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posted by n1 on Wednesday November 12 2014, @03:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the snuff-ignorance-before-it-spreads dept.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), reports at AlterNet:

A new study identifying minor differences in the brain imaging of habitual marijuana consumers compared to non-users may be ideal for stimulating sensational headlines (e.g., "Regular pot smokers have shrunken brains, study says," Los Angeles Times, November 10), but tells us little in regard to whether pot poses actual health risks.

Specifically, an MRI scan revealed less gray matter in the orbital frontal cortex of pot-smoking subjects compared to those who had never used the drug. Researchers also identified increased connectivity between certain regions of the brain in regular marijuana users compared with non-users.

So precisely what do these findings tell us in regard to pot use and health? Not much. Since the study design is not longitudinal, investigators cannot determine whether these differences are caused by subject's cannabis use, whether these differences existed prior to subjects' ever trying cannabis, or whether these differences persist when users' cannabis consumption ceases.

Most importantly, investigators in this study failed to determine whether any of these differences are positively associated with any measurable adverse performance outcomes, such as cognitive performance or quality of life. It may be that these cannabis users are functioning in their daily lives in a manner that is indistinguishable from controls, in which case the imaging differences may hold little if any real-world significance.

 
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by FanOfAllThingsGood on Wednesday November 12 2014, @06:34PM

    by FanOfAllThingsGood (4726) on Wednesday November 12 2014, @06:34PM (#115309)

    People like to get away from it all and not have to confront the reality of their life, and to those so inclined, any drugs are high on the list. A simple view of, for example, taking pain killers to stop pain and ignoring why the pain in there in first place is ignoring the signals the body is sending as if the reason for the pain is solved by taking the pain killers.

    Maybe due to how short our live spans currently are, maybe due to the fact that most simply don't want to look at too many scary things, such as the fact that there is a clear degradation of human bodies over the last many decades. It is now normal to consider dementia the normal course for growing old, kidney failure, eyesight problems, heart problems, these are all growing fast.

    Some companies, such as Monsanto, are spearheading a direction that was inconceivable not long ago. I find the idea that anything you take which numbs you is clearly not to your benefit, nor would it be neutral. Scanning brains does not either constitute a proper test with all the misunderstandings about it and so on.

    Look at the body as whole and see what effect something has on it as a whole. Though that does often require a realization that the body is one machine, not a number of loosely connected pieces. The body is constantly sending signals about various conditions, ignore them at your own perils. Unfortunately the drug manufacture funded education of doctors does not win if we are healthy, they require sick bodies to make money.

    You can however subscribe to actual research papers directly and educate yourself. You can make simple tests such as not eating any grains for 30 days and see how that works out. Don't consume anything with sugar and you'll discover the demand for it sizzles away. You end up giving your immune system a break and it will work much better.

    As a note on the last paragraph, I lost about 30 lbs over a month and regained my previous normal weight. Have a ton more energy etc. Food is being degraded by companies that make more money that way. The fact that we let that occur and continue, shows how ignorant we as a people are, and how little we actually look at this kind of stuff. Likewise in the end I find no drug that is enhancing our bodies over time, only temporary mental relief.

    What you don't know can and often does hurt you, educate yourself properly. There are too many vested interests that are misinformed, don't care about others, and gloat over money they make at our expense.

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  • (Score: 1) by pnkwarhall on Wednesday November 12 2014, @10:46PM

    by pnkwarhall (4558) on Wednesday November 12 2014, @10:46PM (#115356)

    Mod parent +1 Interesting

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13 2014, @03:20AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13 2014, @03:20AM (#115394)

    "how short our live spans currently are"
    Where do you live? The average life expectancy has been increasing for a while (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy).

    "they require sick bodies to make money"
    There is no need for a conspiracy because there will always be plenty of sick bodies.

    "You end up giving your immune system a break and it will work much better."
    Any references from "actual research papers"? Your immune system doesn't need a break. In fact, the Hygiene Hypothesis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis) explains that increases in autoimmunity may be due to lack of immune system activity.