I've been smoking pot lightly now for about 2 to 3 years, and have notived a decline in intelligence in my friends who ar heavier users. Recently I've gone from smoking once or twice a month, to 2 or 3 times a week and notice myself forgeting things, having somewhat of a problem paying attention for long periods of time, but feel up/happy all around.

So whats the deal? Why and how does pot affect your intelligence... what does it do, assuming it does, and if someone went clean for a month, and were absent of any thc, would the decline remain?

Thats debatable, actually. Some say that all the negative effects of marijuana are all made up and some believe whole-heartedly that all of the negative effects ("amotivational syndrome," low sperm count, poor memory) are all true.
From my personal experience, when I smoke marijuana, my memory is affected lightly the next day, and very little 2 days after smoking.
But then again, I only use cannabis about once every two-three months (I'm more of a coke/crank man myself).
I think the key to using pot is to do it infrequently to keep it from harming any memory.
Thats why I stick with methamphetamine, It makes me smart, rofl (sarcasm, of course).

ya the answer to this is pretty debatable-for most...for me, ive gotten more intelligent! it doesnt kill brain cells...if so its not a significant amount...

it doesn't kill braincells, but i wouldn't say it helps the short term memory any...

ah! i haven't smoked for months...
honestly, i don't notice any difference, except i have much better short term memory. (and when i was smoking it only lasted for 2-3 days, kinda "mental tiredness" thing)

yay! soon i'll be gettin a new piece! and when i do, fuck short term memory...

It's like mental exercise. Ever notice that when your stoned, your brain is moving at a thousand miles per hour, and when you come off of it your brain dead and tired as hell? It's brain exhaustion. And the amotivational syndrome comes from that. I'm not sure if it's because of the burn-out, or because your brain is exercised to the point where it needs to be in it's higher state in order to get any work done efficiently. I've been smoking every day lately, and I've been been thinking real hard and philosiphically while high. Next time I'm stoned, I'll figure out the whole amotivational, brain-dead syndrome thing. Hell, I already figured out what part of my brain is affected by the thc and how it's affected. Going deeper into the topic should be a breeze.

Edit: Oh yes, you do get smarter when you get off of it for a while. I'm pretty sure it's like working out. You just have to be clean the whole time, to minimize brain exhaustion.



[This message has been edited by Mista Piccolo (edited 10-17-2002).]

Stopping smoking made me feel a lot smarter after about 2 weeks.

I have noticed a decline in the intelligence of heavy users. Avoid this by limiting how often you smoke. Most stupid pot smokers were stupid before they started.

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Originally posted by Impulses:
I have noticed a decline in the intelligence of heavy users. Avoid this by limiting how often you smoke. Most stupid pot smokers were stupid before they started.

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Ditto for most amotivational pot smokers. I haven't given a crap about school since 7th grade, and I doubt I ever will. I've been smoking regularly since the end of freshman year, except I stop for sports.

it makes you care less about life. thats how it works, not by making you physically stupid.
i myself went from a 4.9 gpa in 9th grade to a .7 this year (sernior year). i wouldn't consider myself stupider, i just don't give a shit about school anymore. (i also got kicked out of my private school due to bad grades)

***i guess im not the best example for this because i do almost every drug on the table so that might have affected it too...

[This message has been edited by 40ozTOfreedom (edited 10-17-2002).]

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Originally posted by Mista Piccolo:
I've been been thinking real hard and philosophically while high.

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definately... theres this stereotype of pot making people melow and relaxed... I feel at ease, but i become aware of things that i dont even notice when i'm straight.. i need to keep a pen or be near a computer though, cause i for get what i'm thinking about... things really fly by...

I've actually figured out alot about myself while stoned, and thats why i've started doing it more, i usually do it with friends, but when solo, really gives you time to think about everything...

thanks for the replies... still seems like i can name off people who seemes cool before who got to that "perma-stoned" plane.... and it doesnt seem like their thinking too fast,



[This message has been edited by aquila (edited 10-17-2002).]

it just makes me more friendly. not dumber. actully yea. i talk to people i wouldnt normally. and i hate talking to dumb people. god am i dumb.

first of all i smoke pot whenever i get some extra money..maybe 4 dyas out of a week...
sometimes everyday but that's rare...
whenever i'm high deffinatly know that i get some really smart ideas but the problem is i can like the smartest idea and just when i try to repeat again i instantly forget it
but sometimes the next day i remember some smart shit i thought of while i was high...

next day i usually fell lazy, tired and not very smart...like all i wanna is watch tv and relax...deffinatly effects my short term memmory too and i noticed sometimes i just don't act like i used around people before i started smoking pot...even after long brakes...

so i really think pot has some negative long term effects on you, but they are not that big of a deal to worry about...unles you start thinking about them too much

just my 50cent

anyone who thinks marijuana causes brain damage or makes you stupid and lazy is wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong. Most marijuana users were stupid and lazy to start with. Marijuana does widen the space between synapses in the hippocampus, thatis reversible and not very serious. I am 15 years old and in high school, I've smoked marijuana for 2 years now. I have not had any negative effects on my brain due to marijuana and i smoke it almost every day. I am a sophmore and I will be attending college next year, you heard me college. I scored almost perfect on my proficencies and I scored straight A's on my finals. And BTW, LONG LIVE PUNK. INternational NOise COnspiracy - DEad KEnnedys!!!!!!

smoking stops short-term memorys being formed easily, this is stopped once you stop smoking.

This is mostly in effect when your high, when your not, the abilty to make short term memorys returns.

Marijuana like any other drug effects people differently, just like alcohol.

It's fair to say that those who are lazy dumbass potheads where usually stupid before, they even knew what a joint was.

I've read on some internet site that a study was conducted on this very topic and the results were that people that tend to smoke five or less joints a week have an increased IQ by around <10 points. While people smoking more than five joints a week have had a decrease in their IQ. For me though I have not noticed a difference in my intellegence, my motivation is shot to shit though.

always thought it made me go half braindead n do zombie impersonations....

realized lately tho when im stoned my head hits the HARD philosophical topics n usually if i tried to bring it into conversation itd be something like;

person1: hey, what you been up to?
me: contemplating existance and every day life's relevance to the eternal cycle of everything and wether actions with minimal repurcussions can fall into the good or bad categories of karma or wether an action which has a total effect lasting less than a day can be classified as anything. yerself?
person1:...

n thats why weed scares me, the thoughts that everyone around me is too stupid to understand what im thinking, if i try to talk bout anything other than those sorta topics i just cant do it n feel like goin crazy, so for me, weed has gotta be a VERY well selected atmosphere sorta thing...

Yeah, Raf the Penguin knows what I'm talking about.

When i was smoking daily, up to 4 times a day for sure i can say it was affecting my short-term memory. I would forget things like where i left my keys or just little things like that which I had just committed to memory. I have not however, noticed any decline in intelligence, or long-term memory.

I think it also adds to the amotivational side of things for most people, notice i said most. Some of those people who are just so motivated it probably wouldn't change a lot.

40ozTOfreedom: You had a 4.9gpa and now you have a .7 and you don't care? that's a big decline, couldn't you just have kept up your studies or was it like WAY too much work or something?

I don't really think it makes you any more stupid or less intelligent. If anything, I'll just have to put more thought into my words, but in my head, I haven't gone dumb or anything. My short term memory, however, gets shot. I hate always forgettin' shit. I completely forget to do anything that I was told to do while I was high. Any of them little details are lost, ya know. Afterwards, I don't really got no motivation to do anything except to sleep, eat, or smoke some more.
As far as the lowering of sperm count, I heard that only smokin' seeds will do that. I don't really know for sure, but seein' as they won't really get you high, you shouldn't smoke em anyway.

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Originally posted by Raf_the_Penguin:
me: contemplating existance and every day life's relevance to the eternal cycle of everything and wether actions with minimal repurcussions can fall into the good or bad categories of karma or wether an action which has a total effect lasting less than a day can be classified as anything. yerself?

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w0rd! hahaha
I'm always thinking about shit like that when I'm high. I've actually come to understand a lot of things better just by thinking about them when I'm high. Only problem is I tend to forget exactly what I was thinking about.

for me it seems that i don't remember most of the little details the next day...the next time i get lit i remember almost all of what happened, i really don't have any problems with remembering things normally, i just forget what i did when i was stoned...but it all comes back to me the next time

My dad was a heavy user for about 15 years. During that time he was a software engineer and maintained just fine at work. It doesn't seem like it left any permanent mark on him either. He's still sharp as hell mentally.

I gain a new form of intelligence as well while smoking. My academic intelligence(math, reading, writing) falls dramatically(while under the influence)but I gain an altered perception. Once I looked at the sun and assumed that it evaporates water because it is burning and needs to be cooled off. And that it hates the clouds because they always interfere. I never produce any real philosophies while stoned, but I make interesting observations.

when the school year started i started smoking heavily again and i have noticed a huge change in my short-term-memory. i will ask somone a question.... then ask them again about 5 minutes later because i forgot.

when you're screwing with your dopaminergic system you can expect short term memory problems, if u smoke long term then the problems will stick, otherwise you should improve when u stop. it's only short term that is effected, but without first storing things in your short term memory you can't transfer things to your long term memory, i think u can see how this will cause problems over time.
some memory theories (eg. baddeley and hitch model)say that to retieve things from long term memory u have to bring them into short term memory, so you could have problems there too.

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Originally posted by SSP:
Thats why I stick with methamphetamine, It makes me smart, rofl .

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Let's not forget the that charming smile that long term users aquire

I'm happy with my dentures and acne, thank you very much!