Study finds signs of brain changes in pot smokers

[The Straight Story]

Study finds signs of brain changes in pot smokers

NEW YORK (AP) — A small study of casual marijuana smokers has turned up evidence of changes in the brain, a possible sign of trouble ahead, researchers say.

The young adults who volunteered for the study were not dependent on pot, nor did they show any marijuana-related problems.

"What we think we are seeing here is a very early indication of what becomes a problem later on with prolonged use," things like lack of focus and impaired judgment, said Dr. Hans Breiter, a study author.

Longer-term studies will be needed to see if such brain changes cause any symptoms over time, said Breiter, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Previous studies have shown mixed results in looking for brain changes from marijuana use, perhaps because of differences in the techniques used, he and others noted in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of Neurosciences.

...

The results showed differences in two brain areas associated with emotion and motivation — the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens. Users showed higher density than non-users, as well as differences in shape of those areas. Both differences were more pronounced in those who reported smoking more marijuana.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/study-finds-signs-brain-changes-pot-smokers

It's like science dude, not woo.

[NightWatcher]

1. Study sponsored by a grant from Budweiser, Xanax, and Philip Morris...thanks

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 06:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I'll take my chances with the changes to my brain if it helps get rid of the side effects from the chemo medicine I take.


ON EDIT: of course those 3 companies did not fund this study. I was merely using a tad bit of hyperbole. I'm sorry if it went over anybody's head.

[otherone]

2. God Bless NightWatcher

I hope things work out great for you.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. Got any sort of evidence to back up those claims?

I'm not doubting you, but I want to post this with proof that it was funded by whom you say.

[NightWatcher]

6. I need a link to back up snarkiness?

Geez, tough room.

I was suggesting that if pot were legal, Bud, Xanax, and PM might see a hit to their bottom line. That is all.

[Systematic Chaos]

16. Tough room? Well then, pardon me for trying to grant a bit of credibility to your "snark"....

Stupid me, agreeing with you and all, and thinking you may have had some insights as to how the "study" was funded.

So sorry to have bothered you.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. According to the article posted, the study was funded by the National

Institute On Drug Abuse, a federal agency. The 'study' included just 20 participants.....

[Systematic Chaos]

33. Right, and what I'd like to know is who's pumping money into this NIDA thing.

That's why I thought maybe there was a bit of truth to the post.

Oh, and most definitely a sample size of 20 is a fucking joke!

[sendero]

35. Yes and of course..

... THEY wouldn't have an axe to grind.

[roguevalley]

57. they indicated that this was a test of a hypothesis with extensive study indicated

they didn't say they were conclusive.

[The Straight Story]

5. I don't care either way. Pot should be legal and no one's business

I don't care if you smoke cigs, pot, pipes, own a gun or a pitbull.

Your body/home your choice.

[GoneFishin]

11. Regardless of the disposition of this particular study, we will see Budweiser, Xanax, Philip Morris

etc. sponsored studies, now that the tide is beginning swell on legalization and decriminalization.

Considering the tobacco industry outright lied about cigarettes and lung cancer for 50 or whatever years, funding some bogus studies and creating some bogus think tanks to spread disinformation will be a no brainer.

[frazzled]

28. This was a serious, legitimate scientific study

I just wanted first to state that, since people will read your header and believe that Budweiser really did fund this. They did not:

What we think we are seeing here is a very early indication of what becomes a problem later on with prolonged use," things like lack of focus and impaired judgment, said Dr. Hans Breiter, a study author.

Longer-term studies will be needed to see if such brain changes cause any symptoms over time, said Breiter, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Previous studies have shown mixed results in looking for brain changes from marijuana use, perhaps because of differences in the techniques used, he and others noted in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of Neurosciences.

The study is among the first to focus on possible brain effects in recreational pot smokers, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The federal agency helped pay for the work. She called the work important but preliminary.

While I am extremely empathetic to your chemo treatment, I think it's somewhat unfair to use it to make fun of this study. When you are ill, any treatments you are given, be they pot or painkillers, will cause lack of focus and mental impairment. That is to be expected, and is better than living with cancer or the side effects of chemo (itself something that obviously has detrimental effects to parts of your body and system, even as it is necessary to fight the cancer). Also, smoking pot to alleviate side effects of chemo is a temporary situation, since your chemo will be a temporary treatment. This neuroscientific study is not to simply be dismissed for the reasons you are claiming. And please, don't throw the Budweiser and Xanax in there to try to deflect the conclusions: we'll see if they're right or wrong with follow up studies, not with snark.

[NightWatcher]

36. Holy Fucking Shit. No one will read my sub line and honestly think those 3 sponsored it

I appologize for being the first DUer to use hyperbole.

I WAS KIDDING!!!

[redqueen]

40. LOL

I think most of us got it. Hope so anyway.

[NightWatcher]

43. Thank you so much

[redqueen]

45. De nada

I'll take a study like this seriously when it's run concurrently with one for drinkers to compare the effects.

[Ghost in the Machine]

79. Here's you a whole BUNCH of studies, mostly from the National Institute of Health, about POSITIVE

uses of cannabis:

The Studies

Marijuana Fights:

Heart Disease
Cancer
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Alzheimer's
Liver Disease
Epilepsy
Skin Allergies
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety and Depression

and is also Neuroprotective and Causes Neurogenesis (brain cell growth)

http://www.scientificfactsofpot.com/studies.htm

Check out the links and studies and see what you think...

Peace

Ghost

[wercal]

37. Study sponsors

The National Institutes of Health, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Northwestern Medicine’s Warren Wright Adolescent Center paid for the study.

- National Institute of Health: Funded by you and me, as part of the HHS budget
- Office of National Drug Control Policy: Funded by you and me out of the White House budget
- Warren Wright Adolescent Center: Don't know about their funding, but their demographic is treating adolescents aged 13-22 for mental health disorders.

[Fozzledick]

62. So basically funded by the DEA's propaganda fronts (NIH & ONDCP)

with deliberate use of a sample size too small to be statistically significant and "results" too vague to be meaningful but hyped to produce scare headlines.

This is worse than woo, it's just "wolf!".

[razorman]

49. Awww, geez. I forgot what I was gonna say.

[roguevalley]

56. Illness is helped by this stuff but this is going to test a lot of people who will

not be willing to listen to the science because this science tells them what they don't want to hear. It is interesting that a lot of pets are ending up at the vet due to pot smoking owners. Intriguing stuff. NightWatcher, I hope you get better. Hugs.

[bemildred]

4. It sounds like horseshit to me.

"Lack of focus" and "impaired judgement" are not objective criteria. They are the equivalent of "Hey, you kids, get off my lawn".

[otherone]

7. My Brother in Law was killed by synthetic pot

it stopped his heart while he slept.

There was an autopsy and everything.

[wildbilln864]

9. that's not cannabis!

Sorry for your loss but totally different substances.

[otherone]

21. you are correct

very different indeed.

[roguevalley]

58. actually, its not

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F10372%2Fmarijuana-deaths-german-study%2F&ei=at1NU57MOOOX2QX8qoGwBg&usg=AFQjCNF8oQmbRcTRtYjpaNpTwdC-5_N2LA&sig2=msB2BbSyNqawHxnuZsg87g&bvm=bv.64764171,d.aWw

[otherone]

63. thanks for the link.. but the link proves that they are very different..

pot has been used for thousands of years. it seems that it may have caused two possible deaths in that time.

Synthetic pot had been around for about two years. It is directly linked to over 42 deaths. Even Rand Paul, who hates the drug war, ended up supporting the ban on synthetic pot.

[roguevalley]

66. that is the number we know. It would appear that if you have health issues especially

around the heart, you are in trouble. Those are the two that were reported. It would be folly to assume that in thousands of years there were only two.

[otherone]

71. smoking anything is bad for the heart

My point is that pot has been around for thousands of years and we can point to two weak hearts as proof of danger.

[roguevalley]

74. and once again, that is the number that we know. it is absurd to think it isn't higher

Sick people use pot and I am sure that some have died beyond just two because of the health issues they possess. To diminish it to two people in thousands of years is absurd. smoking does kill. So apparently does pot if you are sickly. Just because it hasn't been reported other times doesn't mean it hasn't happened before. This is an interesting situation. Science is finding things that are possibly dangerous and need more study. It is like the first few voices speaking out about cigarettes. They got buried too but it didn't change the facts. I am interested in seeing how people handle the emerging science about this plant. People go on about the knuckle walkers who poo poo science and its findings. How about with this? Shall be interesting to watch the swerves and spinning.

I personally want to know the facts about everything.

[otherone]

75. It will be interesting to watch

I personally think that pot is dangerous - that is exactly why people enjoy it so much. Not as dangerous as alcohol or ciggies, but not good for you either..

[Warpy]

10. Bathtub drugs are all worse than the real thing

which is another way that when the drug war succeeds, it still fails, massively so.

[eShirl]

13. you mean "bath salts"?

[otherone]

24. almost

"haze" and other synthetic pot "incense" was sold in head shops and corner stores in NYS until it became illegal.
It looked like pot but it didn't test positive on a drug test.

[eShirl]

42. I'm sorry

sorry for your loss


years ago when that designer synthetic-enhanced "K2" and "Spice" stuff had first come out, I tried to warn people on here that it wasn't the same as pot, that it was actually untested and therefore potentially unsafe. several poo-pooed that idea, but maybe someone reading it decided against trying it

[otherone]

44. thanks for the post

[Warpy]

8. Small study, not long enough to study actual behavior and/or attitude changes.

It's science, but just barely. A larger, longitudinal study of people starting in middle school and going on through the 30s needs to be done, both the kids who smoke pot and those who don't and combined with kids who smoke cigarettes and/or drink and those who abstain.

Now that would be science.

[The Straight Story]

12. I don't mind them studying this to inform folks and such

But personally I think you should be allowed to plant pot in your own yard, as much as you want, smoke it if you like, etc.

It's a damn plant and no one Else's business.

[Warpy]

17. The same goes for poppies and poppy straw

That poppy head tea for bad sprains and strains is weaker than the refined stuff but would take the edge off beautifully. It tastes too awful and is a little too vomitous to appeal to people who ae looking for a high.

I can also see the importation of coca leaves. The lift is said to be about that of a cup of strong coffee but not as jangling. It would be great for old fossils like me who live at high altitude. I hated cocaine but a few coca leaves on bad days could be very helpful.

I'm not kidding about any of this. It's what people did before doctors made a power grab and restricted everything to prescription.

[The Straight Story]

22. I'm with ya on all that

If the government wants to stop businesses from selling such stuff (ie, deny a license) that is one thing. Letting people grow plants in their own garden is a whole other thing.

I'm all for sensible regulations on businesses, epa, etc and so on (lord knows we probably need more, not less) but when it comes to personal freedoms and choices the freedom loving hippie in me says it is none of anyone Else's business what I do - until I make it someone's business (by interfering with their life/liberty/etc).

This is more, to me anyway, about big business wanting to control our choices and herd people into little pens where the only choices left are the ones they offer and they can charge a premium. Freedoms could hurt their bottom line.

Sadly, I find folks on both sides of the aisles who play into all of that and spread fear/etc and want to remove choices.

[RKP5637]

31. I agree with you all the way!!!

[Avalux]

50. Best post in this thread^^

The sample size isn't large enough to prove anything.

[mike_c]

14. interesting article, emphasizes that "change" does not mean "harm..."

...without more data and more focused studies.

I've used cannibis semi-daily for over 40 years, with some breaks here and there. But I started using it at 15 and continue to do so, nearly every day, at 59. During that time I've been a graphic artist and an academic scientist, with the latter career winding up presently. I've certainly not noticed any ill effects of prolonged cannibis use. Grad studies and academic research in the sciences require strong motivation, as does running a freelance design business, so my anecdotal experience does not suggest any erosion of motivation.

The only way we're ever going to get really good data about this sort of thing is to end prohibition. When there is a large above ground sample size of cannibis users fitting a variety of clinical profiles for assignment to treatment groups we'll get much better data from which to reach conclusions.

[Warpy]

20. In my experience, it only turns people into apathetic slackers

if they were already headed that way and is kinder to body systems than heavy alcohol use is.

I knew too many cutting edge researchers at MIT who toked up daily to buy the DEA propaganda about pot turning high achievers into lazy bums.

[wildbilln864]

30. Carl Sagan comes to mind. n/t

[Logical]

55. Really? Cutting edge MIT researchers who were ruined by pot. How did the New York Times miss a....

story like that?

[Warpy]

60. They obviously weren't looking for it.

The media love the drug war. It gives them lots of headlines and bloody footage.

[Xithras]

34. The brain is a fairly plastic organ, and reshapes itself in response to our environment.

Neuroplasticity studies have all but eliminated the old theories that the brain is "hard wired". Our brain reshapes itself constantly over the course of our lives in response to outside stimuli, physical and environmental needs, behavioral changes, etc. From a scientific standpoint, it would be pretty shocking if the brain didn't react and change in response to repeated consumption of psychoactive compounds.

Change is NOT the same thing as harm.

[Heidi]

72. That was my first thought.

And I know plenty of people who could do with a little brain change, anyway.

[wildbilln864]

15. um...

"These discoveries shed new insight on how natural marijuana cannabinoids hold the capacity to literally kill the brain inflammation responsible for causing cognitive decline, neural failure, and brain degeneration. By supplying these receptor sites with cannabinoids, patients may be able to overcome brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and more, not to mention premature brain aging."
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/05/30/new-study-shows-cannabinoids-improve-efficiency-of-mitochondria-and-remove-damaged-brain-cells/

and:
"A synthetic chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana makes new cells grow in rat brains. What is more, in rats this cell growth appears to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. The results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be good for the brain.

In mammals, new nerve cells are constantly being produced in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory, anxiety and depression. Other recreational drugs, such as alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress this new growth. Xia Zhang of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and colleagues decided to see what effects a synthetic cannabinoid called HU210 had on rats' brains."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8155-marijuana-might-cause-new-cell-growth-in-the-brain.html

[The Straight Story]

18. Good and bad with many things. Possible Positive Effects of Nicotine for Schizophrenia

Possible Positive Effects of Nicotine for Schizophrenia

A 2004 German scientific article specifically looked at studies that discuss why individuals with schizophrenia smoke chronically. Certain thinking patterns are affected in schizophrenia including sustained attention, focused attention, working memory, short-term memory, recognition memory and even processes that are preattentive (eg reflexes). Some studies have suggested that there may be improvements in these areas after treatment with nicotine. So, it maybe that nicotine is used as a "self-medication" strategy by those with schizophrenia to improve these difficulties with attention, cognition, and information processing as well as the side effects of antipsychotic medications (eg extrapyramidal effects). (Cattapan-Ludewig)

The Baltimore Sun (October, 2004) reported that "researchers have made progress in understanding tobacco's hold on the mentally ill. Dr. Gunvant Thaker, chief of the schizophrenia-related disorders program at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, said studies have shown that nicotine helps to mitigate two problems associated with schizophrenia.

The first is faulty sensory "gating," the ability to make sense of stimuli in the environment. People startle the first time they hear a loud noise such as a car alarm - but they're able to ignore it, or at least mute their reaction, when they hear it again and again.

Schizophrenics lack this "gating" capacity, which may explain some of the confusion and fear they feel in seemingly harmless situations.

As it turns out, the deficit is associated with a faulty gene that also happens to be a nicotine receptor gene. "When schizophrenia patients smoke, or are given nicotine gum, this deficit of sensory gating is reduced or normalized," Thaker said.

http://www.schizophrenia.com/smokereport.htm#pos

Tobacco is also a plant which, sadly, some people want to prevent others from having.

[randome]

19. Yes but the study is about pot SMOKERS.

A study isn't even needed to know that putting smoke into your lungs and bloodstream will have detrimental effects.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]

[brewens]

23. Well, there is short term memory loss. Same with drinking. So what? Yeah, I space stuff out

because I'm stoned and drunk! When I'm sober, I remember stuff just fine.

At age 45, after smoking weed almost daily for 27 years I had to quit to get a job. It was funny that they hired a girl for it first but she failed the drug screening and they gave it to me. I had just been on a whitewater rafting trip and had the iron will to not indulge. I don't object so much to the pre-employment screenings. I think if you're looking for work, you should be able to lay off the weed for the time it takes to find a job. I'd rather they didn't do that, but object much more strongly to the random testing and for screwing people that have accidents on the job. I mean so far as if they weren't actually stoned on the job.

So I get the job and they fly me to the regional HQ for a week of training. The plan was to have me back down there for another week before I was released to perform the job. I breezed through training and dazzled their trainer by repeating one complicated procedure back to him better than anyone he had ever ran through that stuff. Not only that, by coming in early and staying a little late, I got far enough along that they didn't have to fly me back down there. That saved them at least four large right off the bat. Not too bad for a middle aged stoner!

I would say that I had considerable experience in a similar field though and my computer equipment setup I was going to have to use, I could have set that up blindfolded on the first try.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. I've been getting high since 1967

and if I've had brain changes, I'm fine with them. I'm happy, healthy, and the last IQ test I took just a few weeks ago showed me with an IQ of 140. The "changes" seem to be working to my benefit.

[malaise]

27. Bwaaaaaaaaaaah hahahahha

[dilby]

26. So What?

I know pot smokers who have smoked since the 50's and 60's. Some of them yeah they are a little burned out when they talk but some of them are perfectly normal. All of them are great people and I would not rate any of them a danger.

[Rex]

32. Study: getting older can cause a lack of focus and impaired judgment.

Study finds getting older changes the brain. Now get off my lawn!

[fredamae]

38. Inconclusive and suggestive

"possible sign-mixed results"
Sorry, but there are many, many, many moneyed interests that do not want cannabis available, for any reason ever.

[99Forever]

39. Cool story, bro!

That's funny, right there, I don't care who ya are.

[Vattel]

41. It's woo to think that this study is a reaosn not to smoke pot.

"The current work doesn't determine whether casual to moderate marijuana use is harmful to the brain, she said."

[Warren DeMontague]

46. Back in the day, I think I took the SAT twice. Once straight, once high as a flippin' kite.

Now, this is unscientific anecdote, but take a guess which one I did better on?

[hootinholler]

47. So does being frightened n/t

[HuckleB]

48. These "studies" drive me crazy.

A few years ago there was a study claiming "acupuncture leads to changes in the brain." Umm. Of course it does. If you poke someone, the brain will respond to it. If you ingest something, the brain will respond to that, too.

[roody]

51. I cannot focus on washing the dishes

unless I get high. In fact, being high makes the dirty dishes intolerable.

[BrotherIvan]

54. Lolz

I'll spot the weed if you do my dishes!

[idendoit]

52. I smoked a copy of that study.

Boy, did I get a buzz.

[ananda]

53. My question is: why can't it be a GOOD change?

I think it mostly is.

[Vashta Nerada]

59. Yeah, and chronic drinking fucks up the liver.

As with all chemicals put into our body, moderation is key.

[politicat]

61. Hm. So current research in neuroplasticity shows that higher density and volume is correlated

With PTSD, generalized anxiety, and high stress. Lower volume and density is correlated with lower stress, with stress reduction therapy, and better emotional health...

So chicken vs egg -- are people whose subjective experience of stress and anxiety more likely to be casual users of relaxants (I'd like to see a similar study with social drinking, thanks) or does the casual use of cannabis cause a higher level of stress, since a positive drug test can cause job loss, loss of educational opportunities, driver's license loss, as well as the stimulation of cannabinoid receptors that can prompt paranoia?

I'd like to see this study replicated in Colorado, in about 2 years, after we've gotten used to the stuff being available and legal. I think there are multiple layers at work.

[B Calm]

64. OMG!

[fredamae]

65. Confusing/Poor Reporting About This "Study"?

"Striking a Nerve: Bungling the Cannabis Story"
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/45290

[Aerows]

67. I don't smoke pot

but this "studies show" shit needs to go. "Studies show" you shouldn't eat carbohydrates. "Studies show" you shouldn't eat too much protein. "Studies show" you shouldn't eat fat.

"Studies show" that drinking enough water is good, but "Studies show" that drinking too much is bad for you.

I'm pretty sure that "Studies show" that breathing is detrimental to your health unless the air is run through an HVAC system, you get your nutrients from sunlight and cut off contact from everybody and live in a bubble.

I'm so sick of this "Studies show" shit.

[spanone]

68. 'A small study' bwahahahahahaaaa comedy gold

[Rex]

69. I think I have had a brain change since last I posted.

Nope sorry, just my bowels.

[fried eggs]

70. "Studies show that most Americans reject facts when they are confronted with them

Studies show that most Americans reject facts when they are confronted with them if those facts don’t reinforce their prejudices. Stories are a lot more effective, false or not, simplification or not.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4823789

[pipi_k]

73. Lots of studies

find that lots of things cause changes in the brain.

Like...falling in love, for instance.


People have done some pretty stupid and (self) destructive things due to changes in the brain from "falling in love". It's like a drug, man!

Let's ban everything that causes changes in the brain

[RainDog]

76. The study itself admits correlation isn't causation

however, the US news outlets run with any story the NIDA puts out that relies upon fear. Same as it ever was.

A science editor notes this and says the study does not say what American media says it says:

Correlation does not equal causation, and a single exam cannot show a trend over time. Basic stuff, right?

But judging by coverage of a study just out in the Journal of Neuroscience, these are apparently foreign concepts for many folks in the media.

In the study, researchers at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital and Northwestern University in Chicago performed MRI brain scans on 20 young adult "casual" marijuana users and 20 age- and sex-matched nonusers. They found that, in the users, gray matter densities in the nucleus accumbens were higher than in controls, and the right amygdala and left nucleus accumbens were shaped differently.

Interesting, but remember that these findings only reflected differences between the marijuana users and controls at a single point in time. The researchers did not, could not, demonstrate that the differences resulted from marijuana smoking or even that the "abnormalities" relative to controls reflected changes from some earlier state.

Read more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/45290?isalert=1&uun=g313860d1133R5308195u&utm_source=breaking-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-news&xid=NL_breakingnews_2014-04-16

Another problem is the NIDA is not interested in science - it's interested in propaganda. As this physicist noted:

Physicist: If All Science Were Run Like Marijuana Research, Creationists Would Control Paleontology

In the face of obstacles to marijuana research from both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology and one-time MacArthur Fellow is calling out the federal government on its obstruction of science.

During an address before a medical marijuana conference Friday, John H. Schwartz explained how the DEA and NIDA act as a “tag team” to censor science, with NIDA holding a monopoly over legal access to cannabis for research, and the DEA refusing to reconsider the drug’s designation in the Controlled Substances Act as a dangerous substance with no medical value on the basis that sufficient research does not exist. He alleges that the government has blocked research even though it has long been aware of marijuana’s potential to serve many medical benefits including shrink aggressive cancer cells is because it might “send the wrong message to children”

As a physicist, I can assure you that this not how physics works. … We are all expected to act like grownups and accept it gracefully as experiments prove our favorite theories are false. In physics, unlike marijuana policy, we consider the right message to send to be the message that’s true. …

Consider what American science might look like if all research were run like marijuana research is being run now. Suppose the Institute for Creation Science were put in charge of approving paleontology digs and the science of human evolution. Imagine what would happen to the environment if we gave coal and oil companies the power to block any climate research they didn’t like.

complete piece: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/25/1629721/caltech-physicist-if-all-science-were-run-like-marijuana-research-creationists-would-control-paleontology/

On the other hand, if cannabis was rescheduled, more honest research could be done.

Marijuana researchers: Access to research reefer limited by politics

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/19/marijuana-researchers-accuse-feds-of-using-only-legal-u-s-pot-batch-for-anti-legalization-studies/

Researchers looking to study the potential health benefits of medical marijuana use are accusing the government of steering its own supply of the drugs toward probes favoring keeping the drug illegal on the federal level, McClatchy Newspapers reported on Wednesday.

“Nobody could explain it — it’s indefensible,” University of Arizona assistant professor Suzanne Sisley told McClatchy. “The only thing we can assume is that it is politics trumping science.”

Sisley said officials at the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) waited three years before approving a university study into whether veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder benefitted more from smoked or vaporized marijuana, despite the Food and Drug Administration signing off on the project.

...The government’s “stash” is located in a 12-acre garden on the campus of the University of Mississippi. University researchers grow about 13 pounds of the drug per year, with much of it distributed for use in projects approved by both HHS and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The institute reported providing more than $30 million in federal funding for 69 studies related to the drug in 2012.

I side with the scientists on this - not the prohibitionists.

[2pooped2pop]

77. lets see 20 participants

at the same time I am reading stories of people killing people after "taking marijuana" Nope, nothing suspicious there.

I guess I will take the studies I have seen saying pot is good against heart disease, alzheimers, cancers, and of course the help it gives to pain patients and wasting patients against one bullshit study of 20 people, ran by a part of the government that has a need to show that pot is bad.



and besides I will take these spooky and lol obvious side effects found in this study any day over simple non use.

[appleannie1]

78. More or less than the changes caused by alcohol? Exposure to Roundup? GMO foods?

As for being an angry, abusive asshole, I can guarantee that alcohol wins in that catagory.