been the MJ!

Having a slow, short memory making it hard to concentrate is also another major problem.

The whole effect of it 'slowing' your system is very real.

I am like the poster, i'd like to quit, but then i love it too much to justify quitting so young, so i always tapering off and getting back on it.

What i really need is something that will help counter act the bad side affects - i played with stimulants for a while, caffiene, dexedrine, ritalin and they helped hugely, however had many of there own (even worse) side effects.

Id love something that will imrpove my learning, i seem to remember reading about Piracetum(SP), which is a neurological something or other drugs which improves learning.

Perhaps this would be a good supplement?

 

[uacvax]

Yet marijuana is not a wonderdrug. Cognitive function in the user is often impaired, albeit moderately and reversibly. Marijuana interferes with memory-formation by disrupting long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. One of the functions of endogenous cannabinoids in the brain is to promote selective short-term amnesia. Forgetting is not, as one might have supposed, a purely passive process. Either way, choosing deliberately to ingest an amnestic agent for long periods is scarcely an ideal life-strategy. It's especially flawed given the centrality of memory to human self-identity. Some artists and professional bohemians, it is true, apparently do find smoking grass an adjunct to creative thought. For persons of a more philistine temperament, on the other hand, it's hard to see such a drug as a major tool for life-affirmation or the development of the human species. This shortcoming does not, one ought scarcely need to add, suggest marijuana users should be persecuted and criminalised.

taken from www.biopsychiatry.com

I'm with you tokerx, but it's gotten so bad that I don't know if I'll even have a future if my habits continue on like this. I definitely gotta move outta the house next year with some people whose habits don't weigh so much on me.

Piracetam is a nootropic, a "smart drug", a kind of drug that not only supports life longevity, but they typically have neuro-protective and enhancing properties as well. Piracetam connects the 2 hemispheres in your brain better by enhancing blood flow I think. This makes your brain more in tune, and it has been reported to enhance psychoactive drug trips, primarily mdma.



And just to add one final link which I thought was relevant to my original post.
http://club.telepolis.com/ohcop/vasopressin_glos.htm

 

[uacvax]

Stagnant reaction, so you say that bad memory is merely subjective. What exactly is happening to cause these problems? Your blood flow is impeded, causing your brain to function at an overall slower rate. So basically, you're being dumbed down. If you don't think that's a bad physical effect, what do you think constitutes a bad physical effect? If you had a limb that was chopped off, do you think missing a limb is merely subjective? After all, some people have a psychological condition where all their lives they feel like they're not complete until they have a certain limb chopped off. It's called body integrity identity disorder. And not having all your wits with you can be loosely correlated with losing part of yourself. I don't know about you but I'd rather preserve my intelligence as well as my identity.

 

[jubai]

piracetam

Part of the euphorizing effects of pot can be attibuted to its anti-cholinergic properties.

Choline is a building block of the brain, and is related to memory and attention span.

Taking a choline source (ex: Lecithin) will get you back on track for your recovery.

Piracetam and analog nootropics use choline as "fuel" to improve cognitive functions.

Taking 2400g of piracetam a day in 3 doses, with a multi vit-B and GOOD choline source (Lecithin won't cut it here, try Centrophenoxine or Alpha-GPC) will kick your recovery in high speed.

Have fun.

 

[Mehm]

Cannabis increases blood pressure and blood flow.

notdeja said it in her post, its cool for some people and it messes others up.

how it reacts with you should probably gauge use

 

[StagnantReaction]

sub·jec·tive Pronunciation Key (sb-jktv)
adj.

1.
1. Proceeding from or taking place in a person's mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
2. Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience.
2. Moodily introspective.
3. Existing only in the mind; illusory.
4. Psychology. Existing only within the experiencer's mind.
5. Medicine. Of, relating to, or designating a symptom or condition perceived by the patient and not by the examiner.
6. Expressing or bringing into prominence the individuality of the artist or author.
7. Grammar. Relating to or being the nominative case.
8. Relating to the real nature of something; essential.


Now then, personally my cannabis consumption has ranged from several times daily, to once a month. The strongest physical side effects I've noticed is severe drymouth. Once in awhile I'll get an increase in heartrate, but I've also noticed that this happens more than when just high.

 

[MynameisnotDeja]

You are one of the lucky ones. Ive met only a few people like this though..Id say (and this is speaking only from personal experiance and the experiances of most people Ive met in real life who have used pot) a lot more people experiance bad effects from weed than those who dont.

 

[Mehm]

a lot more people experiance bad effects from weed than those who dont.

^^looking at my friends, I would totally disagree with that :D

to each their own though

cheers!

 

[chopped_chimp]

Cut down or quit. I was smoking every day for years. I look back to how I used to be and wish I'd never started, however I don't regret it as I've had heaps of fun!

Haven't smoked for over a month now and really liking the clarity.

You'll know when to stop.