Marijuana Memory Loss Tied to Cannabis Composition

When it comes to causing short-term memory loss, a new study finds that not all strains of marijuana are created equal.

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A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, says it all depends upon the strain of cannabis someone smokes - the ratio of two chemicals in particular: Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and cannabidiol. Nature News, which reported the findings, noted that "THC is the primary active ingredient," associated with effects associated with euphoric or giddy highs (as well as feelings of anxiety or paranoia.) "The second chemical, cannabidiol, has more calming effects, and brain-imaging studies have shown that it can block the psychosis-inducing effects of THC2. Skunk-type strains of cannabis contain a higher ratio of THC to cannabidiol than do hashish or herbal types."

The implicit message to pot smokers concerned about memory loss: choose strains with higher concentrations of cannabidiol, Valerie Curran, a psychopharmacologist from University College London who led the study, tested marijuana samples smoked by 134 volunteers for the levels of THC and cannabidiol they contained.

"Analysis showed that participants who had smoked cannabis low in cannabidiol were significantly worse at recalling text than they were when not intoxicated. Those who smoked cannabis high in cannabidiol showed no such impairment. The results suggest that cannabidiol can mitigate THC's interference with memory formation."

In the United States, marijuana is considered to be the most widely-used illicit drug. Studies have connected the regular use of marijuana by college students to attention and memory impairment 24 hours after last getting high.

[GovCheck2007]

ok first off I'm Sick and Tired of all the naive, misinformed people... Remember! Life Is nothing more than a learning experience... If your not learning something everyday, then your a waste of space in our beautiful world. Since I was young I've smoked, As a smoker of both cigarettes and cannabis for 10 years I stand as a neutral now finally kicking the habit. I realize marijuana is not for me (it reduces my ambition), At least not until I retire. Media is unmistakeably the most powerful influencing force in our world today... but there's a few things you need to know before just believing everything you see or hear like most of the people in our society. To find the contributing fact in statistics you need to examine the environment in which the study took place example:
In the Governments "marijuana myths and facts" paper page 9, it states "Research shows that kids who use marijuana weekly are nearly four times more likely than non-users to report they engage in violent behavior." Lets break this down. Subjects?: children. Whats the common factor to the study?: How many children reported themselves participating in violent behavior out of a particular geographical group. All you stoners out there your a kid and you smoke weed, you come to school high and your teacher ask you to fill out a short survey (*and she wants you to answer it honestly... you wont get in trouble)... stating in the survey are questions like... Have you ever or do you currently smoke weed? ...(*yes) Have you ever Hit someone, shot a spit-wad at someone?... Drawn a violent picture?(*stick men shooting each other)...,How often or have you ever used and expletive to describe yourself?... played hacky-sack and pegged someone?... so in essence your being asked if your a kid, now 1000 kids from the same area are given the same test but it just so happens that this test was administered in high crime area schools... Do you care if they know your a criminal? Do you care if they know you defended yourself against the school bully?
Another statement page 8. "Smoking?marijuana?leads?to?changes?in?the?brain?similar?to?those
caused?by?cocaine, heroin, and?alcohol."
:} lol, rofl, haha, ***, Really>? ok lets read more maybe they've got a point here...
"All?of?these?drugs?disrupt?the flow?of?chemical?neurotransmitters, and?all?have?specific?receptor?sites
in?the?brain?that?have?been?linked?to?feelings?of?pleasure?and, over
time, addiction."
Why do people do DRUGS? (Like cocaine, heroin, and alcohol)It feels good, right? Are all of these drugs Extremely Addicting... (*dramatically more than caffeine)YES! Do they effect your brain and more importantly do they effect target specific parts of your brain? "YES" Which brings me to my point. Is Marijuana comparable to Cocaine? Heroin? Alcohol?

Although research is still in its early stages, it was recently discovered that THC or tetrahydrocannibinol mimics the lipid molecule anandamide, both THC and anandamide are a member of the fatty acid ethanolanides and play an important role as a neurotransmitter dopamine ?wall?, acting as to dysfunction the signaling of dopamine. When the nerve terminal releases anandamide, it inhibits other nerve cells that trigger physical action... Making one lazy, comfortable, or happily energetic depending on the strain, stativa or indica. So are they simular? Sorta, ya...

Now if your under the age of 18 you should stop reading here because your not ready for the cruel reality of the world!!!

Questions for all you real people with common sence or worldly understanding out there?

The answers are simple Cocaine, heroin, alcohol and/or weed?

1.) The two Drugs that people commonly suck dick offer their bodies or kill for, are?

2.) The which of these drugs is a stimulant?

3.) Which of these drugs kills more people each year than all the others combined.

4.) Which one Drug is less addicting than caffeine?

5.) Which one of these drugs is commonly associated with Peace and Love?

6.) Which of these drugs is so addicting that you can die from withdraw?

7.) Which one classified drug is most widely publicized against by the American Gov? (*commercials, movies, media, etc...)


8.) What is the only Drug proven not to cause brain damage(kills brain cells)and given approval comparatively, in the prestigious medical
journal "The Lancet"?

9.) Which two drugs can you get from legal distributors?

10.) Which of these Drugs should be classified as an herb and naturally grows from the ground in our Lords beautiful world?

extra credit: If your lover did one of these drugs which would you prefer if you had to choose one?

[GovCheck2007]

ya it's a bit much and the format scrambled some things but it's still manageable.

[jsknow]

The reason corrupt politicians and corrupt corporations support marijuana prohibition is your short term memory loss makes you less likely to believe their BS, LOL. All the pro-marijuana people should sign up at: http://go.firedoglake.com/dna/login and do a little civic service. Proposition 19 in California is going to make history when it passes next month. No more arresting nonviolent, non-criminals for non-crimes with no victims every 38 seconds for unconstitutional marijuana prohibition violations. 19 legalizes adult use of marijuana, allows you to grow your own or buy marijuana from a licensed legal dealer. Since CA legalized medical marijuana in 1996, 14 states and Washington DC have legalized medical marijuana. Once voters learn the truth about how safe marijuana is compared to any other recreational drug,how much harm and waste marijuana prohibition has caused and why it was made illegal, they overwhelmingly support legalizing and rationally regulating responsible adult consumption just like we do with alcohol and tobacco. Legalizing makes marijuana harder for kids to get, illegal dealers do not ask for ID. Anyone that wants marijuana can already get it, so we are not adding another intoxicant to society, we are giving adults the legal right to make the SAFER choice and use marijuana instead of alcohol. Alcohol is known to cause violence, marijuana is not. Alcohol is known to cause bad driving, marijuana is not (Google: marijuana driving study). Marijuana is even known to decrease the violence and bad driving caused by alcohol when people use alcohol and marijuana at the same time. Have some fun, educate some voters and help pass 19, it will be the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition nationwide and probably worldwide since the US uses billions of your tax dollars every year to force our failed drug war on other countries. Not one of the ridiculous anti-marijuana propaganda talking points makes marijuana prohibition worth saddling otherwise law abiding citizens with a criminal record that will follow them the rest of their life.
Google: WHY IS MARIJUANA ILLEGAL, Pete Guither and MARIJUANA AND HEMP THE UNTOLD STORY, Thomas J. Bouril, or click the links to those articles on the webpage below:
Internet Explorer web browser: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
All Other Browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html

The World Health Organization Documents Failure of U.S. Drug Policies http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/90295/

Watch this video: ?Irvin Rosenfeld Medical Marijuana Testimony?, then get back to me about what you think of medical marijuana and heavy long term marijuana use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1NggzEkltM

[Simifanene]

I don't know what they're talking about. Do you? What we're we talking about? I don't know do you? Are you sure I don't know, but it was something good. Wasn't it? I don't know. Do you? Let me have my first cup of coffee at least? Are you sure. What we're you saying? They're wrong for sure. We we're just talking about what? I don't know. Do You? Oh, we'll just talk about it tomorrow, if we remember what we we're talking about today?

[BigMykul]

by ToolMangler1 October 5, 2010 10:47 PM EDT
Never mind, you are one 'toke' over the line now, LOL

Too much time sitting downtown in a railway station.

[jackpenn]

What a politically controlled society we live in America today, and marijuana being illegal is a perfect example. You can legally drink yourself to death, or kill someone driving drunk behind the wheel of an automobile, but get caught with a joint and you'll most likely spend time in jail. Marijuana has been proven to be nonaddictive, less harmful then cigarettes and addictive, not one case of death from smoking weed, and because it may inhibit short term memory while stoned, the after effects of marijuana are zero within a few hours after being high. If it was regulated, and sold in State stores, imagine the taxes that could be collected on the sale of pot to people over 21 years of age. This would wipe out the crime element of the black market selling weed, at exhorbant prices. Well, it looks like California is beginning to see the light through the semi-legalization of marijuana, that could lead to legalizing it in the near future. Consider the medical benefits of marijuana being used for many medical conditions, including cancer patients, and even aids patients in helping them to regain their appetites, and to suffer with less pain. Senator Dupont was a very clever politician to push outlawing marijuana back in the 40's, so he could promote the families invention of the "nylon" rope to replace rope made primarily with hemp for all the years before it became illegal. This put allot of hemp farmers out of business during this period of time, but it made the Dupont's richer. This is a fact, and a very good example of how our political system works to benefit the politicians, and not the people who put them in power.

[Wolf1944]

When did it become legal to kill someone driving drunk?

[jackpenn]

I think your mind is so much more open-minded when you're stoned, and you begin to think more clearly then normal actually, this is what causes short term memory loss. I know musicians like the Beatles composed some of their best music stoned, and we can thank Bob Dylan for his influence with pot. If they legalized pot, there wouldn't be such a demand for hard drugs. Unlike booze has a tendency to cause violence, pot causes peaceful feelings, and creates much happiness through laughter. Booze is the drug that should be made illegal, it's a proven killer. Driving stoned makes you more alert, and cautious.

[mgeg1]

I have no problem with pot and believe it should be legal, but let's not pretend it is harmless. Pot use impairs the language center in the left hemisphere of your brain for 24 hours after use. You can still think, but you have difficulty verbalizing your thoughts. This is why stoners often "sound stupid". On the other hand, it increases your ability to think abstractly, a function that is primarily associated with the right hemisphere of the brain.

[marvelousdreams]

Everybody knows that maryjane interfers with short term memory. Potheads can remember the tinyest detail of some trivial childhood experience; but can't ever remember where they put their car keys.

[rwsmith29456]

Why do they keep trying to make pot into some dangerous drug????

[ffoulkes-2009]

I call it a dangerous drug because it impairs judgement to the point of oding on something stronger. Happened to my daughter, could happen to yours.

[sean1z]

Moderate levels of THC in medicinal cannabis does not impair short-term memory. Extreme levels of it, though, causes brain and testicular cancer.

[ky7474]

To let people know your serious, oppressed groups must take to the streets and proclaim loudly that they have had enough. Now is that time. Cannibis users have been oppressed, discrimminated against, incarcerated, and untold lives have been destroyed by this corrupt prohibition. Now that people are actually researching this product, the positive effects are coming out. GOD created this product for our use and man has never had the right to ban it. Stand tall, stand proud, speak loud. The wrongs of the past must be corrected before the US can ever be the great nation it claims to be.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Please, take to the streets. And bring your marijuana with you (that'll make it easier to arrest you and get you OFF the streets ya thugs).

[John_Rational]

by ffoulkes-2009 October 6, 2010 3:03 AM EDT
"Please, take to the streets. And bring your marijuana with you (that'll make it easier to arrest you and get you OFF the streets ya thugs)".

Thugs lock people up in cages without just cause. Sometimes when the power structure changes the new rulers lock the thugs in those same cages. Sometimes the oppressors become the oppressed. Just a word to the wise.