BREAKING NEWS!: Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities
 

Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities, study finds

Casual marijuana use may come with some not-so-casual side effects.

For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures.

The study’s findings, to be published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, are similar to those of past research linking chronic, long-term marijuana use with mental illness and changes in brain development.

Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author, said he was inspired to look at the effects of casual marijuana use after previous work in his lab found that heavy cannabis use caused similar brain abnormalities to those seen in patients with schizophrenia.

"The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem."

- Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author

“There were abnormalities in their working memory, which is fundamental to everything you do,” Breiter, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com. “When you make judgments or decisions, plan things, do mathematics – anything you do always involves working memory. It’s one of the core fundamental aspects of our brains that we use every day. So given those findings, we decided we need to look at casual, recreational use.”

For their most recent study, Breiter and his team analyzed a very small sample of patients between the ages of 18 and 25: 20 marijuana users and 20 well-matched control subjects. The marijuana users had a wide range of usage routines, with some using the drug just once or twice a week and others using it every single day.

Utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers analyzed the participants’ brains, focusing on the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and the amygdala – two key brain regions responsible for processing emotions, making decisions and motivation. They looked at these brain structures in three different ways, measuring their density, volume and shape.

According to Breiter, all three were abnormal in the casual marijuana users.

“For the NAC, all three measures were abnormal, and they were abnormal in a dose-dependent way, meaning the changes were greater with the amount of marijuana used,” Breiter said. “The amygdala had abnormalities for shape and density, and only volume correlated with use. But if you looked at all three types of measures, it showed the relationships between them were quite abnormal in the marijuana users, compared to the normal controls.”

Because these brain regions are central for motivation, the findings from Northwestern help support the well-known theory that marijuana use leads to a condition called amotivation. Also called amotivational syndrome, this psychological condition causes people to become less oriented towards their goals and purposes in life, as well as seem less focused in general.

Given these eye-opening results, Breiter said that more research is needed to look into marijuana’s effects on the brain – even in those who use the drug only once or twice a month.

“We need to see what happens longitudinally,” Breiter said. “What happens as you follow people over time? What happens if they stop using – do these bad effects continue? What happens if you can intervene early?...My worry is we haven’t studied this compound and here we are looking to change legislation on it.”

Although Breiter’s team members did not examine the patients’ cognitive symptoms, they do believe that the brain abnormalities seen in their study could lead to substantial effects on brain development and behavior, especially given the young ages of the participants. Breiter also acknowledged the problems of analyzing a very small study sample – but said that their findings should still serve as a wake-up call to others.

“This study is just a beginning pilot study, but at the same time, the results that came out are the same as a canary in a coal mine,” Breiter said. “...The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem.”

The BREAKING NEWS seems a bit excessive.

TL;STONED

****ing pot heads.

This is ****ing ridiculous.

In before Bump... Ya'll know my stand point... and out.

Dumb

Lame

Turns out I don't give a shit.

Burn this thread like a joint. Twenty subjects? Junk science.... and there have already been studies done that show regular use in teenagers leads to a permanent decrease in IQ. However, smoking after the frontal lobe has developed is the key here. In other words start smoking in your mid-twenties, not at the ****ing age of 16.

Screw casual. I'll wear a ****ing tuxedo.

Real science is usually a lot cooler than this.

I'm just going to throw out that IQ isn't an accurate measure of intelligence anyways.

Every thing we can do can have negative side effects if done to excess.

I'm going to roll a fatty and then reread it. I bet it will become a lot funnier.

Well, it now appears that once or twice a week is excessive.

not a very good study.

small sample size which limits the power of the study.

Here is some info from larger studies. His questions are disingenous as a review of literature would answer his questions.

Eisen SA, Chantarujikapong S, Xian H, et al. Does marijuana use have residual adverse effects on self-reported health measures, socio-demographics and quality of life? A monozygotic co-twin control study in men. Addiction 2002; 97:1137.

from uptodate. I've posted it on this forum before....so please search for it. I dont want to muddy this post with all the citations that do exist.

Drug use of any kind is not recommended on someone with a developing brain (unless the benefits outweigh the risks). There is really no data showing that cannabis has any permanent neurological effects on a fully developed brain.

You obviously never met my college roommate.

****ing pot heads.

I don't keep up with the research very closely these days, since I have no intention of ever using cannabis again. Let's agree that you're right. Problem is, I'd feel pretty safe supposing that an overwhelming majority of us users started using it long before we had fully developed brains.

IQ tests are not designed to capture EVERY aspect of human intelligence. Their real purpose is to assess abilities like cognitive function, reasoning ability, and working memory.

Also using a substance- any substance with mind altering capabilities at an early age isn't good... regardless of excess.
Here's the study if you're curious...
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/20...20109.abstract

Also just to add I'm hugely in favor of legalizing Marijuana, just not for teens.

So smoking plants might be bad for you? Shocked I say!

“We need to see what happens longitudinally,” Breiter said. “What happens as you follow people over time? What happens if they stop using – do these bad effects continue? What happens if you can intervene early?...My worry is we haven’t studied this compound and here we are looking to change legislation on it.”

This is the problem. They studied young people who were already using pot. Did using pot tend to cause the abnormality or did the preexisting abnormality tend to cause pot usage?

Because these brain regions are central for motivation, the findings from Northwestern help support the well-known theory that marijuana use leads to a condition called amotivation. Also called amotivational syndrome, this psychological condition causes people to become less oriented towards their goals and purposes in life, as well as seem less focused in general.

No it doesn't. The study implies a link between pot use and unmotivated people. The link, if proven, is yet to be determined.

Fine... I will say it...

Fox News.

too drunk:dr

I was going to go to Denver this weekend to the first ever LEGAL Cannabis Cup... but this news changes everything. heh

Proving shit is not, like, high on my list of ... y,know ... priorities, man.

Of course it is. IQ regresses extremely well with academic and job performance. It's accurate for the vast majority

My friend, have you read any of the studies linking the casual use of Comic Sans with brain abnormalities?

My IQ was too high anyway... I'm trying to lower my IQ enough so that I'll finally get accepted into the police force. I only have to drop another 40 points or so.

Welp, case closed.

Alcohol causes cirrhosis.

Are we done here?

Is it possible that the brain abnormalities were already there but people with that brain abnormality are more likely to want to smoke pot?
The brain abnormality is leading to the pot smoking and not the other way around?

Actually it's the second ever legal cannabis cup. But hey, what the **** does that matter. If I see a guy that looks like Penn Jillette, I'll make sure to throw a bud his way.

I was worried until I realized the side effects were only found in casual smokers.

Headline: People with Abnormal Brains Attracted to Weed

That's possible as well, but it doesn't sound much better.

shhhhhh
Pot is bad.

The big difference is that you can continued getting stoned without worrying that it is damaging your brain. Actually you now have an excuse--you need to spark up, and it is due to a disease.

wut?

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

When you're stoned....you forget shit.

end of article.

The results don't really come as much of a surprise, and completely jive with my personal experience. I quit smoking pot since I felt my motivation and focus were being affected even when I wasn't stoned. Since I stopped, though, I haven't felt affected. Point is, it would be more interesting to have these people stop smoking for a year and see the result. I don't think it is as 'permanent' as they think.

Never heard of 'amotivational syndrome' before. Funny.

Going to pop open another one of my health drinks I call beer now.

How interesting, the timing of this study. Political agenda anyone?

All I know is, I never smoked pot but I had a lot of friends who did, some more than others. Granted, it's a small sample, but they've all quit due to work reasons, it's illegal, whatever. They are all successful, well rounded people. It short, the pot smoking they did in their teens and twenties does not seem to have had an adverse affect on their ability to live happy, productive healthy lives. None of them are brain dead or overly forgetful or whatever.

That's my scientific study.

Nope. Pot can only cure cancer and make rainbows. It's impossible for any sort of bad thing to happen from using wonderful weed.

I could say the exact same thing about drinking insane amounts of alcohol in late teens and early 20s.

Didn't work for me but now I have an excuse not to do anything today.

Agreed.

True but alcohol is even more so that way.


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According to what I read in D.C., pot is a miracle cure-all for every illness.

It also appears to be linked to not showering,

I'm sure that's exactly what you read.

One recent example:

Nuh uuuuhhhhhh. Therapeutic purposes does not mean cure-all.

Did you smoke a fatty and not tell us?

Dwayne Bowe would not agree.....they couldnt find more than 40 people for this "study"? :-/ seems pretty damn lame to me

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Neat. I'm sure bump will weigh in next. That's about as close as anyone has got to claiming weed was a cure all.

And if you take him seriously then that's your own fault.

bump's no rocket scientist. I wouldn't count his endorsement as a positive thing, anyway.

"potential therapeutic uses" does NOT equal "cure all".

:facepalm:

Oh no you don't. We've got an industry to destroy here.

Pot alters brain development? Who knew?

i knew there would be a time where we had similar thoughts:)

I've smoked pot off and on for 20+ years and know many, many people with advanced degrees and high-paying jobs that do it.

Losers smoke pot but smoking pot doesn't turn you into a brain-dead moron.

Bad science is bad science.

This.


A lot of the tendencies found in the study are 100% true with the people I know that smoke, but the issues were probably caused by shitty parenting and a poor template.

Kind of like how we green light pharmaceuticals all the time?

The "we haven't studied it" argument is BS.

Curative, medicative, benignant... whatever.

The point I was raising is only that that the zeitgeist seems to be that pot is good for everything and everyone, which is not the case.

And I find it strange that many of the same people who emote about smoking in every way, from not wanting to smell it to the cost to all our health care, don't seem to have any issues with inhaling caricinogenic smoke from this source into your lungs. There are even studies out there that would tell you that marijuana smoke contains more carcinogens than tobacco smoke.

The debate seems to have moved from one realm of nonsense to another, from the irrationally bad to the irrationally good.

You conveniently again ignored the word "potential".

Not sure where you got this. I don't participate in the DC forum so I really don't know what you're talking about. I personally detest cigarette smoking but don't care if someone else wants to smoke. The cost to our healthcare system is largely irrelevant to me personally. We also pay for people who huff gas and canned air. If dumbasses want to do it, fine with me, but I'd never personally do it.

Well what did you expect? It's Merica after all.

To those bitching about Marijuana:

Do you use alcohol?

If so, SHUT THE **** UP.

Yeah but those people just like the ones I know do not have time to take part in such a study nor do they need the $100 being paid to take part in it.

Precisely.

A study came out last year that showed you can get a pretty heavy dose of pesticides from smoking pot. If there really are brain abnormalities, I wonder if they could be caused by the pesticides and not the pot itself? You would have to test and control for that, too, to know for sure.

Can't do that. Have to blame marijuana. The makers of Lyrica are upset.

Is that a GIF of Clay eating his Winstead's burger?

Sure, but in politics and marketing, potential may as well be reality and is often presented as such. The debate that was about stem cell research was the same thing.

The question is really, does pot cause smoking related illnesses. Certainly it can. (yes, potential) If so, then should we encourage it? I mean, sure, people should be able to do whatever they want, but since we're all going to have to pay for it if they get lung cancer, should we be marketing it...?

I don't care personally. I have no interest in drugs any longer, and I'd like it if people could do however many drugs they want so long as it didn't impact anyone else. But in reality, we're moving ever more toward a welfare state and so in practice it will affect everyone else.

I'm not for or against it really, but pot advocates often oversell it as some sort of a miracle tonic that cures what ails you, and I don't think that's any different from Reefer Madness type disingenous marketing.

In the average 30-minute sitcom, we hear the words "may cause cancer and/or death" approximately 50 times.

We market this kind of shit EVERY DAY. But we're curing plaque psoriasis with a biological weapon so it's ok.

Harmless plant cures cancer.

BREAKING NEWS

Except outside of your own personal experiences, alcohol has a much higher death rate than marijuana.

In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of someone dying from marijuana use.

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