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Sava
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GO GO GO!
Mar 2001
time: 23:29
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quote:
Minimal long-term effects of marijuana use found in central nervous system by UCSD researchers
An analysis of research studies with long-term, recreational users of marijuana has failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect on the neurocognitive functioning of users. According to researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, the only deleterious side effect found was a minimal malfunction in the domains of learning and forgetting.
The findings were particularly significant considering the movement by several states to make cannabis (marijuana) available as a medicinal drug, and questions regarding its potential toxicity over long-term usage.
Published in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, the study involved a quantitative synthesis of 15 previously published research studies on the non-acute (residual) effects of cannabis on the neurocognitive performance of adult human subjects.
The studies included 704 long-term cannabis users and 484 non-users. The neurocognitive performance measurements included simple reaction time, attention, verbal/language, abstraction/executive functioning, perceptual/motor skills, motor skills, learning and forgetting.
"Surprisingly, we saw very little evidence of deleterious effects. The only exception was a very small effect in learning new information," said Igor Grant, M.D., the study's senior author, a UCSD professor of psychiatry, and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), a collaborative, state-supported program between UCSD and UC San Francisco, that oversees 11 studies of the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis to treat certain diseases.
In describing the negative effects in the study, the research team said the problems observed in learning and forgetting suggest that chronic long-term cannabis use results in selective memory defects. They added that "while the results are compatible with this conclusion, the effected size for both domains was of a very small magnitude."
Grant added that the minimal side effects seen "raised the question of practical significance. If we barely find this tiny effect in long-term heavy users of cannabis, then we are unlikely to see deleterious side effects in individuals who receive cannabis for a short time in a medical setting."
In addition, Grant said that heavy marijuana users often abuse other drugs, such as alcohol and amphetamines, which also might have long-term neurological effects. This raises the question of the extent to which the other drugs contributed to the minimal problems found in learning and forgetting in the marijuana users.
The paper's authors also noted that many of the research studies examined had significant limitations, either with small numbers of subjects or insufficient information about potential confounding factors, such as exposure to other drugs or presence of neuropsychiatric factors such as depression or personality disorders.
They noted that only studies that begin with the examination of children and young adolescents before they enter the period of risk to cannabis exposure, can sufficiently reduce the influence of these additional factors.
In addition to Grant, the paper's authors included doctoral students Raul Gonzalez, M.S., and Catherine L. Carey, M.S. and Loki Natarajan, Ph.D., UCSD HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC) and UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and Tanya Wolfson, M.A., UCSD HNRC.
###
The study was supported by the CMRC.
UCSD Contact: Sue Pondrom
(619) 543-6163
spondrom@ucsd.edu
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I saw this on CNN Headline News on the ticker and thought I'd investigate further... http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...--mle062603.php
It's time to put an end to the massive waste of resources that is the War on Drugs. Legalize, tax, and focus on addiction programs rather than locking people up.
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Sava
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GO GO GO!
Mar 2001
time: 23:29
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quote:
Mental Functioning Not Affected by Long-Term
Marijuana Use, Says Johns Hopkins Study MARIJUANA
Summer 1999
Long-term use of marijuana does not lead to a decline in mental function, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore. Individuals who confessed to having smoked marijuana, even heavily, have no more signs of impaired mental function than people who have never used cannabis (Constantine G. Lyketsos, et al., "Cannabis Use and Cognitive Decline in Persons Under 65 Years of Age," American Journal of Epidemiology, May 1999, vol. 149, p. 794-800; "Long-term Use Doesn't Hurt Mind, Study Says," Detroit Free Press, May 7, 1999; "The Straight Dope," Science News (US), May 22, 1999).
Scientists at JHU tracked the mental functioning of 1,318 Baltimore residents aged 18 to 64 over the course of 11 ½ years. After analyzing data gathered by the Mini-Mental State Examination, or MMSE, researchers concluded that there is no cognitive decline associated with marijuana use. The researchers said that cognitive decline is related to aging and starts in individuals younger than 30 years old. The decline is said to increase exponentially with each decade that passes, but attaining a higher level of education may reduce the severity of cognitive decline.
American Journal of Epidemiology - 111 Market Place, Suite 840, Baltimore, MD 21202, Tel: (410) 223-1600, Fax: (410) 223-1620, Web: <http://www.sph.jhu.edu/pubs/jepi/>.•
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Sava
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GO GO GO!
Mar 2001
time: 23:29
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quote:
Study Shows Therapeutic Benefits, No Adverse Effects in Long-Term Marijuana Users
August 9, 2001
Missoula, MT: A battery of medical tests on a cohort of chronic, legal medical marijuana smokers reveals no significant physical or cognitive impairment attributable to marijuana, according to preliminary results of a recent study.
All four patients examined in the study are participants in the FDA/NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program, and have been smoking government-grown pot daily for more than a decade.
"This data agrees with the results of other chronic use studies performed in the 1970s in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece that found no significant attributable health problems in cannabis smokers. However, this study is the first of its kind to examine chronic cannabis usage in medical patients using a consistent source of medicine of known potency," said Dr. Ethan Russo, who headed the study.
Russo did observe "mild changes in pulmonary function" in three of the four patients, but noted these changes weren't significant nor was there any evidence of malignancy. He speculated that the changes could be at least partially due to the weak potency of government-grown marijuana and its large content of fibrous material.
No other tests, including MRI brain scans, chest X-rays, neuropsychological tests, immunological assays, and EEGs showed any significant adverse side-effects attributable to marijuana.
In addition, the study affirmed pot's therapeutic value for a variety of symptoms. The results demonstrate clinical effectiveness in these patients in treating glaucoma, chronic musculoskeletal pain, spasm and nausea, and spasticity of multiple sclerosis, the study's authors wrote. They maintain that all four patients are stable with respect to their chronic conditions, and are taking many fewer standard pharmaceuticals than before they began using medical cannabis.
This study is believed to be the first to examine the overall health status of medical marijuana patients in the IND program. That program began distributing medical pot to patients in 1976, but was closed to new applicants in 1992. Seven surviving patients remain in the program, though their health status is monitored by their individual physicians. Neither the FDA nor NIDA has previously published any follow-up studies on this group of patients.
The study was funded in part by grants from MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), philanthropists John Gilmore and Preston Parish, and the Zimmer Family Foundation.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751. Dr. Ethan Russo may be contacted at (406) 327-3372 or via e-mail at: Erusso@blackfoot.net. A full report of the study will appear in the January 2002 issue of The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, published by Haworth Press.
Source:
NORML Foundation
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org
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it goes on and on...
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Berzerker
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topeka, kansas,USA
May 1999
time: 23:29
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My God, we're waging a drug war. We can't have these people sending messages that conflict with our effort, their funding must be ended immediately until they produce studies that support our reasons for prohibition!
quote:
After analyzing data gathered by the Mini-Mental State Examination, or MMSE, researchers concluded that there is no cognitive decline associated with marijuana use. The researchers said that cognitive decline is related to aging and starts in individuals younger than 30 years old. The decline is said to increase exponentially with each decade that passes |
Then by God, we'll have to ban aging too!!!
Actually, from my experience, pot also had positive "cognitive" effects. I can recall quite well being stumped with a math problem and when I looked at the question again while "high", the solution just came to me like some kind of "revelation". This was not a unique experience, but has happened a number of times.
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Proteus_MST
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quote:
Originally posted by Dissident
I agree. Casual use of marijuana has no detrimental effects. I've known this for years.
But the problem is a vast majority of americans have been brain washed into believe marijuana is harmful. Those trends are slowly changing though. You can see this in the popular references to marijuana use in movies and tv.
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And it´s not just the americans.
It´s the same with germany and with many other countries.
I think many people just don´t know anything about Marijuana. They just hear: "It´s forbidden by Law" and so they assume it must be harmful.
But slowly things change. Since a shot time the possession of Cannabis for personal use won´t make you a criminal here in germany. They could confiscate the Marijuana if they catch you with it, but as long as it is only a small amount, you won´t face any other legal actions afterwards.
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mrmitchell
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I mean, everyone here agrees.
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mrmitchell
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quote:
It is also possible that there is something else in cigarrette smoke that is so unhealty that isn't in marijuana smoke. |
The "Truth" commercials display that they have things such as ammonia, toilet bowl cleaner...etc.
However, cigarettes should probably also be banned for the mere evilness of their respective companies. Weed should be legalised.
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30-06-2003 05:11
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