Study Suggests 'Pothead' Stereotype Might Be Real

[Ns1]

I once thought it was all the same and only recently did I learn about the different strains..

there are a gazillian strains that fall under the indica or sativa classification

 

[Carson Dyle]

The stoner laugh ... you can't fake that. It's a permanent rewiring of the brain that causes something like that.

 

[destrekor]

I once thought it was all the same and only recently did I learn about the different strains.

I remember a co worker who moved to MD from the midwest, and he used to complain about how all the weed around here always made him sleepy. He eventually got tired of looking and just quit smoking weed altogether.

I honestly don't smoke enough of it anymore to know the difference. I just know that a typical high lasts me about 5 to 6 hours.

I've been around long enough to know that weed effects different people in different ways. Some people become very focused and able to flawlessly perform tasks that require intense concentration, and some people become so unfocused that they cannot even carry out the simplest of tasks.

I'm the latter if I get high enough, although I find an ultra tiny dose can help me focus on things better.

Some people are indeed "wired" differently, but generally, it's the effects of the strain that produces either that ability to focus or make you lazy, unfocused, and sleepy.

And that's yet another issue that makes it difficult while it is still illegal in most places: you rarely have any knowledge of what exactly you are getting. I remember in high school it was basically "hydro" or "dro" or cheaper shit. It's even that way at the supplier level, and people could buy from the same dealer and every purchase ends up being a different drug. It could lead to wildly unpredictable highs, or, in general, just approaching it as an unclassified high and just going with the flow.

Which, for mature adults who would like to be able to handle themselves appropriately, and maybe even have certain things in mind they would like to do, it helps to know how it will effect you.

That's why it's great for those who have access to legal marijuana - the shops all have knowledgeable sales people and a large variety of very specific, highly-controlled strains. It becomes predictable. Once you've tried a strain, you know exactly what it'll be like the next time you buy that product. Say you enjoy a high energy head-high but one that doesn't really cause you to seem dopey or "stoned", because you want to go to the park with your dog or buddies and toss something around... you'd know what to use for that. If you used the wrong strain, well shoot... you might just be too damned slow and lazy feeling. But maybe that's what you want to feel after dinner while watching a tv show or movie prior to crawling into bed.

And while driving under the influence is a very real problem that everyone should be mindful of, regardless of substance, strain selection has a major impact on that too. Maybe someone is used to that head high, and they have unwisely driven around numerous times for whatever reason, and was always a great driver. Now, thinking they know themselves well, they use a body-high strain and get behind the wheel. Woo, man those cars are moving fast - hey buddy, slow it down! That could lead to problems.

 

[Ns1]

wall of text

much of this is dependent on tolerance though - as a newbie, anything of substantial quality (indica or sativa) will simply fuck you up.

 

[mnewsham]

much of this is dependent on tolerance though - as a newbie, anything of substantial quality (indica or sativa) will simply fuck you up.

yup pretty much, once you start getting a tolerance up you can be choosy about your strain, but before then whatever you smoke will send you to space so it doesnt really matter.

 

[destrekor]

much of this is dependent on tolerance though - as a newbie, anything of substantial quality (indica or sativa) will simply fuck you up.

Agreed.

Way too much of either will hit you like a brick wall that just flew in from outer space at full velocity and is infected with alien insanity. Too much will send you into the ether realms, and a little bit more than you should have had will have you acting like the addicts in A Scanner Darkly, and you might just see, or see-feel, or feel like you are wearing one of those morphing suits in the movie. 😀

All, of course, based on the individual's present tolerance level.

 

[hans030390]

deleted

 

[mnewsham]

anecdotal I know but I started smoking after 18 and now smoke daily and have never had anxiety or paranoia issues while smoking.

 

[destrekor]

lots of text

Did I screw up indica/sativa effects? I stated indica had higher CB1 activity and sativa higher CB2 activity, but you stated effects that point to the reverse being true. Shoot. Now that you mention it, I do believe you've got it right (indica producing body high = generally higher CB2 affinity; sativa producing heady high = generally higher CB1 affinity).


Ohio and Feds - get this shit legal already so I can go back to school! I'm forgetting everything! 😀

 

[Ns1]

Did I screw up indica/sativa effects? I stated indica had higher CB1 activity and sativa higher CB2 activity, but you stated effects that point to the reverse being true. Shoot. Now that you mention it, I do believe you've got it right (indica producing body high = generally higher CB2 affinity; sativa producing heady high = generally higher CB1 affinity).


Ohio and Feds - get this shit legal already so I can go back to school! I'm forgetting everything! 😀

yes that is correct, indica = body sativa = heady

 

[BudAshes]

yes that is correct, indica = body sativa = heady

Most stuff you find now has been hybridized for better indoor yields.

 

[destrekor]

Most stuff you find now has been hybridized for better indoor yields.

It's still very much fact, however. That's where I am at least focusing the conversation.

Hybrids do not produce 50/50 results with a perfect blend of effects. Hybrids may be mostly sativa with maybe 30% indica, and they don't always result in such clear-cut 70/30 hybrids.

Everything is hybrids, you really only find whole sativa or indica in brick shit. But how they are hybridized is still heavily based on desired end results, or... they mix and mash and then just figure it out from there. End result, it is still often marketed based on composition and effects.

Most hybrids have a main focus - it's still more heady or more body-focused, but you also get other effects, or those effects are exaggerated. The way the different cannabinoids play off each other when competing for the CB1 and CB2 receptors, in totality of effects, is what produces a characteristic feeling of any given strain.

 

[Wyndru]

Even on this thread, there seems to be a slight trend where negative experiences (personal or not) more likely started from usage as a teenager. (Yes, still anecdotal, and no, I haven't compiled the posts and results to verify my claims or not. 😛)

Much like you, I have a friend that developed anxiety and depression, and he's fairly certain it stemmed from his heavy marijuana usage as a teen (thankfully, he's still motivated and excels in life).

Aren't there many studies already showing the negative effects of marijuana on the brain during developing years? I wouldn't be surprised that there is possibility of permanent mental damage from heavy use during the teenage years.

 

[SlickSnake]

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/...udy-suggests-pothead-stereotype-might-be-real


The idea that pot is harmless is just nonsense. Anybody whose been around more than a few decades have seen the long term effects of constant pot use on friends and family. Even if it is by some miracle the one substance humans can ingest on the planet with no negative physical side effects, its very clear the the anxiety reducing power of THC traps many people in tolerating a life far below their capability.
It is our anxiety, being unsatisfied with what we are compared to what we think we could be, that drives us grow intellectually, emotionally and creatively. Pot just switches that drive off making us content with "whatever." That's why stoners don't cause problems, they just don't care about anything enough to exert enough energy to harm or inconvenience others. They tolerate insults, loss of social status, theft etc because the THC just switches off all the anxiety and anger.
But they are also fine with their lack of personal growth, evolution or creation. They stagnate. Loss a job? Smoke enough pot and you won't care. Have to take a boring, low paying job way below your capability. Smoke enough pot and you won't care. You'll work that job for years and years with no promotion or even hope for advancement. Lose a relationship. Don't care. Never get around to trying that great idea you had? Don't care. Even artist clearly lose their intensity and creativity if you can objectively compare their work before and after.
People who start routine pot smoking in their teens will never be what they could have been. Nothing dramatic will happen but that's rather the problem.
Of course, the stoner is like the alcoholic. Most people who drink aren't alcoholics and most people who smoke pot won't have any serious problems but some people will. The problems are largely personally, at least until it becomes a "disability" that the rest of us have to pay for, but it's not "harmless" by any useful definition.

Troll, troll, troll your post,
Gently down the forums;
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Your life is not my dream.

THIS IMPORTANT NEWS JUST IN:

Another study found just the opposite of your study!

Imagine that, trolly.

I was hunting for the pic of Matthew J. Smith (assistant research professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences) but there are so many, and they also university hop so much looking for juicy research grants, that it's hard to say what one he is.

And this also stood out like a sore thumb that's been pounded on with a politically correct hammer a few billion times (since that's about how much money they annually spend supporting junk science) The Northwestern research is supported by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Yea, the very same wise guys who also fund all the anti-gay sexuality research at all the anti-gay colleges all along the Bible belts.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Aren't there many studies already showing the negative effects of marijuana on the brain during developing years? I wouldn't be surprised that there is possibility of permanent mental damage from heavy use during the teenage years.

all kinds of things ok for adults can harm kids. Especially when the brain is developing.

I think it's crazy that kids are even allowed to drink soda. Sugar is going to mess a kid up more than pot ever could

 

[Albatross]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l12Csc_lW0Q

 

[hans030390]

deleted

 

[FelixDeCat]

no

 

[hans030390]

deleted

 

[mnewsham]

cancer causing drugs

oh you mean like cigarettes and alcohol?

🙄

At least do a bit of research first, Cancer cells have cannabinoid receptors so when you smoke pot the cannabinoids bind to the cancer cell and essentially smother it. This is why there is actually a DECREASED risk of lung cancer in a recent study comparing tobacco, pot + tobacco, just pot, and non smokers.

 

[destrekor]

Anyone who would take mind altering and cancer causing drugs like pot are irresponsible and deserve what they get - a screwed up life, mind and cancer.

Enjoy.

Not sure why I am wasting my timing responding to this troll post - but marijuana (specifically THC iirc) has been demonstrated to be ANTI-TUMOR, aka essentially the exact opposite of carcinogenic.

 

[Exophase]

I don't smoke pot, but I've had plenty of anxiety and I can't say I ever felt like it actually compelled me to do anything constructive. More like it crippled me and made it hard to face things. And I've seen that happen to a lot of other people I know.

 

[akahoovy]

Anyone who would take mind altering and cancer causing drugs like pot are irresponsible and deserve what they get - a screwed up life, mind and cancer.

Enjoy.

Oh Christians, and everyone else who thinks they're on the high moral horse.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Not sure why I am wasting my timing responding to this troll post - but marijuana (specifically THC iirc) has been demonstrated to be ANTI-TUMOR, aka essentially the exact opposite of carcinogenic.

Really? Put something in your mouth and set in on fire for me please. Let me know when you get diseased lungs and cancer.

Thank you. ()🙂

 

[mnewsham]

Let me know when you get diseased lungs and cancer.

Well smoking for 2 years daily at this point and my doctor said he wouldn't know I smoked if I hadn't told him. Find me any actual peer reviewed scientific study that shows marijuana ONLY smoking causes diseased lungs and cancer and I will paypal you $5.