/sci/ - Science & Math

Heavy (Pretty much ERRDAY NIGGA 4/20 blaze it) smoker here.
My first time smoking was jr year of hs, smoked occasionally until I graduated hs, smoked heavy until I went to bootcamp, got my ass separated, started smokin heavy after that. I'd say it's been almost 3 years of smoking heavy several times a week. Only major drawback I've noticed is that my memory is kinda shitty.

>>5474102
>got my ass separated
um, do you mean that figuratively or literally, if you don't mind me asking.

>Only major drawback I've noticed is that my memory is kinda shitty.
Is that temporary? Like, is it shitty when you're high only, or does it last a few days, or what?

I don't know much about the scientific consensus, but my understanding is that there may be long term effects mostly to memory, but they are usually pretty minor. I imagine that smoke would be a problem for your respiratory system, but you could always use edibles.

This is my experience if you care:
Started smoking in highschool, after that I moved out and smoked pretty heavily for a few months. The effects I noticed were lack of motivation and laziness (I was never late for work because of it, but my school work suffered). There was some memory problems as well. I've hardly smoked in the last few months and my memory is as good as ever. The laziness and motivation thing has always been a problem for me, but its getting better. The weed seemed to exacerbate it, but it wasn't the only factor. I did tend to have a sore throat when I woke up, but it went away throughout the day, and I seemed more prone to cold-like symptoms as well.

ITT: Anecdotal evidence

Basically, if you smoke it a lot before your brain has finished growing then the effects can be permanent. Basically being a dumb fuck. If you smoke a lot after your brain has finished growing, the effects reverse after abstinence.

It can also bring on psychological conditions you're already predisposed to, such as schizophrenia. It cannot create these conditions though.

The biggest danger is behavioural. For example, driving is extremely dangerous and stupid. Depth perception and reaction times are affected, as is a sense of risk, so walking across a highway might seem safe and a good idea.

That's about it. If you're going to look into it, use Google Scholar or something. Otherwise you're just going to get opinions and anecdotal evidence.

>>5474144
i drive safer when im stoned. no joke

>>5474144
Oh, I should add: Some people are also allergic to marijuana and there are many reported deaths from allergic reactions. Mostly anaphylactic shock and closing of the trachea.

What if you're fully developed and started smoking pot? Any negative long term effects?

>>5474155
No, you just think you do. You're a fucking self-centered retard if you actually do this. You're not the only person on the road. Your reaction times will be delayed tenfold, so you might drive fine while nothing unexpected happens.

>>5474156
[citation needed]

>>5474160
this.
>nah bro im totally cool to drive, this weed makes me like super focused man

>>5474164
http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/reaction-cannabis.aspx

Citations within.

It shrinks some parts of the brain (the hippocampus and amygdala, if i remember well).

>>5474158
Yes but they wear off after time without smoking.

>>5474180
Not really. Brain cells don't grow back, usually (except for two small areas).

>>5474167
Your original post mentioned "many reported deaths"

The citations in that link only describe hay-fever like allergic reactions for most patients, and this as the worst case scenario:
>One patient presented with anaphylaxis symptoms which included anxiety, tightness of chest, wheezing, GI cramping and vomiting with ingestion of a marijuana tea.

Do you have any citations to support your claim of many deaths?

>>5474187
Marijuana doesn't destroy brain cells.

>>5474189
Not handy. I've read it before from a journal. Look into it yourself, you seem to be the one who smokes out of the two of us.

>>5474205
>you seem to be the one who smokes out of the two of us.
True, but I'm not worried about an allergic reaction I've never had to a substance I come into contact with regularly.

I'm more interested because before I do any drug I do research about its effects and safety, and nothing like this ever came up in my previous research.

>>5474202
Sure it doesn't.

>>5474202
There are two possibilities:

- brain areas shrink because cells become more densely packed in brain tissue, or

- brain areas shrink because brain cells are destroyed.

What's really sure in both cases is that brain areas shrink due to smoking cannabis.

>>5474144

This is the most ignant thing Ive ever read. Being stoned does NOT affect your ability to drive

>>5474277
oh the irony. I'm a stoner and I will be the first to admit how wrong you are

>>5474144
>It can also bring on psychological conditions you're already predisposed to, such as schizophrenia
this happened to me.

The first couple of "highs" do make driving dangerous but I've noticed it's not a problem at all anymore for me.

My grades stayed the same. They didn't drop like I anticipated.

Mostly it just made me feel like sleeping and listening to music

>>5474321
Well I smoked weed every day and got all A's , B's and one D(English class) for my first semester in college.

I decided to stop smoking forever during winter break and the next semester without weed...........

I dropped out and almost killed myself
I realized know a few years later that stress and depression is FAR MORE DANGEROUS than losing some memory......

In fact, if you don't know how to forget things, you will NOT learn new things

>>5474277
Yeah nah I can attest to that.
>try to accelerate out of corner
>skid on huge patch of black ice
>stand on the brakes and cut the wheel
>fuck up a rock wall
I definitely would not have panicked if I didn't smoke a bowl that same morning.

It's pretty agreed upon that it does lower short term memory while you're high, but that recovers when you sober up.
Also it may possibly cause developmental problems or retarded growth in teenagers, though this might be due to other problems kids who normally smoke weed might be going through and might not be attributed to the weed itself.
Also it prevents Alzheimer's and can act as a good treatment for a variety of other problems.
We all know it's not chemically addictive, and nobody has ever died from smoking weed. Ever.

That's what most scientists agree on, as for my personal experience, I would have no way of knowing if I'd be smarter or have better memory or whatever if I never smoked (I smoke constantly), but I still feel I am smarter than most of the people I meet and/or see every day.

>>5474607
Empirical studies have shown driving on marijuana is no more dangerous then being slightly sleepy and driving. It doesn't improve your abilities but its nowhere close to being drunk.

>>5474607
What are you supposed to do if you skid on ice? Please do tell.

>>5475390
not brake, and steer into the skid

>>5475393
So why the fuck did you brake?

>>5475404
i didn't. you were talking to someone else

I'm pretty sure it has a long term blood glucose lowering effect, I've read that somewhere. I have type 1 diabetes and my HbA1c concentration (a good indicator of ones average blood glucose concentration) was around 5.8 mmol/L which is surprisingly low for a diabetic, especially considering that I've only had diabetes for less than a year. My only guess is that I'd been smoking hash pretty heavily.