@Sara - I'll try going point-to-point with your most relevant arguments.
Marijuana does not kill your brain cells.
That's correct. Nor does Alcohol kill brain cells for that matter. It's a silly myth. Now, using studies to support your argument is all fair & well, but why do you intentionally (assuming I'm not talking to an article) leave out the known facts about the negative side-effects that occurs in your brain? The only reasonable conclusion that I can come up with is biasm towards marijuana use. I find the whole media vs the user conflict funny because the user keeps accusing the media for always being anti-marijuana, yet they (the users) are the ones only focusing on the positive aspects of marijuana use, accusing the research & researchers to be "biased" if it doesn't come out as they want it to.
Let's thoroughly go over *some* NEGATIVE side-effects of marijuana use.
First off, the three major cannabinoid receptors are located in the hippocampus, cerebellum and basal ganglia -- all affected whilst under the influence of marijuana. When affected, negative side-effects occur.
ONE is short-term memory loss. This is due to high concentrations of cannabinoid receptors which exists in the hippocampus (which is basically the hard-drive of your short-term memory.) When smoking marijuana, you are constantly abusing the cannabinoid receptors in the hippocampus, thus interfering with the recollection of recent events. When that gets abused, you might/will achieve short-term memory loss.
TWO is distorted perception. When smoking marijuana, the chemical compounds that exists in marijuana (THC) distorts the cerebellum, thus impairing your judgment ability, coordination and decision making -- all of which are needed for driving, walking or working. These 'senses' will/can remain heavily influenced for up to 6 hours.
THREE then we have the basal ganglia, which is associated with a variety of functions, including motor control (controlling movement & operation of unconscious muscles) which is also heavily distorted when under the influence of marijuana. Those people who *claim* that they drive better when under influence are not liars -- not necessarily. They're most likely deluded. Fact is, marijuana slows your reaction time & your awareness of time itself, which is good in traffic how?
These are three factors. Three. All of which affects your ability to learn, solve, judge and concentrate. Marijuana releases hundreds of chemicals when burned. Many results into psychological affects. Many affects are unknown even as of yet... Many are irrelevant. It's an ongoing study. Also, this is something a hamburger nor cigarette can't do.
There is also a very clear connection between marijuana & schizophrenia.
Source:
https://drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/marijuana4.html
As for the positive aspect if marijuana use. There
IS medical potential in marijuana. You mentioned that Steve Jobs (RIP) smoked pot? That was no doubt medical marijuana used against his cancer. Although I personally believe that there are better treatments out there, I'm not against the option for medical marijuana.
And unless you haven't figured it out yourself.. The more you smoke, the more 'normal' & 'permanent' will these negative side-effects become.
Lung cancer doesn't occur when using marijuana, unless it's radioactive.
Correct, also. That said, marijuana has also been linked to
testicular cancer. Remember, there are many forms of cancer.
Source:
https://www.newser.com/story/106166/marijuana-linked-to-cancer-disease.html &
https://health.usnews.com/health-ne...ijuana-linked-to-aggressive-testicular-cancer
Stereotypes are made for people who use marijuana, you can look at anyone on the streets who doesn't look like they've smoked it, but they've most likely smoked it!
Depends solely on HOW long they've been without marijuana. The signs aren't anything permanent, it does eventually wear off. BUT, tiredness, red eyes and generally being "slow" are common signs.
Marijuana is NOT addictive. The person who uses marijuana will not go through the withdrawal symptoms as someone who has quit smoking.
You're speaking of a physical addiction. Marijuana isn't "physically" addicting, it's "psychologically" addictive. That's two different things - it can go both ways. Every substance that makes you "feel good" can be mentally addictive. Marijuana is certainly not an exception of that rule. In fact, study has shown that certain symptoms can arise if deprived; symptoms including irritability, nervousness, depression, anxiety and even anger.
Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug.
Correction: Marijuana isn't *necessarily* a gateway drug. Research shows that many hard drug users used cannabis or alcohol before moving on to the harder substances.
""
out of 104 marijuana users, only 1 user does cocaine, and less than one does heroin." I'd like to have a more thorough look at this study, if you don't mind. Drug abuse rarely begins with hard drugs.
"A proportional hazards model implied that those using marijuana more than 50 times per year were 140 times more likely to progress to hard drugs than those test subjects using no cannabis -- This correlation between number of marijuana usage and progression to harder drugs has been labeled the dose-response effect (Morral et al., 2002). These three relationships between marijuana and hard drug use would suggest that the marijuana gateway effect has a solid foundation in science." ~ (Fergusson & Horwood, 2000)
There are more accidents that go with alcohol then with Marijuana.
And that's relevant why? The outcome of another drug shouldn't be a relevant factor unless you're just arguing statistics...
Every presidential candidate has smoked pot one time in their life.
Hehehehe. Go figure.
As for the rockstars you've mentioned. I did imply them as well when I said "Except for movie stars, ETC." Most superstars these days are the worst role-models around. They don't just do weed, they do far harder drugs, like cocaine. And again, GENERALLY, successful people stay away from drugs. There are far more higher chances of a pothead to drop out of school than a person who does no drugs.
"That said, marijuana users themselves report poor outcomes on a variety of life satisfaction and achievement measures. One study compared current and former long-term heavy users of marijuana with a control group who reported smoking cannabis at least once in their lives but not more than 50 times. Despite similar education and income backgrounds, significant differences were found in educational attainment: fewer of the heavy users of cannabis completed college, and more had yearly household incomes of less than $30,000. When asked how marijuana affected their cognitive abilities, career achievements, social lives, and physical and mental health, the majority of heavy cannabis users reported the drug's negative effects on all of these measures. In addition, several studies have linked workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. For example, a study among postal workers found that employees who tested positive for marijuana on a pre-employment urine drug test had 55 percent more industrial accidents, 85 percent more injuries, and a 75-percent increase in absenteeism compared with those who tested negative for marijuana use."
Source: https://drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports...a/default.html &
https://drugabuse.gov/PDF/RRMarijuana.pdf
I don't think that marijuana is bad, honestly, the only thing bad about it is that it destroys your cilia, but secondhand smoke from cigarettes can destroy your cilia. The people who are dependent on marijuana, and screw up their life, it's their own fault, not marijuana, so sorry to hear about your cousin, Anders but it's his own fault, not marijuana's fault.
Right.
The biggest fault is always going to be with the consumer, but alas, everything
IS relevant.
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Conclusion; Marijuana is not as a bad as some people make it to be. Although it is
NOT as innocent as you make it to be either.
OVERALL source:
NIDA
