Moderator Emeritus Skyler Posted May 1, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Posted May 1, 2014 This is a follow up that to the previous my last post on this topic that addresses many of the concerns expressed by those who responded. "Many stories also claimed that the Gilman study showed direct causation between pot smoking and brain abnormalities. That’s wrong. The study looked at differences between pot smokers and abstainers at a single moment. Only a longitudinal study, examining brain changes over time, could have suggested causation. As a letter writer to the Journal of Neuroscience noted, it’s possible that pre-existing brain differences cause some people to seek out marijuana. Gilman’s pot smokers also drank more and smoked more cigarettes than the control group, which supports this interpretation and also raises the possibility that other factors led to brain structure differences." "The biggest problem with the coverage of the marijuana study was that it failed to put the new research into context. Valentina Lorenzetti of the University of Melbourne recently published a widely cited review paper synthesizing dozens of studies on marijuana and the brain. Taking the literature as a whole, there is evidence suggesting that marijuana use causes structural changes in three parts of the brain: the frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and the cerebellum. The data also reinforces the idea that long-term, heavy smokers experience greater changes than casual users. The studies, however, have serious flaws. They are typically small and have been unable to show that the structural changes cause cognitive impairment. Gilman’s study of 20 smokers is a good contribution to the literature, but it doesn’t resolve those problems." http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/05/marijuana_brain_studies_comparing_pot_with_alcohol_and_cigarettes_on_health.html PS... I cannot locate the previous post.. my apologies. As always, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! A proud supporter of the 10% (or slower) rule. Requip - 3/16 ZERO Total time on 25 years. Lyrica: 8/15 ZERO Total time on 7 or 8 yrs.BENZO FREE 10/13 (started tapering 7/10) Total time on 25 years. Read my intro thread here, and check the about me section. "No matter how cynical you get, it's almost impossible to keep up." Lily Tomlin
Moderator Emeritus Rhiannon Posted May 1, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Posted May 1, 2014 Like I said before about this, so many people have an agenda where marijuana is concerned, and it's not a simple subject anyway--it has complex effects because there are lots of different cannabinoid compounds in marijuana, some of which have completely opposite behavioral effects. There are different ways of using it, too--dosage effects, oral versus smoked versus vaporized, frequency of use... Just way too many variables, impossible to control for them all without a very carefully designed experiment. Plus as has been noted many times by different groups, medical "science" is notoriously bad. Maybe less so with marijuana than with more profitable drugs, devices and procedures, but given the agenda issue (some people want to prove it's evil and super dangerous and straight from Satan, others want to prove it's a miracle herb straight from heaven) I suspect we will continue to have a similar problem with this as well. I think it's going to be a long time (if ever) before we get good, solid science and a clear, reliable consensus on the effects, uses, dangers, and gifts of marijuana. Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010. Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea. Feb 15 2010: 300 mg Neurontin 200 Lamictal 10 Celexa 0.65 Xanax and 5 mg Ambien Feb 10 2014: 62 Lamictal 1.1 Celexa 0.135 Xanax 1.8 Valium Feb 10 2015: 50 Lamictal 0.875 Celexa 0.11 Xanax 1.5 Valium Feb 15 2016: 47.5 Lamictal 0.75 Celexa 0.0875 Xanax 1.42 Valium 2/12/20 12 0.045 0.007 1 May 2021 7 0.01 0.0037 1 Feb 2022 6 0!!! 0.00167 0.98 2.5 mg Ambien Oct 2022 4.5 mg Lamictal (off Celexa, off Xanax) 0.95 Valium Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.
Moderator Emeritus Skyler Posted May 2, 2014 Author Moderator Emeritus Posted May 2, 2014 Hi Rhi.. I appreciate where you are coming from, but I think the synthesis of the studies referenced in this article offers a reasonably comprehensive perspective. I realized the article in the Journal of Neuroscience uses a sample that is too small, and thought this offered a more comprehensive picture. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/16/5529.abstract I do not have a simplistic view of marijuana or any other drug as our responses and circumstances are too individual (a post made by me a couple of years back on a different drug was erroneously interpreted in this light, much to my chagrin)... Just now there is such a preponderance of positive references in the media one might surmise marijuana is a panacea for all the ails of mankind, and therein lies my concern. As always, your input and perspective is valuable. "Valentina Lorenzetti of the University of Melbourne recently published a widely cited review paper synthesizing dozens of studies on marijuana and the brain." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23829361 As always, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! A proud supporter of the 10% (or slower) rule. Requip - 3/16 ZERO Total time on 25 years. Lyrica: 8/15 ZERO Total time on 7 or 8 yrs.BENZO FREE 10/13 (started tapering 7/10) Total time on 25 years. Read my intro thread here, and check the about me section. "No matter how cynical you get, it's almost impossible to keep up." Lily Tomlin
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