How many times have you been hit with the usual jargon about how bad marijuana is for the brain, and how stupid you are going to become if you smoke it.
Yet, some of the most creative minds of our time attribute their unconventional thinking to the effects of this beautiful herb. So does it make you stupid, or does it actually INCREASE innovation?
Well according to a study conducted by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, the effects of marijuana on the brain are everything but detrimental. Let me explain.
Professor Xia Zhang and some of his colleagues at Saskatchewan University decided to test a synthetic form of THC (HU210) on a group of test rats to observe the effects the drug has on neurogenesis (brain cell formation and generation). They gave these rats HIGH DOSES of the THC-like compound twice a day, everyday for a period of ten days to get a good idea of THC’s effects on brain cells.
It turns out, this synthetic THC-like compound actually INCREASED the rate of brain cell formation in the hippocampus (neurogenesis) by a whopping FORTY PERCENT!
Not only did the rate of brain cell formation INCREASE, but the rats also appeared to be less susceptible to observable symptoms of anxiety and depression. The hippocampus is the area of a mammals brain that controls memory, learning, anxiety and depression. So it makes sense that increased brain cell formation in this area of the brain would prove to be beneficial for people suffering from problems associated with these brain functions.
Meanwhile, when you compare these POSITIVE neurological effects of marijuana with the neurological effects of other LEGAL recreational drugs such as nicotine and alcohol, you find that nicotine and alcohol actually DECREASE brain cell formation.
As an activist for legalizing marijuana, it is becoming a bit infuriating to see that such break-through discoveries are being ignored by the medical and legislative communities! Especially when you consider the countless detrimental effects of cigarettes and alcohol, which are sold freely in every store you can find.
This discovery actually explains why some of the most creative minds of our time have attributed their innovation to the effects of marijuana. With every new brain cell that is formed, comes the possibility of a new and interesting thought process, that can break the boundaries of what an individual was previously capable of.
The universities’ findings on the anti-anxiety qualities of THC also explain the peaceful nature of marijuana smokers, and now it is not so hard to understand why marijuana smokers have a “no worries” kind of outlook on life.
Now take a moment to think about how wonderful this plant really is! It is capable of providing clothing (hemp is the strongest fiber in the world), it provides nutrition (cannabis seeds contain the most concentrated nutrients found in any food)! It’s “main ingredient” THC has even been proven to be anti-carcinogenic, eliminating lymphatic tumors in test rats within two weeks.
On top of all of these wonderful benefits, it has now been SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED that it indeed does increase creativity, reduce depression and anxiety, and promote peace.
No wonder half of the population smokes it even though it is still illegal.
December 15th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Right. Potheads are known for their razor-sharp, high level functioning.
Gimme a break!
December 24th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I don’t think that the point here is to say that marijuana gives you a high level of functionality. I think all it’s trying to say is that it does help relieve some of the stresses that come with life and it’s everyday hassles. I know when I smoke pot I have a more sound outlook on life and my priorities. It’s pretty unfortunate that the only drug that really helps me out is forbidden by both my workplace and my immediate family.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Plenty off smart stoners out there who are perfectly functional and intelligent. The dumb slow stoner stereotype is as weak as any other discriminatory viewpoint. Then again, most smart stoners can accept the fact that what they are doing isn’t exactly the picture of perfect health either.
Makes me giggle sometimes to think about all the potheads I know who would read something like this, then hail it as the miracle brain saving health crop.
No, that’s not how it works. LOL…
March 5th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I have smoking marijuana for a year and a half, never have i felt like i wanted to kill somebody. I am the most peaceful person you will. find. It is so true that the use of cannabis will stimulate the growth of brain cells, in fact, i ponder about things a lot more and why the government uses marijuana against themselves. I tried convincing a lot of my friends, but they are just as ignorant as the rest of society. I recommended they watch, The Union. This is a film that gives you all the strait facts about marijuana, why it was prohibited, why people thinks its bad, and why the government wont change their mind about it. Marijuana is in fact the safest, in its natural state, plant known to human beings, well at least to those who are really human and realize its not bad.
March 21st, 2010 at 9:41 pm
I truelly believe that the government only illegalized it is because when you have Cannabis you get to use your right brain which is the creative side that the government does not want you to use the right but Only your left! Left side of your brain is where the structual side is like, planning, organizing,and building! Thats the bruttual truth! YOU TUBE: DAVID ICKE: BEYOND CUTTING EDGE, & ALEX JONES and many more.PEACE
March 26th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I tried telling something this in my Economy college course and he laughed at me. who’s laughing now, sucka.
March 27th, 2010 at 8:39 am
You see, all you skeptics out there in opposition to the positive studies of Marijuana are the ones who are not very smart. You see the facts and yet still deny them. Maybe that’s just it, Marijuana may not make one smarter, but it may rid one of the ignorance and utter blatant pigheadedness that is so inherent that we can’t even see it! And if that is obvious enough; as we can clearly see it is, that would be enough for me!!! Smoke on world, maybe we’ll some day expand our horizons and regain a foothold as rational human beings in the theater of life, stop believing in fairy tails, and start seeing the facts as they are! I smoke nearly 1oz. per week and will clearly reason circles around you fools. Give it up, there is no point in arguing against facts and reason.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Mike Magney, stereotypes are stereotypes.
Facts are facts.
Black used to be known as stupid animals…was that a fact? No, it was an ignorant stereotype fueled by propaganda and ignorance.
Give me a break, you ignoramous.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I have been a “medical marijuana” patient for two years now. I find that when Im stressing out or reaching my “Red” level (my breaking point) a couple of hits off the vaper and Im good. I wake up every day at 430am. Leave for work at 7am and work till 4pm. I come home, have a smoke, unwind, cook dinner clean up and function perfectly. Unless I told someone I smoked everyday, you wouldnt be able to tell by looking at me or my actions. Thats because the stereotype of “potheads” are the teenage stereotypes and lets be honest at 17 how many teens are using drugs, alcohol or prescription meds the right way? I really believe that when not abused Marijuana can be a valuable asset to a mature normal functioning adult. Though this might make me Hippocratic, but I dont think its a good Idea to smoke before age 25, which is when your brain reaches its full adult status.
March 27th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
and you don’t have to smoke it… Consuming herb in a wide variety of ways can produce the effects desired without putting smoke in yer lungs.
March 29th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Those who point at unproductive slackers who smoke pot seem to forget that these deadbeat losers would be unproductive slackers regardless of whether or not they smoked pot.
To suggest a causual relationship would be the same as saying, “Charles Manson was breast-fed, therefore, breast-feeding caused him to behave the way he did.”
Let’s look at other pot smokers. Carl Sagan, Michael Phelps, Rudyard Kipling, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, John F. Kennedy, John Kennedy, Jr., Norman Mailer, Montel Williams, William F. Buckley, Robert Louis Stevenson…successful artists, authors, athletes, politicians, scientists, brainiacs, etc.
What is it you don’t get? For every underachieving pot smoker, there’s an overachiever. That’s because the world is full of slackers and deadbeats. They were that way long before they started smoking pot!
April 9th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Some people failed to the part which states “a synthetic thc-like substance”…
April 13th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I’ve been a pot head for about 5 or 6 years, and my other interests include philosophy, psychology, theoretical physics, and the arts.
There are dumb pot heads out there no doubt, but they’re the kids who smoke pot and do nothing else. I know, i used to be one of them. But claiming all pot heads are dumb is just completely ignorant.
this isnt claiming smoking weed will make you smarter. Its simply stating the fact that THC has been shown to increase the size of the hippocampus.
April 13th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I think a lot of Cannibus users don’t let it be publicly known that they partake in the God given herb. I myself am a graduate of the University of California San Diego a school well known for turning away 4.0 students. I am also a California Medical Cannibus card holder.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
If you were a DUMBASS before using Pot. I’m pretty sure it won’t help. Like Ron White said. You can’t fix stupid. But I know plenty of incredibly smart and wise people who daily use the mother nature herb.
Always the same story again and again. A few bad apples spoil the bunch.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Mike.
I am going to give you an opportunity to rescind your previous comment before eviscerating you intellectually, spiritually, philosophically, politically and in any other forum you want to claim some kind of sober superiority on. Come with it then mikey. Lets hear your regurgitated propaganda and see if it holds in real life or just on TV and behind peoples backs.
I have seen the effects of MJ on people resulting in what seems to be a slowing down but I do not know that that = ‘low level functioning’.
Do expound on your theory. Lets see if it holds water. Maybe there are other reasons for how things seem other than retardation of capability. Maybe not.
August 7th, 2010 at 4:04 am
GFY, Mike Magney.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I’m with Chris – this is a synthetic thc-like compound, which may or may not be the exact same as the thc that we smoke.
Brain’s will atrophy themselves though from not using different parts, tools, and skills regularly. There are plenty of other reasons why people are “lazy” and a pothead. However, after smoking the herb for 4 years now on an almost daily basis, going through periods of busy and sedentary lifestyles, I need to say it does have an affect on short-term memory for those less inclined towards hard work. The withdrawal syndrome is a bit of a bitch too if you get too attached, nothing like cigarettes and alcohol, but not unnoticeable either.
And yes, if you smoke to much weed you will get withdrawals, albeit minor ones. It’s like the loss of anything – you’ll get anxious, irritable, and on “edge”. Why? Because you’re used to being a zoned-out pothead! It’s a change and you will feel it. The brain has plasticity and will react to incoming chemicals which aren’t “needed”.