# LONG TERM MARIJUANA USE MAY FOG THE brain



## HydrO PasSiOn (Apr 2, 2007)

*Long-term marijuana use may fog the brain*


21:00 13 March 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Andy Coghlan
 
Long-term users of marijuana gradually become worse at learning and remembering things, a new study suggests. 
It definitely fogs your brain, says Lambros Messinis, who led the study at the University Hospital of Patras in Greece.
Messinis and colleagues tested the mental abilities of 20 long-term users who had taken marijuana heavily  smoking at least four joints a week  for an average of 15 years. Their brains were rustier than those of 20 short-term users  who had averaged seven years of use  and 24 controls who had used the drug sporadically or not at all.
Long-term users performed worse in tests to measure memory, learning ability and the capacity to recall information. Asked to recall lists of 15 words that they had seen earlier, for example, the long-term users averaged seven, compared with nine recalled by short-term users and 12 by controls. 
Long-term users found it very difficult to learn through new information given verbally, says Messinis. Its not to do with lack of attention but more the encoding process of memory. Separate tests to probe attention span found that long-term users were able to pick up information immediately, without trouble.
*Initial ability*

Although the study is retrospective  that is, the subjects were not tested on their cognitive abilities before they took up marijuana  the researchers are confident that the long-term users abilities were not significantly different from the other groups from the beginning. They used a standard test to estimate the long-term users original intellectual abilities.
Messinis gave subjects the tests at least 24 hours after they had last taken the drug, to make sure they were not still under the influence. It wasnt while they were high, he says.
Importantly, we dont know if its reversible, he says. To find out, he and his colleague plan to re-test the same subjects after abstinence periods of at least a month.
Nadia Solowij, at the University of Wollongong in Australia, says the new findings back previous work by her and colleagues, published in the _Journal of the American Medical Association_ in 2002.
The authors appear to have used the same rigorous criteria for inclusion in their study and confirm that the duration of cannabis use progressively impacts upon cognitive functions, she told *New Scientist*.


----------



## 55DAYZNCOUNTIN (Apr 2, 2007)

I would agree I can't remember anything and am always fog headed its how I like it! Naa but it is one of the side effects of smoking about an 1/8 a day for 10 years! 55


----------



## HydrO PasSiOn (Apr 2, 2007)

haha im with you on that one 55


----------



## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Apr 4, 2007)

*Man i'm not buying it. I myself have been smoking for over 25 years and everyday for the last 15 and i'm as smart as ever.   I would like to know who they did this study on?  *


----------



## SmokinMom (Apr 4, 2007)

I know from my personal experience that I am definately more sharp when I haven't been smoking.  So in my case, I can believe it.


----------



## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Apr 4, 2007)

I'm sure there are ways to combat this "brain fogging" though. It is recommended that as you get older it is important to do cognitive exercises in order to help fight off the chances of developing alzhiemers(sp?) and keep memory from deteriorating. Simple exercises like doing the crosswords in news papers, or remember phone numbers forwards and backwards, adding up your bills in your head (that can actually be painful), spelling words both ways, reading, learning new things (you should want to do this anyway), other forms of mathematics, etc. Functions that bring blood flow to different parts of the brain that are needed to do this with keep your mind sharp. There are also vitamins you can buy that have been proven to help in keeping your mind sharp. I forget which they are from the health article I read about all this. But I'm sure if you do these simple exercises you can keep a sharp mind even with smoking over long periods of time.


----------



## rami (Apr 4, 2007)

yea u get used to all these things after a while, like forgeting stuff or 'foggy brain"(i dont even kno watt that means) some ppl say u get dumber?! that really pisses me off.....haha...the only thing i hate bout MJ...makes u lazy as f***!!!!...im gettin a hard time gettin used to that....but my brain and memory are still excellent after a long time of gettin high


----------



## Insane (Apr 5, 2007)

Is this supposed to be news? lol


----------



## Myster.Y (Apr 6, 2007)

i have been undergoing some psychiatric evaluations and such and in discussing my marijuana use with one doctor they said a new study has shown that long-term marijuana use actually does hinder memory in later years, but this same study also made a correlation between IQ and memory deterioration (obviously the lower the IQ, the more apparent the effects on memory)

didnt know if THIS is still "news", but it was to me so i thought i'd share it, and bask in the feeling that my memory will be fine when i get older and stop smoking (if i do stop smoking)


----------



## Useless (Apr 6, 2007)

Is that anything like a "Brain Cloud"? Because if so, I better just go wave goodbye to the Waponiiwu, drink an orange soda and then take a jump into the Big Wu...
:rofl::rofl:


----------



## Stoney Bud (Apr 6, 2007)

SmokinMom, I think what they're trying to say is that it makes you less able *all the time*, not just when you've been smoking. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I strongly disagree with the pretext that this is so.

I've been smoking MJ since I was 16. That's now 57 years. I smoke well over the amount specified, and during that 57 years, I've learned and mastered a dozen different trades including several programming languages. I'm a certified software developer. I use math as a second language.

Anyone can "prove" the results they want by setting the parameters of the testing. This is done in politics on a daily basis. That's all the MJ debate really is anyway. Politics.

You are what you are, intellectually. If you're a person easily distracted by anything, then MJ is just the thing that's distracting you at the moment. It could have been cigar smoking or nose picking.

If you're the type of person who is intellectually capable of performing difficult mental tasks without distraction, then I don't care if you've been drinking moonshine and snorting ground up MJ, after you are no longer under the influence of the substances, you'll be able to perform as usual on any mental tasks you set your mind to.

This isn't speculation on my part. It's proven by my own life.

Your mind is what you make it. If you're mentally lazy, then you'll be mentally lazy regardless of the influences of intoxication from any substances. Keep in mind that this study is, (if I'm correct), saying that even if you don't smoke any more, you're damaged.

I think that's baloney.

Now, what can I buy with the three cents I have left over from that nickle? Hhaaha.


----------



## Rocker420 (Apr 6, 2007)

lol man i will say one thing. I dunno if any of you live in or by Humbolt County but while i was there for awhile i started to relize that people who smoke for a long time start to get real ugly after 20-30 years. And about the whole mind loss thing, i know tons of people who smoke pot and still a+ students or have great jobs where they have to learn things all the time. And hell, mj helps people who have ADD, my friend says it calms him down and makes him focus better.


----------



## Stoney Bud (Apr 6, 2007)

Rocker420 said:
			
		

> ...people who smoke for a long time start to get real ugly after 20-30 years.


 
*That's* why all the women and children run away when they see me! I thought it was my breath!


----------



## HydrO PasSiOn (Apr 6, 2007)

lol your funny stoney!!


----------



## SmokinMom (Apr 6, 2007)

Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> *That's* why all the women and children run away when they see me! I thought it was my breath!


 


Mine can sometimes linger a day or two.  I notice it when I've come down and in between smoking days.  I don't smoke everyday.


----------

