stupid, alarmist story

By sonia2 - Jun 3, 2008, 11:51 AM
Post #1 of 6

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100204691&GT=31036

The opening sentence is:

MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- People who use marijuana for a long time can develop abnormalities in their brains, Australian researchers report.

But then they go on to clarify:
In the study, Yucel's team did high-resolution MRIs on 15 men who smoked more than five joints a day for more than 10 years. They compared those with scans of 16 men who did not use marijuana.

Who smokes more than 5 joints a day for more than 10 years?
That is not a typical user.

I wish they posted this comment with the story:

Comment by Bruce Mirken, Dir. of Communications, Marijuana Policy Project
More proof that marijuana is safer than alcohol - 18 hours ago

The headline on some versions of this story is misleading, as this study was not designed to prove cause and effect. Whether the very heavy marijuana use by these individuals caused the somewhat smaller volume in these two brain regions remains unknown. More important is that this study provides yet more proof that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. It takes ultra-sensitive MRI to find any evidence at all that marijuana may have problematic effects on the brain, even in extraordinarily heavy users, while in people who drink comparable quantities of alcohol, all you need is a postal scale: The brain literally shrinks rather dramatically, and the effects on cognition are severe. There is no scientific justification for laws that treat marijuana more harshly than beer, wine and liquor.

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By Sarcastic Sam - Jun 3, 2008, 3:32 PM
Post #2 of 6 [In reply to]

About half the guys I went to school with in Florida.
-------------------------
Life is....a Simpsons episode

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By sonia2 - Jun 3, 2008, 3:48 PM
Post #3 of 6 [In reply to]

that's A LOT of smoking.

Of all the smokers I know, none of them smoke that much - pretty uncommon.

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By AmeriKenArtist - Jun 3, 2008, 3:53 PM
Post #4 of 6 [In reply to]

I know some who continue to imbibe heavily after thirty years of usage. I have no idea how they manage to function.

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By sonia2 - Jun 3, 2008, 4:02 PM
Post #5 of 6 [In reply to]

the smoking that the men in the study do would be like 15 years of being stoned all day, every day.

I'm surprised that they found so many very heavy users like that.

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By Mike in TX - Jun 3, 2008, 5:24 PM
Post #6 of 6 [In reply to]

I think they're all still in school, like Sam's buddies. I knew a lot of people like that in my Austin days.
Sigs are overrated.

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