25 ms·

Cannabis use produces persistent cognitive impairments: meta review

• caaqil 5y ago
  Here is the study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.15764 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.15764
  • nickysielicki 5y ago
    > residual neurocognitive deficits were observed in heavy cannabis-using youths Emphasis on youth. Tl;dr clickbait headline, don’t let your kids smoke a lot of pot, if that wasn’t already obvious.
    • jimbob45 5y ago
      This tracks with what I’ve heard. We’ve known for years that cannabis negatively affects children (or at least that’s what I’ve seen plastered on the news for years). If this study didn’t control for age, then it’s not news to me.
      • deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    • hailwren 5y ago
      Woah, it's a meta-analysis. So, you're definitely not going to get a good summary in 10 words. Early use of cannabis was correlated with worse outcomes, but those who started later in life were still associated with deficits in the studies surveyed. > To conclude, meta-analytical data on the acute effects of cannabis use on neurocognitive function have shown that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate deficits in numerous cognitive domains, most notably executive functions, verbal learning and memory and processing speed. These acute impairments are in accordance with the residual effects that have been documented in several meta-analyses suggesting that the detrimental effects of cannabis persist beyond the period of acute intake. and > Additionally, as youths remain particularly susceptible to the effects Are both in their conclusion and paint a more complete tl;dr.
• tibbar 5y ago
  > The study found that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate cognitive impairments in areas including > making decisions, > suppressing inappropriate responses, > learning through reading and listening, > the ability to remember what one reads or hears, and > the time needed to complete a mental task. I've no first hand experience here, but I can imagine there being tradeoffs. For example, I think creativity is somewhat negatively correlated with memory. Or, I'm often more productive when I'm tired because it's easier to focus. So going into an altered state of consciousness might still be beneficial or preferred even if it has tradeoffs.
  • flats 5y ago
    I have a decent amount of first-hand experience myself, and while I agree with you (there are definitely benefits!), the sort of creativity that cannabis can induce is of a particular variety. Specifically, cannabis-induced creativity for me, while tons of fun, tends to be very myopic. I focus more on minutiae and more immediately rewarding things like satisfying textures than on a overall composition and development. How appropriate that is for any given creative task and whether it’s worth the downside described in this paper (which are pretty obvious and also very real) are difficult questions if you enjoy it. Personally, the output of cannabis-induced creativity often ends up being less rewarding for me in the long run.
    • cthalupa 5y ago
      I would generally agree that it does focus me pretty specifically on minutiae type details, which is sometimes exactly what I need. Other times I find myself in a "stoner revelation" moment, which is not some groundbreaking breakthrough into the underlying fundamentals of how the world works, but instead where I will have something that I know, and is generally well known, but because it's so well known, not something I ever give much thought. The impaired state I'm in will force me to think about it at a more-than surface level, and sometimes those things that I normally take for granted get that surface stripped away and I'll end up with a useful thought. I've definitely had some successful changes to both my personal relationships and work organizational processes that have come about because smoking pot put me in the right state of mind. And, obviously, pot was never a requirement for those thoughts to be possible - they just didn't occur to me in my normal mode of operation. And, of course, I've had plenty of "stoner revelations" that upon further inspection while sober, were completely stupid.
• fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
  My personal experience certainly agrees with this. I definitely shouldn’t smoke on a work night, and it’s not a good idea on Sunday either. The more hours until I need to perform cognitively, the better. I abstained for months before the last time I did job interviews. On the other hand, I know people also gainfully employed at top companies who code while high and claim to have no issues. Your mileage may vary, I guess. Maybe they’re a lot smarter than me and can afford the slack, or maybe we react to it differently.
  • mikeg8 5y ago
    I totally agree. Have recently decided to abstain from smoking on nights before work. I’m never as sharp the morning after and edger going several weeks without smoking, the productivity differences are pretty noticeable for me.
  • eddyerburgh 5y ago
    So why smoke at all? Don’t you want to operate in life at your cognitive best?
    • vallavaraiyan 5y ago
      Not all the time. Overthinking is a thing, there is a reason why taking walks or showering helps solve problems when fully focused cognitive attention was leading only to frustration. All that said, I think it is a good thing to not make anything that affects(increase or decrease) cognitive performance a habit.
    • teen 5y ago
      It definitely makes you smarter in some ways. For example, getting to the root of stress, processing difficult emotions. It's much easier to get in touch with those feelings when a little bit high. Meditation / yoga is another thing that works better high imo.
      • barbazoo 5y ago
        You're so right. It's certainly a tightrope, helping with anxiety vs inducing anxiety, at least for me. But when it works it works. Recently it completely opened my mind about my relationship with my mother and her identity as a person. It was right before a several week stay of her with us after a long time of us not seeing each other. It was the single biggest reason her visit was as enjoyable as it was because it enabled me to see her in a totally different, more compassionate, light.
• danrocks 5y ago
  I don't use cannabis and don't know many people who, but I did meet some long time users back in CA when I lived there. They all seemed to have that "permanent high" look on their faces. I wonder if this is related. Maybe it's all worth it, I don't know.
  • yellow_lead 5y ago
    Even when sober?
    • danrocks 5y ago
      Yes. Also being a little slow at work. So I'm curious as to what the article means by "persistence": if it's 45 minutes or 45 years.
  • hungryforcodes 5y ago
    They were probably actually high.
  • DonHopkins 5y ago
    Did they look permanently high, constantly talk about what route they drove to get wherever you were and how the traffic was along the way, refer to highway names with definite articles like "The 101", and say "dude" and "totally" a lot? Then they were just Los Angeles Californias. But yeah, they were also probably actually high. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIklKPzND20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIklKPzND20
    • danrocks 5y ago
      This made my day, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite sketches of all time.
      • DonHopkins 5y ago
        It wouldn't be so funny if it weren't totally true, dude! Speaking of Californians Speaking: Q: How many Northern Californians does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Hella!!! Q: How many Southern Californians does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Totally!!! https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6492j904 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6492j904 http://people.duke.edu/~eec10/hellanorcal.pdf http://people.duke.edu/~eec10/hellanorcal.pdf Hella Nor Cal or Totally So Cal?: The Perceptual Dialectology of California Mary Bucholtz, Nancy Bermudez, Victor Fung, Lisa Edwards and Rosalva Vargas. Journal of English Linguistics 2007; 35; 325. DOI: 10.1177/0075424207307780 >Abstract >This study provides the first detailed account of perceptual dialectology within California (as well as one of the first accounts of perceptual dialectology within any single state). Quantitative analysis of a map-labeling task carried out in Southern California reveals that California’s most salient linguistic boundary is between the northern and southern regions of the state. Whereas studies of the perceptual dialectology of the United States as a whole have focused almost exclusively on regional dialect differences, respondents associated particular regions of California less with distinctive dialects than with differences in language (English versus Spanish), slang use, and social groups. The diverse socio linguistic situation of California is reflected in the emphasis both on highly salient social groups thought to be stereotypical of California by residents and nonresidents alike (e.g., surfers) and on groups that, though prominent in the cultural landscape of the state, remain largely unrecognized by outsiders (e.g., hicks). Extra credit question: Can you locate the isogloss designating the "101" / "The 101" line? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss
• hackly 5y ago
  First alcohol, now this?! How else will we drown our sorrows and numb our pains?
  • gumby 5y ago
    Exercise and a healthy diet. I typed this in jest but instead of closing the tab I realize that yes, this is a good alternative, perhaps the best, if you can do it. Not everyone can, and typically it’s not their fault if they can’t.
    • jimsimmons 5y ago
      That sounds like more work. How do bootstrap?
      • isoprophlex 5y ago
        My personal take Go to bed/wake up at the same time everyday: might be easy Learn to cook: might sound more difficult, learn to make 3-4 healthy but easy "cant go wrong" dishes (pulled chicken and broccoli eg.) You'll love eating your own food soon enough. Exercise: hardest for me as I hate exercise. No silver bullets, just gotta stick with it.
        • amarant 5y ago
          The trick with exercise, I find, is to find something that is fun first, exercise second. What that is will be different for different people: if you're a social person, you might try dancing(think salsa or other pair dances), or if you're the competitive kind, try some competitive sport that doesn't rely solely on physical fitness: anything where technique is as or more important as physical form will help you forget you're exercising and just focus on having fun/winning the game. The perfect exercise is the one where you don't realize you've been exercising until you stop and smell the sweat!
        • MiyamotoAkira 5y ago
          I only like doing exercise where my brain is active all the time. So sports where there is competition (I play squash), or where i need to keep thinking about it (swimming so I don't drown), or one that doubles as social activity (like partner dancing)
• olivermarks 5y ago
  It seems virtually all stimulants used as a crutch to counter anxiety, depression, physical pain etc wind up killing off a lot of brain cells. My concern with modern (incredibly strong) Cannabis/THC is that some regular users seem to struggle with withdrawal if they don't smoke their bowls regularly, run short on weed etc.
  • jimsimmons 5y ago
    Weed withdrawals can be very hard. I had to borderline force feed myself in the past right after quitting because my appetite was dead. You’re insomniac as hell, tired, irritable, and just generally uninterested
    • basq 5y ago
      Weed withdrawals can last months for me, severe depression / anhedonia / executive function impairment; duration depending on how much/long I used. I'll bounce back but man does it suck going through the repair process. Nothing is enjoyable, life just feels dull and flat, and it's hard to get anything done.
      • eurasiantiger 5y ago
        That is not withdrawal. That is a preexisting condition.
        • aryamaan 5y ago
          Why do you mean?
          • chanc3e 5y ago
            I think they are implying OP has used weed as a crutch and accidentally obscured a real condition. A bit like using painkillers to avoid having knee surgery. A crutch, not a solution.
      • 5y ago
• mostertoaster 5y ago
  I wonder how much my brain is hardwired weirdly because I smoked a lot of weed from 14-19
  • WaxedChewbacca 5y ago
    I wouldn't assume that it did. I would focus on its remaining extreme plasticity. It seems likely that you could do an enormous amount of self-cultivation via practices like meditation.
    • kunai 5y ago
      Cannabis absolutely affects brain development if you use it consistently throughout adolescence. Don't get me wrong, I still favor legalization and decriminalization, but the number of people who like to pretend like it's some super happy wonder drug with no downsides whatsoever bother me. Like any drug, there are side effects, and this is one of them.
      • WaxedChewbacca 5y ago
• irjustin 5y ago
  Since the article and the study are light on the details of "persistent" Here's the supporting data's in a bit more detail[0]. Overall this makes sense to me as an individually who personally enjoys it. The whole point of getting high is to be impaired (for me). So it's not really telling me anything new. Like drinking, I can't expect myself to be 100% functioning the next day so plan accordingly. The question is how long is that persistence and how much does it affect? Permanent? Doesn't really seem to be answered in a way that I was hoping. [0] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fadd.15764&file=add15764-sup-0001-SUPPEMENTARY+MATERIAL+GENERAL+POP+17+10+2021+Revision+1.pdf https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?do...
  • xlii 5y ago
    Your comment strikes me cause I’ve been doing the same with alcohol - not to get drunk but to impair some of the logical thinking and analysis in the evenings. Funnily enough I started to deal with ADD/ADHD in my family recently and learned from the doctor that this kind of behavior is symptomatic in adults. Recently doc even shared this with me: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32489193/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32489193/ Not directing this at you particularly but starting treatment helped with my family life so hoping it can nudge someone to their own benefit.
    • agumonkey 5y ago
      To cut it short, I think a tiny amount of alcohol can be a superb bargain. It allowed me to stay a bit neutral in parties (instead of crippled by anxiety and phobia). And being around people, even like a wallpaper had strange positive effect on my moral. I don't know if doing that long term (even tiny amount of beer) would harm your body, but having zero social life is also very very damaging.
      • mellavora 5y ago
        Well, we are social creatures. Even the most introverted of us (finger points at self). So no surprise that being around parties/other people has a positive effect on moral. The health benefits of the social contact almost certainly outweigh the negative health impacts of a tiny amount of alcohol.
• Yuioup 5y ago
  How long do they persist? 1 day, 1 week, a year, ten years? I used to be a daily smoker and was horribly addicted. Now, at least ten years after I quit, I find myself having trouble remembering things. I lose my train of thought a lot too, really annoying. I don't know if that was attributed to my cannabis use, or just my brain in general.
  • droussel 5y ago
    Now that I am in my forties, simply having a bad night of sleep can have me forgetting names of colleagues and messing up the names between the dogs and my daughters. Lack of sleep is one of the most debilitating thing and it certainly wasn't like that 10-15 years ago. Ageing sucks!
  • nindalf 5y ago
    That sucks, I empathise. If it’s any help the same thing happens to me and I smoked and drank very rarely. There could be a link between substance use and cognitive impairment but part of it could just be getting older.
    • malandrew 5y ago
      Agree. Most people our senior (boomers, silent generation) never smoked or smoked briefly and what they smoked was very weak by modern standards. Yet many from those generations also suffered with cognitive decline despit little to no marijuana use.
      • declnz 5y ago
        Umm we're talking about being young in the 60s here though right?
  • jollybean 5y ago
    It's a bit distressing how many people don't think weed can be addictive, clearly it is, just not in the same way as something like cigarettes. That said, my friend, 10 years of life make you forgetful sometimes. That's just called living.
• alx__ 5y ago
  I didn't see anything in the full text on the dosage amounts. I feel like with anything in life, the amount matters. 1-2 drinks a week does not give noticeable long-term effects. 20+ yeah that might be an issue. Maybe I didn't find the right info in the full text?
  • vmception 5y ago
    I get a kick out of the new weed addiction ads and billboards I would like to know more about it but I just can’t find anything objective I am very skeptical of my friends that make weed use their whole identity, Its not fun when they’re not doing it “recreationally” like the rest of us, but they seem decently functioning even though they use the term “microdose” quite liberally and abstractly. Not judging yet, I just know I wont consume weed that often. They all are suppressing anxiety or depression, from unrelated things theyve told me.
• systemvoltage 5y ago
  Somewhat of a hot take but I think about this every now and then - simply put, Marijuana is a drug that makes people lazy. It tanks personal productivity. So we extrapolate where large swaths of populations in various states where Marijuana is legalized, wouldn’t that have a huge negative impact on the GDP? Literally neutering people’s productivity. It’s not just careers but I’ve seen addicted people (including myself) that have had serious negative impact on life and fulfilling responsibilities. Where am I going wrong with this?
  • emkoemko 5y ago
    didn't they ban psychedelics like LSD for a similar reason people just became way more loving and peaceful so less and less would sing up for the military?
  • tehjoker 5y ago
    If people were less career obsessed, it would vastly reduce the amount of evil in the world tbh. Most large scale evil is done by career obsessed freaks. I heard a talk show host once speculate that one reason weed has been illegal for so long is it would make the various motivational sticks and carrots the ruling class uses with white collar workers less effective in aggregate.
    • systemvoltage 5y ago
      That’s crazy man. I’m very career focused and I want to improve the world. I work extremely hard, all day and everyday. I’m evil? Here is some context, I commented elsewhere on my work ethic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29895639 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29895639
      • at_compile_time 5y ago
        >Most large scale evil is done by career obsessed freaks. He didn't say that most career-obsessed freaks are doing large scale evil.
      • tehjoker 5y ago
• enzino 5y ago
  I believe true stoners (not one myself, but I like them) would say that "impairment" is just a higher state of consciousness.
• beebeepka 5y ago
• Sunspark 5y ago
  I have a CBD oil that has no THC in it. It is an acceptable compromise for when you wish to stay clear but still need some of the benefits.
• chaostheory 5y ago
  Full paper, but it still seems to be very light on details, especially for a peer reviewed paper https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/add.15764 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/add.15764
• dathinab 5y ago
  > A systematic review published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that cannabis use leads to acute cognitive impairments that may continue beyond the period of intoxication. Hm, > "may continue beyond the period of intoxication" that's a very different fact then "persistent cognitive impairments" Like I think anyone can agree that cannabis during the time of consumption leads to cognitive impairment. It's also not a secret that canabis can have residual effects if consumed too much. Which as far as I know decrease over time if you stop consuming it, i.e. "residual effects" not something I would call "persistent" effects. What I can't tell is if the study fund long term effects besides this, or if it want to make it look like it found such.
  • sharken 5y ago
    To me the wording where "may" is used, says that it's not guaranteed that persistent impairment will happen. Then it's a matter of probability, much in the same way long-term effects of Corona is discussed. Perhaps the probability is mentioned in the actual paper, but i tend to lose interest whenever the wording include the word "may".
• yakshaving_jgt 5y ago
  I used to wish to be a professional drummer. When I was 14 I attended a drum camp for a week to meet and learn from some of the world’s best drummers, along with other children and adults from around the UK with similar ambitions. I became friends with one kid who was exceptionally talented as a musician, but also had a chronic marijuana habit. He was a better drummer than me at the time, but the drum camp was held every year. I attended the following year, and to my surprise, so did he. As I am a huge nerd, I spent the entire year obsessively practicing. My friend spent the whole year smoking marijuana and being complacent. We were excited to see each other and catch up, but it wasn’t long before we started showing off our skills on the drum sets. His heart sank when he realised how dramatically my skills had surpassed his. I think he had a bit of an identity crisis, and likely as a consequence of the frequent substance abuse he developed a deep and blatant paranoia. He tried to commit suicide in his room the following day, and had to be removed from the camp. I didn’t speak to him much after that — kids weren’t quite as connected as they are today back in 2005 — but to my surprise he did manage to contact me a couple of years ago. I asked him how he was, and he said he was doing better now after rehabilitation, but that life got much worse for him since we last met, explaining that he had been addicted to heroin. I recognise that this is an extreme case, but I grew up with a lot of kids like this, and marijuana is scary as shit to me, despite some nerds today being adamant that it’s excellent and certainly better than alcohol.
  • hansworst 5y ago
    This is an interesting story, but you have to wonder what led to this kid starting to smoke weed in the first place. It sounds to me like he may have had bigger underlying mental health issues that caused him to start smoking, rather than the weed being the cause of his subsequent suïcideer attempt and heroin addiction.
    • dunefox 5y ago
      Depression can be a big factor, so I rather see cannabis use as a symptom not as the illness.
    • vorpalhex 5y ago
• sneak 5y ago
  > Cannabis is the third most consumed psychoactive substance in the world (after alcohol and nicotine) and adolescents as well as young adults have the highest rates of cannabis use. More than caffeine? Really?!
  • Scoundreller 5y ago
    I think they mean relative to other age groups and not other drugs.
• hooande 5y ago
  I've known many people in silicon valley who smoke cannabis regularly (several times a week if not daily). They all seemed to be cognitively normal. Some of them function on a level I only wish I could attain. I think regular cannabis use attracts a certain type of person. That type of person can vary in their ability and intelligence, just like any type of person. This is also true of say, hardcore fans of fantasy fiction. They all have certain things in common, but you couldn't paint all of them as "creative" or any other trait. I'm hesitant when hearing about long term effects, even on developing brains. Both Barack Obama and Carl Sagan smoked a ton of cannabis when they were younger. And they and others really turned out fine. This paper seems to be a meta study that combines the results from other studies. Since there were multiple methodologies it's hard to get a sense of exactly what questions they were answering.
  • TedShiller 5y ago
  • playcache 5y ago
    It's really no different to people using caffeine (aside to the legality). They are both drugs, the main difference being I bet more folks suffer from the effects of caffeine (anxiety, loss of sleep, stress), than the do cannabis.
    • kunai 5y ago
      Nicotine and caffeine are both mild stimulants and have nootropic effects. Weed hasn't done anything for me besides give me bad panic attacks and making me feel like I'm detached from reality. It does not have the same kind of nootropic and cognitive-enhancing effects of caffeine, not at all. Like David Lynch, I'll stick to the coffee and cigarettes (even if the latter will probably kill me eventually, at least I can think straight)
      • can16358p 5y ago
        Personal anectode but might help: I also have anxiety and panic attacks triggered. Though when it's over and I can think calmly, I ALWAYS see those panic attacks are my subconscious' way of telling something wrong with my life/where I'm going etc. and I need to fix things. When everything's on track I never have panic attacks regardless of the amount of substance. In that sense it's actually telling me, in a brutal yet true way, to fix my life, by facing me feelings or thoughts that I've been subconsciously running away from. Might not be the same case with you, surely, but this is my 2 cents.
• coldtea 5y ago
  >Cannabis use produces persistent cognitive impairments Yeah, that's what we use it for. Can't stand being so clever all the time...
• beebeepka 5y ago
• angusiasty 5y ago
  Fake news
• _robbywashere 5y ago
  Why is this a bad thing?
• misja111 5y ago
  I can confirm, I have known some people who smoked Cannabis basically the whole day long for several years. They lost certain cognitive abilities, e.g. they were not really able to do calculations in their head anymore. They also got severe problems with their biorhythm by the way.
  • iRobbery 5y ago
    I stopped cold turkey smoking weed daily after 25 years, i can tell you from personal experience this does not apply to everybody. It also seems rather strange to take one property of their lives and use it to explain their in your eyes loss of abilities. Not doing something for a long time also has this effect, so perhaps they for many years didnt need to do calculations in their head, or use their high school french and so on. If you said you knew a twin, and one of them smoked weed daily and they had identical lives, and one of them lost cognitive abilities and the other didnt, i would be more likely to give your reply any credit.
    • martneumann 5y ago
      Sounds reasonable. Most adults stop doing many calculations in their head unless they need it at their jobs and thus get worse at it. Same goes for me, btw. And I never smoked weed in my life. It would be interesting if the people the OP talks about tried to simply retrain their abilities, which I'm sure most adults that are not used to doing these calculations anymore could.
    • livinglist 5y ago
      yeah I think this articles doesn’t really say much useful regarding the biological effect by chemicals in cannabis.
      • take_it_not 5y ago
        I think it would require more detailed research
    • misja111 5y ago
• can16358p 5y ago
  > "Cannabis is the third most consumed psychoactive substance in the world (after alcohol and nicotine)" Where did caffeine go?
  • say_it_as_it_is 5y ago
    and sugar
    • can16358p 5y ago
      Yup! Sugar could well be #1.
• unobatbayar 5y ago
  Random thought: If there is a plant that can impair cognitive function, there must be a plant that can improve it.
  • plasticchris 5y ago
    Coffee?
    • yreg 5y ago
      Caffeine has less of an effect on you the longer you consume it. With cannabis it would seem that this particular effect gets stronger.
  • pbhjpbhj 5y ago
    'If there's a rock that can give you wounds, then there must be a rock that can heal you?' Not sure that works. People do take some naturally derived drugs to increase focus and work rate, however.
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
• mrintellectual 5y ago
  The keyword here is _persistent_ as opposed to permanent. Significant bread consumption would lead to weight gain which would in turn also lead to a persistent but reversible impact on my overall health. Keep it to a reasonable level, folks.
• coathanger 5y ago
  ... and now so many states have legalized it. Great...
• livinglist 5y ago
  as someone who successfully withdrew after smoking every day for five years, i don’t even eat after smoking a joint because I’m a bodybuilder and want to keep myself fit. wasn’t that hard tbh
• mrleiter 5y ago
  From my short 1 month experiene working in a clinical ward: if young people got brought in due to a psychosis, in the case that it was drug induced, at least 50% were long term cannabis users (followed by alcohol abuse, then some psychoactive drugs, and heroin/crack). Cannabis definitely is not the vanilla drug so many people make it out to be. *EDIT: I get the selection bias now, sorry.
  • andreyk 5y ago
    But aren't these outliers? For the vast majority of people it is an occasional indulgence, like alcohol, no?
    • achenet 5y ago
      anecdotally, I feel like I know many more regular smokers than regular drinkers. That said, this could also be selection bias. I am currently living clean, but have had multiple periods of being stoned basically 24/7 beforehand, whilst always having a very healthy relationship to alcohol (a few drinks socially, once per week or less). It's possible that the people I attract into my life tend to be similar to me.
  • hyperzeit 5y ago
    You are confusing p(psychosis|cannabis) with p(cannabis|psychosis)
  • scaramanga 5y ago
    Excellent anecdata. If the effect is so striking, I wonder why it has so stubbornly eluded all the scientific studies seeking to find a causation? Could it be the case that the correlation you describe is caused by one or more "hidden variables"?
  • sdze 5y ago
    In the graveyard many dead are to be found.
  • kromem 5y ago
    The current trend of THC only and cutting out the CBD can't help. CBD is a natural antipsychotic [1], and I can say the one time I had a really bad prolonged psychosis episode with weed, it was when I thought the CBD was interfering with a medication I was on for Crohn's and decided to cut it out but still use high dose THC for potential immune suppressant effects [2] daily during my flare. Bad idea. Definitely lost my grip on reality. Ever since I never drop below a 2:1 CBD:THC ratio and over the years I haven't had anything coming even close to what happened before. It's astonishing that the current trend is THC without CBD with so little demand for combined product. For everyone touting it as a "natural drug" they sure don't have any issue messing around with the natural balance to create some scary strains. I have a sneaking suspicion that the current 'conspiracy' trend is in part due to increased THC usage. When I had used it nightly at high doses for only two weeks there was no way I could effectively discern what was plausible or implausible on the Internet. And it took a fair while after stopping to get back to a place of normalcy with that aspect too. 1 - https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/understanding-relationship-between-cannabidiol-and-psychosis-clinical-issues https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/understanding-relation... 2 - https://www.livescience.com/9008-marijuana-suppresses-immune-system.html https://www.livescience.com/9008-marijuana-suppresses-immune...
• gpestana 5y ago
  > Cannabis is the third most consumed psychoactive substance in the world (after alcohol and nicotine) Nit, but I believe that coffee is the most used psychoactive substance in the world. Even if it is not the most used, it is surely in the top three before cannabis.
  • lioeters 5y ago
    Sugar is high up there too, I'm sure. (Pun intended..) > Ultimately, the question of how much is too much becomes a personal decision, just as we all decide as adults what level of alcohol, caffeine or cigarettes we’ll ingest. Enough evidence exists for us to consider sugar very likely to be a toxic substance, and to make an informed decision about how best to balance the likely risks with the benefits. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-worlds-most-popular-drug https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-wor...
• dt3ft 5y ago
  And yet cannabis is being promoted at unprecedented pace. Almost every new netflix creation has cannabis promotion, see the movie “don’t look up”. Who knows best, scientists or netflix? :)
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
• gonzo41 5y ago
  Shouldn't the discussion on Cannabis use be focusing on the fact it's smoking. Like in 20 years are we just going to see another epidemic of weed related cancer cases. Everything in excess is bad for you. You only get one set of lungs, treat the well. Btw, don't care about people doing what they want with their bodies, but smoking related sicknesses are something I wouldn't wish on my enemies (not that I have any.).
  • hypertele-Xii 5y ago
    Vaporization technology exists. Zero smoke is produced.
• dexwiz 5y ago
  I think a lot of the high functioning people who use THC could probably be even better without it. But what THC does is quiet a negative inner voice that prevents them from focusing and/or causes them to procrastinate. So the overall effect seems positive in the short term. The issue is that THC does have long term effects. Most of which can be countered by being above average prior to use. Even if it zaps a few IQ points, being productive is better than being even smarter but paralyzed by anxiety. But the positive effects only last as long as the euphoria. Some people encounter worse anxiety in the long term. A drug doesn’t solve the problem, just alters brain chemistry. Often the problem is external, rarely completely internal. If the initial source of anxiety is external, THC is a poor long term solution. THC also does mess with reward mechanisms. Why feel good for being productive if you can just feel good by getting high? Without external motivators it’s easy to lose your internal drive when happiness is just a puff away. It can also hurt emotional control, which is more subtle that other issues. That inner voice that causes anxiety is similar to the one that says slow down and be a nice person. By shutting one off, you also shut off the other. The same inhibition commonly associated with creativity is also associated with being a dick. THC seems to be associated with love, but this is largely a fantasy. Euphoria is not love by default. I think the story about the productive stoner is over inflated. It’s a lot of work to truly solve the issues that THC can address. So if you are already high functioning, it’s easy to use a drug than address them instead. The issue is that THC will erode you over time, and may exacerbate the same issues that THC is supposed to address. Moderation is well and good, but the people using daily are self medicating, not using it recreationally. It takes a lot of control to not let THC take over your life when used regularly. And if you have that level of control initially, couldn’t you exercise it to live an equally fulfilled life in abstinence? It’s difficult to even be recreational now that everything is so high potency. It’s like every drink being high ABV, and it’s an arm race to make it higher. Edibles are about the only way to ensure a low dose. As someone who prefers to smoke I find it next to impossible to match an inebriation level similar to a light beer, unless it’s literally a single puff. A second can send you over the edge.
• hypertele-Xii 5y ago
  With an IQ of 163 I certainly welcome the cognitive impairment. I can't code while high, which is a blessing because I hate coding and have burned out on programming several times. Playing video games poses a greater challenge when I can't reason logically, which of course makes playing much more fun! Cannabis makes me feel 20 years younger in the mind, but 20 years older in the body. Being high is like both a return to childhood and an early retirement at the same time. Haven't decided how much I wanna smoke though, because I do have projects I'd like to work on, and progress is slow stoned. On the other hand, I have a philosophy of 'slow is good'; A deep-seated belief that there's no such thing as "wasting time". Advancing at one's own pace may be a fundamental strategy in creative pursuits. I'm an artist though, don't know if this would fly developing business software.
  • livinglist 5y ago
    I’m the opposite, I always code when I’m high, though most of time it’s for my personal hobby projects, I try not to smoke in the day time though.
• oblio 5y ago
  People here probably don't want to hear this, but if there's going to be any social evolution to the next level, it will probably be 50+ years from now, when future generations will recognize that consumption/excessive consumption of the following substances should be banned: * tobacco (completely banned, I don't think there's any reasonable amount of tobacco its users could use where its positive aspects outweigh the negative) * alcohol * sugar (this is a super complicated thing and it would have to include controlling how much added sugar each food has, what kinds of food are even allowed to have sugar in them - sauerkraut isn't supposed to have any sugar, US! - plus probably some active measures both positive and punitive against morbid obesity) * all recreational and non-recreational drugs * coffee/caffeine and all associated beverages * probably vaping Yes, this will probably take all fun in (current) life, we'll need to find new ways to have fun without these substances. We're quite smart, I'm sure we'll find a way. We'll just need to re-architect our societies, ergo "social evolution"/"50+ years from now"). But otherwise I don't think it's feasible to live 120+ years and to have everyone fully functional. It would probably also help those fallen on hard times (this would also require that everyone becomes much better at exercising their empathy, which is probably the <<really>> hard problem here). Again, just because this doesn't sound like a fun world or a world you'd want to live in, it doesn't mean it couldn't be. Just like with everything about the future, it could just be a failure of imagination: <<you>> can't see how that could be, but people in the future might be able to make it work in new and interesting ways. I imagine that 200 years from now we might look back at using all these substances as something as dumb as drawing blood with leeches for a migraine or something.
  • SirHound 5y ago
    Most recreational and non-recreational drugs are banned, alcohol was also banned. How well has this gone?
    • oblio 5y ago
      Not well, because the social structure isn't in place. People need to come to a general consensus that alcohol is bad and it needs to go on its own. And you need to come up with alternative supporting measures. For example people use alcohol to work around social pressures, so we would need to find a way to diminish those. This is not something you let extremists enforce. I am aware that I'm asking for something close to impossible in the current climate.
• throw1away8436 5y ago
  I see a lot of people defending cannabis and I hate to be that guy but: be freaking cautious with cannabis. Yes it cannot make you an addict, yes it can help you to have a good time with people. But it can also fuck you up. I have PTSD since 2018 because of an accidental over dosing of cannabis oil. Weed is really high on THC nowadays, which can easily make you panic or make you paranioac. As for most people it's bought illegaly, it is hard to know exactly what you're consuming, and even a cautious guy like me can make errors (I took several kind of drugs before that, and mostly which people consider stronger stuff). I don't think it should be illegal, but be careful with what you're smoking, which quantities, where, and please don't talk about it like it cannot be dangerous and it's the perfect solution to relieve stress/relax.
  • throwawaynay 5y ago
    Can you give more details about what happened? I took way too much many many times the worst that happened was: vomiting+awful headaches then falling asleep/"passing out". At which point can it cause PTSD?
    • maybeOneDay 5y ago
      Not OP, but the effect can, for some people, be likened in intensity to a bad trip on mushrooms or acid and be deeply traumatic. Especially dependent on the people you're with and the place you're in.
    • meowfly 5y ago
      I'm not sure exactly what OP means, but depersonalization disorders are PTSD symptoms, often linked to trauma, and can be induced from cannabis[1]. My personal opinion is that legal states are making a mistake at treating concentrates (and edibles to a degree) as being as benign as their flower counterparts. 1. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.130202 https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.20...
      • to1y 5y ago
        I've had depersonalization for over 10 years now after an incredibly intense experience from the first time I smoked weed(age 16.) Looking back I was a very anxious/depressed kid but theres no argument weed affected me in a very damaging and permanent manner. I'm sure I would have been far more successful in life had I not smoked at all, but at the same time, I'm guessing I would have been much more narcissistic and judgemental towards people who struggle with mental illness. Win? Idk. Had it been opiates instead of weed I probably would've died already.
• stevev 5y ago
  Under the influence, I realize that I am truly indeed, a creature of habits. I do many things without thinking about them. Learned behavior that are consistent and doesn’t really change. Cannabis use somehow helps me focus on things I wouldn’t normally do; it’s like having a burst of energy and the mental capacity to do almost anything I put my mind to. Things that seem hard, complicated or long, seems simplified, doable and ordered. I’m a programmer btw. There is the high, which I don’t really enjoy. I prefer the energy and focus over the high. I’ve been recommended CBD before as well. I could be completely oblivious to its permanent affects. However I only use on occasion and go months sober. I want to believe that there may be certain chemicals in Cannabis that can help the human brain be more productive and efficient, however I know nothing about the science.
• hericium 5y ago
  I find small amounts of cannabis[1] removing one annoying aspect of my ADHD: racing thoughts. Alcohol does the same for me but alcohol impairs my ability to work and weed does something opposite: I get creative, accurate, conscientious and "more focused" than usual. This is not "real focus" with "mind silence" that real ADHD meds bring but if I can smoke a tiny amount of pot and avoid taking what's usually prescribed - this is a win. Larger amounts of weed tend to hyperfocus me but impair some processing abilities. For me, less is more here. I'm smoking daily for over 20 years. I don't know how would my mind function without all those trees but I think I'm doing ok. Anecdotal but the single noticeable effect of daily cannabis smoking is the lack of so called "morning wood". [1] Cannabis sativa ~19% THC <1% CBD, prescribed by a psychiatrist
• wwilim 5y ago
  Does this also apply to CBD products?
• JohnCClarke 5y ago
  Before anyone freaks out too much: "Persistent" means up to one week. From the actual paper: "However, results were not significant for an abstinence period of more than 7 days." Basically, science has proved that stoners behave like stoners. And if you stop it takes a few days for everything to wear off.
  • Mortiffer 5y ago
    Thank you for this extract. Iv seen many past meta analysis on the 7 to 14 day impairment but no difference after that. Based on these findings i use marijuana regularly but never in periods of need of high output like fundraising, product release date sprint etc... There are a lot of parts of life when you have a lot of stress but you don't actually need to be on your top game you just need to show up for those periods weed is amazing.
    • avodonosov 5y ago
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037578/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037578/ > Cannabis appears to continue to exert impairing effects in executive functions even after 3 weeks of abstinence and beyond. While basic attentional and working memory abilities are largely restored, the most enduring and detectable deficits are seen in decision-making, concept formation and planning.
  • avodonosov 5y ago
    Your quote only relates to verbal learning and verbal memory, in one of the included meata-analisys. The study includes many more cognitive functions. Why do you quote this phrase from the middle of the text, out of context? Read results in the abstract.
    • froh 5y ago
      I did read the study, and while it clearly spells out that effect wane after one week in many cases, it remains completely vague on any persistence of long term effects under abstinence. I've searched for the words day, week, month and year and there is absolutely no clear cut result to the end of persistency of THC/CBD effects. What the study does clarify though is that the cohorts in most studies were small and that more research is needed for more tangible results. The one positive advise, well hidden, is to counsel youth about unhealthy usage patterns, i.e. chronic canabis abuse. A lot of fluff around no solid findings. Which is a statement in and by itself.
• sydthrowaway 5y ago
  r/leaves
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• adriand 5y ago
  I'm surprised that no one in this thread has used the word "hangover" yet, because that's exactly what these researchers have quantified. They certainly haven't "discovered" it, because anyone who is familiar with cannabis can attest that, just as with alcohol, if you get super high, you're going to feel it the next day. To put it simply, if you get really wrecked on weed, the next day you're going to be stupid. With that said, unlike with alcohol where hangovers are quite unpleasant, I suspect that a lot of cannabis users enjoy the next-day feeling. If you are like many people in technology whose minds are continually churning, problem-solving, absorbing and processing information, checking your phone, reading HN, obsessing over whatever idea and in general running on the mental hamster wheel that so many smart people struggle to take a break from, the feeling of being stupid and slow can be quite nice.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• llamajams 5y ago
  I went from an occasional social user to a habitual personal user...because COVID and staying at home were killing me. And it actually doubled my productivity. But eventually got to the point where I HAD to smoke to perform, and definitely had a way worse sober baseline after a year of persistent use. So I stopped. Regret having gone down that path =(.
  • Jeff_Brown 5y ago
    Stopping after only a year is great! It took me seven years to conclude it was doing more harm than good -- twice.
  • Mezzie 5y ago
    I also went really hard this last year and am currently pulling back on my usage. I don't regret it. Now I know what all the danger signs are and I can recognize them in the future.
    • llamajams 5y ago
      Thats awesom, i wish i had just kept smoking for pleasure instead of work. I think the daytime smoking messed me up...just felt really stupid and unmotivated in the end. The last straw was when I waked and baked and went to a meeting with leadership.
      • Mezzie 5y ago
        Yeah, but don't beat yourself up. That line can be really hard to find depending on your circumstances. For instance, I WFH and make my own hours, so there's not really a time of day I CAN'T be fucked up. This is also the first time in my life I had the money for a drug habit lol. But yeah, my rule for meetings is that unless it's a meeting I'm running, complete sobriety is a must. The idea of being high around leadership is terrifying (same reason I don't drink when we have work conferences).
• realce 5y ago
  HN seems to think that humans perusing relief from discomfort is an un-natural activity and that any pleasure that doesn't maximize your capitalist output is bad?
• antics9 5y ago
  The discrepancy between the article conclusions and this comment section is hilarious.
• gwbas1c 5y ago
  Gosh, if this study is true, then it means I'd have mentat-like powers if I never touched cannabis.
• denton-scratch 5y ago
  > suggesting that the damaging effects of cannabis begin while it is being consumed and persist beyond that period I'm so glad that the effects of cannabis persist beyond the period while I'm consuming it. If they stopped as soon as I stopped vaping, I'd have to find some other substance to abuse, that lasts at least an hour or so. Maybe something safer, like alcohol or smack perhaps. /s
• dav_Oz 5y ago
  Cannabis for most people starts and remains a recreational drug but for some it can lead to chronic abuse. In that way it is quite comparable to alcohol, stimulants etc. There are people who I would regard as highly functional and productive throughout the day but who are drinking alcohol/smoking pot/using stimulants on a daily basis for decades. The dosages can be fairly high so as to clearly bluring the line between use or abuse but obviously low enough to ensure day-to-day functionality. For alcohol I'm talking about >70g daily (>5 standard drinks: >5 cans of beer, >1 bottle (750mL) of wine (12%)). So with that edge example in mind it highlights at least two important factors: 1. physiological adaptations 2. social acceptance/functionality [Anectode: From my experience in Eastern Europe I was struck by fairly many examples of decades of regular high dosage use but excellent mental and physical fitness at an age of >75, to a point in which this age group seemed even "healthier" on an average than wealthy European countries in the West. Obviously from an epidemiological standpoint this "normal use" wreaks havoc but nonetheless the possible range of variation is quite remarkable.] I find the model of a "Default mode network (DMN)" from neuroscience quite helpful to explain incentives in using "mind-altering" drugs like alcohol, cannabis etc. People (from sometimes to usually) do not enjoy or even begin to suffer on wakeful rest (daydreaming, mind-wandering: remembering the past, planning for the future, thinking about others/yoursels) so obviously they are drawn in trying to modulate it in differnet ways. Given the culture there are many "tools" at hand. From acupunture to zazen. Cannabis in itself has wide spectrum of effects as there are a great variety of active compounds in different concentrations depending on the strain and cultivation methods but to make the matter simple let's reduce it to CBD and THC. CBD seems to be described as "bodily" reducing pain, anxiety, helping in falling asleep ... THC is usually perceived as acting more on the "mind" at the right dosage and consumption (orally) moderately psychedelic and generally stimulating. The "dark side" being perceived as paranoid/psychotic/panic attacks. So to say "Cannabis" produces acute cognitive impairments (more neutral: modulates DMN) that may continue beyond the period of intoxication for me is kind of a no-brainer. If I regularly "consume" to modulate my DMN it going to change my brain in some way or another but as with the edge cases with alcohol highlighted above it is extremely difficult or outright impossible to isolate confounding factors to what causes actual permanent damage (social isolation, chronic abuse, physiological issues, genetics, upbringing (nurture), invidiual psychological vulnerability ...). Instead of playing into fear a model like DMN for me puts things into context. My personal romance: I once overdosed on edibles it was the classical "horrible" experience but very insightful after I took the time to integrate it. So I decided to exclusively use the THC-side of Cannabis to face my "demons" in living through my paranoias. This high dosage use of course limits itself to a maximum of 2 times a year. It still remains very unpleasant and a hard ride but I'm more in harmony with the plant so as to not fight with her. In this respectful dance I found it quite valuable as a teacher.
• sysOpOpPERAND 5y ago
  honestly, i just recently found out my niece is taking seizure medicine that has a black box label, cannabis has been shown to help people who has seizures without all those risk associated with black label seizure medicine. i would prefer cannabis to be legal in her state because high cbd strains are still beneficial to a lot of people suffering. here is a video of a guy suffering from tremors due to Parkinson's disease. he is given medical cannabis and the results are highly visible. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zNT8Zo_sfwo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zNT8Zo_sfwo
  • piyh 5y ago
    Charlotte's Web is 50 state legal CBD
• silent_cal 5y ago
  I used to believe all the propaganda about marijuana being harmless, but now it's obvious to me that mind-altering drugs are bad for you (duh). I think we'll keep seeing more stories like this.
• not_good_coder 5y ago
  Not a fan of meta studies like this... do a focused study for absolute clarity.
• tomlin 5y ago
  The issue with studies like this – is that it applies to the every-man. For most people, a lot of these points are probably true. For others, however, those same detriments show up as positives. For example, maybe cannabis does prolong decision making - but if you have anxiety, and cannabis alleviates that anxiety - your decision making processes are quicker. Studies like this are necessary, I just wish there was a way to footnote those neurodivergent examples.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• dubeye 5y ago
  Weed is great for enhancing consumption, but pretty terrible at any kind of production . A play a few games of online chess most days, and you can tell if I'm smoking by my chess rating. There is obviously a big hit when stoned, but more interestingly is it takes a few days abstinence to fully recover and play at the previous level. The Beatles used to ban weed from creative writing sessions where any kind of decision making was involved, but enjoyed it copiously during listening sessions. I love practicing piano stoned, but if want to make any kind of progress, a clean mind is key. So yes of course it can be enjoyed responsibly. But I highly doubt anybody who smokes doesn't take a performance hit, no matter how creative the activity is or otherwise.
• bagacrap 5y ago
  funny, I find that weed has the benefit of "suppressing inappropriate responses". I'm much more irritable when sober and likely to laugh something off while high. If I abstain too long I get more and more wound up. "Addiction Journal" doesn't seem like a very impartial source. Like, "addiction" is a pretty loaded word. It doesn't strike me as the kind of journal that would publish a study that found great benefits from drug use.
• oblib 5y ago
  There are different kinds of weed smokers. There are those who use it to get "stoned" and those who use weed to get calm and focus. Stoners do bong hits until they are so stoned they fall asleep or run out of weed. I've never made a habit of that. I use a small pipe that holds about one bong hit and load the bowl just a few times a day and take tiny tokes off it when I take a break from coding. I've been using weed like this since I was 12 years old in 1971, so for more than 50 years now. During those years I learned how to design and engineer and build custom cars from the ground up. My father worked at "Barris Kustom" and I learned from him and others who worked there. From there I went on to work building advanced driving systems for C4-C5 quadriplegics, and the mod needed for wheelchairs they used. In my late 20s I decided to learn how to use computers with the intent to learn how to code. I made my first "app" in the late 90's. Made my first website in `99, and my first web app for a single user in 2001 and released it as a multi-user app in 2002. I'm 63 years old now. A couple weeks ago my wife asked me to go look at a friend's car. It had been sitting in their driveway for over a month because it wouldn't start. The car belongs to two guys who are a couple. Neither of them smoke weed. They like to drink on occasion but they're not everyday drinkers. They're both in the early 30s. So I grabbed a few tools and went and looked at their car. When I got there the battery was dead. So I hooked up some jumper cables and after getting enough of a charge to get the gauges to work and the engine to turn over I tried to start it a few times and then told them what was wrong with their car. "It's out of gas". I am sure there are those who'll dismiss it because I've been dismissed on this subject most of my life, but there's a point to found in that story that is relevant to this topic, which I've also seen come up over and over most all of my life. Studies like these that attempt to find a link like this will most always conclude they found one because they're akin to wearing blinders to everything else that might also be a cause for the effect they cite. If those two guys smoked weed the first thing most people who don't smoke weed would conclude is that is what caused them to not realize their car was simply out of gas.
• mdavis6890 5y ago
  Meaningless: "leads to acute cognitive impairments that may continue beyond the period of intoxication." - Wow, fascinating result right there. While intoxicated my cognition may be impaired. I had no idea. And those effects may (or may not) persist for some time after the intoxication fades. More research required. Amazing. "Funding: None." - Well we got what we paid for!
• naurupatel 5y ago
  If you are medicating for anxiety it's not that simple. What is the persistent cognitive effect of chronic stress/anxiety and is that greater than the effect from cannabis.
• hogrider 5y ago
  Glad I always stayed away from it.
• cik2e 5y ago
  In my subjective experience, weed-induced brain fog goes away after about three days of abstinence. This is after heavy duty multiple times per day for months at a time levels of smoking. Cravings also go away after about three days. I don't smoke weed any more though because it tends to turn into the aforementioned balls to the wall smoking pattern every single time I pick it up. I've never had that issue with any other substance.
• drra 5y ago
  I was a heavy user of cannabis (daily with rare week long breaks) for several years before taking on coding career. Only then I felt how a single dose was impairing my ability to maintain focus for 1-2 weeks. This was very obvious and frustrating to me. I eventually quit completely because a trade of was to high to me especially working on something exciting.
• uejfiweun 5y ago
  I have smoked for a number of years now, and I have continually been narrowing down on the best way to smoke (at least for me). I have noticed that actually SMOKING weed makes me really stupid. Very similar to what is described in the article. My thought processes slow down, my focus decreases, and I am unable to be "normal" for the rest of the day (and possibly even the next day). What I have found is that vaping the weed (not a dab pen, but a conduction vape like the Pax or Volcano) is a lot better. You are able to get much better control of exactly how high you want to get, because each puff is nowhere near as strong. It's not nearly as bad on your lungs, you won't have a cough from this. And because it only vaporizes some of the weed chemicals, I find that it completely reduces the brain fog. This has become my preferred way to use marijuana. I can just load up a vape bowl and take a small hit or two whenever I want, and within 2 hours I will be completely sober and back to normal. I have problems with other means of usage. In my experience edibles are too hard to find, and it's too easy to take too much. Dab pens, dabs, and concentrates are nice, but they seem too addictive, so I stay away. I knew quite a few people who moved on from dabs to other harder drugs. In terms of the effects of weed, I find it greatly enhances my interest in computers. When I use weed, suddenly the computer becomes fascinating to me. This has a major positive impact on my motivation and productivity. I used to worry about whether or not smoking weed was keeping me from my true potential, but the results speak for themselves: I am making more money than I ever thought I would as a FAANG engineer in my early 20s.
  • mwattsun 5y ago
    I live in California where it's legal so I can sample the various wares to see what works best. The dab pen's are cheap but much too harsh. Edibles take too long to come on and it's hard to get the dose right. I've gone back to smoking bud, because it works and doesn't feel harmful like vaping oil. I don't smoke everyday. I use it maybe once or twice a week when I get stuck on a problem, like finding myself getting obsessed to solve it by "flailing around." Pot slows me down and helps me see things in a different way. I can't write code while high, but I can think about it differently. I'll look up Pax and Volcano and see how they work.
    • uejfiweun 5y ago
• glonq 5y ago
  Don't we all know somebody who permanently "smoked themselves stupid"? I know that I do.