Legalize Marijuana?... how 'bout no!
Over the last few years, I think my opinions on marijuana use have been quite galvanized.
I used to think it was something I just wasn't really into, but that it was a fairly recreational drug without any real long-term effects.
I definitely do not believe that anymore. I'd like to see more information compiled on the long-term effects of pot smoking, because:
A) Anecdotally, I know people who have used the drug for a long time and whose personalities have changed significantly more than that of my drug-free friends.
B) I have a hard time believing that any frequent use of any complex mind-altering drugs has no long term effects.
C) I see glimpses of very scary information that we do have, and it makes me think we need to find out more.
For example, I came across the following study by Lane et al which demonstrates a few unexpectedly marked responses to pot smoke.
I'm primarily interested in how physiology changes when a person is high. For example, just by smoking and then sitting on the couch, a person's heart rate goes up by approximately 32 bpm. My resting heart rate is close to 50, so for me that would be a 64% increase in HR. For the average Cheech or Chong, resting HR is probably more like 70-75, so just by smoking, they've entered into a very light exercise HR zone without even moving.
If they then decide to wrestle their buddies & get a bit of exercise, HR's were found to be elevated during recovery from exercise by an even wider margin, to the tune of 50%. Now an unfit person could be in the same HR zone as some of the riders in the Tour de France find themselves during the race.
Lane was primarily interested in pot's effect on a person's decision making. I'm not sure which results were scarier, but after exercise, sober and high subjects were asked to make a series of decisions which were determined to be either risky or not risky. Compared to decisions made before the test was conducted, sober subjects made on average one less risky decision after exercise. High subjects? They made on average 28 more risky decisions than before smoking. if the placebo is any indication, the exercise they conducted before decision making caused underestimation in judgement impairment if anything.
I used to think it was something I just wasn't really into, but that it was a fairly recreational drug without any real long-term effects.
I definitely do not believe that anymore. I'd like to see more information compiled on the long-term effects of pot smoking, because:
A) Anecdotally, I know people who have used the drug for a long time and whose personalities have changed significantly more than that of my drug-free friends.
B) I have a hard time believing that any frequent use of any complex mind-altering drugs has no long term effects.
C) I see glimpses of very scary information that we do have, and it makes me think we need to find out more.
For example, I came across the following study by Lane et al which demonstrates a few unexpectedly marked responses to pot smoke.
I'm primarily interested in how physiology changes when a person is high. For example, just by smoking and then sitting on the couch, a person's heart rate goes up by approximately 32 bpm. My resting heart rate is close to 50, so for me that would be a 64% increase in HR. For the average Cheech or Chong, resting HR is probably more like 70-75, so just by smoking, they've entered into a very light exercise HR zone without even moving.
If they then decide to wrestle their buddies & get a bit of exercise, HR's were found to be elevated during recovery from exercise by an even wider margin, to the tune of 50%. Now an unfit person could be in the same HR zone as some of the riders in the Tour de France find themselves during the race.
Lane was primarily interested in pot's effect on a person's decision making. I'm not sure which results were scarier, but after exercise, sober and high subjects were asked to make a series of decisions which were determined to be either risky or not risky. Compared to decisions made before the test was conducted, sober subjects made on average one less risky decision after exercise. High subjects? They made on average 28 more risky decisions than before smoking. if the placebo is any indication, the exercise they conducted before decision making caused underestimation in judgement impairment if anything.
