Marijuana: Does it kill brain cells or does it affect only the lungs?

Forums: Marijuana, Drug Use, Health, Pot, Drugs
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Back in high school, I would constantly have that debate about marijuana. My friends would be smoking it several times a day, every day of their lives, and I worried about them. Yet, whenever I would mention something about the effect marijuana has on a person's brain, they would always say that there is no exact proof that smoking marijuana kills brain cells, etc. When I found an article online that mentions that MJ has an effect on some specific nerves in or near the brain or something of that sort, and showed it to them, they found an article for me that disproves my theory. In their defense, they state that they are only worsening the condition of their lungs, but that their brain cells do not suffer any damage because of the use of marijuana. Yet I have always known that (& heard constantly) that "marijuana kills your brain".
... I am extremely curious about this. Who was right... them or me?

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Type: Question • Score: 12 • Views: 33,385 • Replies: 196

View best answer, chosen by RadAndRandom

@RadAndRandom,

alcohol kills brain cells.

pot, not so much.

only you can make you stupid.

be careful out there...

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

By "not so much", you mean that it still does, though? Even if it's not a major result from smoking marijuana, it's possible that with prolonged use, it will still kill brain cells, right?

2 Replies

@RadAndRandom,

so does carbon monoxide...

in the grand scope of things, I am much more careful of bleach and second hand ciggy smoke.

(I am no dumber now than when I took my first toke, some 30 years back)

pick your poisons...

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

True.
But smelling bleach is unavoidable when cleaning bathtubs, toilets, etc.
So I figure I am killing my brain cells by cleaning while they are killing them by smoking marijuana. Haha. Except, not as much, right?

1 Reply

@RadAndRandom,

if cleaning bathtubs gets you high, so be it.

alcohol is a much more evil substance.

(btw, they are having a lot more fun)

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

Well, I'm a natural drunk/druggie. Smile

I can have just as much fun or be just as crazy minus all that body-destroying.
I have experimented out of curiousity, but then I realized; they do it because they are bored and that is their only source of fun.
I don't need that. I am pretty much never bored & I think it's fun even if I don't go out and just sit at home reading!
Or when I do out and half of the people I am with are drunk, I can still have just as much fun as them, except they get the hangover, while I relax. Smile

1 Reply

@RadAndRandom,

I've tended a bit of bar.

I appreciate the humour of silly drunks...

0 Replies

@RadAndRandom,

There are far more people allergic to a drug than was previously thought. Some indivuals have no tolerance of alcohol, others have no tolerance of marijuana. Most only find out when their health fails. Even sugar is poison in the right amounts to the right people.

Alcohol doesnt destroy brain cells, it destroys nerve connections in the brain. When you are dehydrated and hungover, brain cells may die off. Eventually you may have enough total damage that you become schizophrenic. There is also a greater risk of mental disease such as dememtia if alcohol is continued late in life. In general, one glass of beer or a small wine per day may prolong life by various methods, not least of which is helping you to feel good and relax.

Both MaryJ and alcohol can cause cancers, mainly mouth and stomach if ingested, but alcohol can also cause liver, kidney and bladder disease.

Marijuana destroys less of your brain than alcohol but there is a higher chance of memory loss and schizophrenia.
Smoking marijuana has about the same impact on your lungs as smoking cigarettes. There is no safe minimum for the "extras" you get within MaryJ smoke. This can result in limb amputation due to poor circulation.

I recommend one beer every now and then, a max of one a day. It has symbiotic enzymes that aid digestion and the previous pro's and con's mentioned. MaryJ has no advantages that are not outweighed by the disadvantages.

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@RadAndRandom,

Quote:

Yet I have always known that (& heard constantly) that "marijuana kills your brain".

You heard that marijuana kill your brain cells?

Where in any scientific peer review study had you come up with that bit of information?

Off hand, I do remember reading of a study of a fairly large cult/community of high IQ users who was shown to have no degrading of their intellect after decades of heavy use of marijuana.

In any case it does not matter what you feel where is your proof?

1 Reply

http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/RASTAFARI/mazur2.html

marijuana in high doses for sixteen hours a day for up to fifty years,
suffer no apparent psychological or physical harm; tolerance appears to
have developed with no acute or chronic side effects); Research Report by
Kenneth C. Fischer, M.D. of Florida (1980) (after doing a "complete
intensive neurological examination on 31 members" of the EZCC, the "most
impressive thing ... is the true paucity of neurological abnormalities I
was able to discern"); American Association for the Advancement of
Science, Cognition and Long-Term Use of Gania, 213 SCIENCE 465-66 (1981)
(prolonged and heavy use of ganja have not resulted in any systematic
decrements in mental abilities suggestive of impairment of brain or
cerebral function; cognition I.Q. scores were high, and individuals
appear to be healthy and highly functional); Neuropsychological
Evaluation by Jeffrey Schaeffer, Ph.D. of California (1981) (despite
measurable amounts of cannabinoid metabolites in his body and a history
of very long-term use of cannabis, Carl Eric Olsen demonstrated no
impairment of his cognitive, cerebral, intellectual, or new learning
abilities, nor was there any suggestion of damage to the central nervous
system or long and short-term memory ability; moreover, his ability to
adapt to change remains at a very high level). Amicus Memorandum Before
DEA, July 1988, App. 7, 8, 9.

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Studies that support MaryJ use are for political purposes and have no relationship to real science.

1 Reply

@Ionus,

the same could be said for studies that show harm

1 Reply

@RadAndRandom,

I don't think it kills brain cells, at least any more than other chemicals in our environment. However, recreational drug use is a risky behavior which is probably the least valuable way to use the short time we have to live our lives.

1 Reply

I think we mustn't overlook the fact that most potheads are dumbasses to begin with.

2 Replies

@rosborne979,

Quote:

I don't think it kills brain cells, at least any more than other chemicals in our environment. However, recreational drug use is a risky behavior which is probably the least valuable way to use the short time we have to live our lives.

I agree however it still serve zero purpose to state falsehoods as facts concerning the so call harmful effects of marijuana smoking.

In my younger days in order to help get lay I had try the evil weed at the request of a young lady and found all it did for me was to cause me to go asleep.

As I never had a problems with sleeping it seem a silly waste of funds and an unneeded risk by lawbreaking.

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@Ticomaya,

that's kind of a crap statement, a large majority of the population are dumbasses

i'd much rather it was legal for me to come home from work and smoke a joint now and again to relax, i much prefer the pot high to an alcohol high

plus there were no good video games when i was smoking pot

1 Reply

@djjd62,

djjd62 wrote:

that's kind of a crap statement, a large majority of the population are dumbasses

Perhaps they all smoke marijuana.

0 Replies

Rockhead said,

Quote:

I appreciate the humour of silly drunks...

Haha, then; nice to meet you too. Smile

I quit drinking, for the rest of my life,
but it's almost as if the alcohol permanently stayed in my body. Haha.

Ionus said,

Quote:

Eventually you may have enough total damage that you become schizophrenic.]

That's odd. I know a schizophrenic who medicates himself with marijuana. Except, he was a schizophrenic before he discovered marijuana. Shouldn't that make his schizophrenia worse, then?

Quote:

In general, one glass of beer or a small wine per day may prolong life by various methods...

Beer? I've heard a glass of wine a day is great because it has the skins of grapes in it, which are full of antioxidants and enzymes and boost your immunity.. but how does beer help a body but give us beer bellies? What enzymes?

Quote:

Smoking marijuana has about the same impact on your lungs as smoking cigarettes.

Hmm... even if marijuana is smoked using a bong? I thought since the smoke is direct, with no filter, and you breathe in much more of it, it is more dangerous?

Quote:

This can result in limb amputation due to poor circulation.

What, really? I've never heard of that happening because of marijuana... but this is only for those completely hooked on MJ, smoking it over 5 times a day, right?

BillRM said,

Quote:

Where in any scientific peer review study had you come up with that bit of information?

It's just been something going around for years.. heard from parents, teachers, written in articles, etc.
Yet I always wanted a piece of evidence.. someone of authority to go out there and say, "This is what marijuana does to your brain." and give people the information they need to know so they know what they are doing to themselves.

Oh, wow. Interesting article, BillRM.

Rosborne979 said,

Quote:

recreational drug use is a risky behavior which is probably the least valuable way to use the short time we have to live our lives

Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell those people. But, sadly, they don't listen.

Ticomaya said,

Quote:

I think we mustn't overlook the fact that most potheads are dumbasses to begin with.

Now THAT is my favorite answer. Very Happy

So alcohol kills brain cells then... and not marijuana. Hmm. I feel like I've been proved wrong. Sad

2 Replies

@RadAndRandom,

Here's something for you, Rad, especially if your friends are young:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202175105.htm

Excerpt:

Quote:

Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain In Teens, Young Adults

ScienceDaily (Feb. 3, 2009) " Adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study. Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect brain regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills. The findings are of particular concern because adolescence is a crucial period for brain development and maturation.

3 Replies

Marijuana: Does it kill brain cells or does it affect only the lungs?

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