[thechat] marijuana and intelligence

rudy rudy937 at rogers.com
Tue Apr 2 09:15:00 CST 2002


bottom line: marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global
intelligence

   Current and former marijuana use: preliminary findings of
   a longitudinal study of effects on IQ in young adults
   http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-166/issue-7/0887.asp
   Canadian Medical Association

but am i reading this correctly?  light use *increases* intelligence? --

   Results: Current marijuana use was significantly correlated
   (p < 0.05) in a dose-related fashion with a decline in IQ over
   the ages studied. The comparison of the IQ difference scores
   showed an average decrease of 4.1 points in current heavy
   users (p < 0.05) compared to gains in IQ points for light current
   users (5.8), former users (3.5) and non-users (2.6).

i wonder how many kids will take this as a proof that it's okay to write
their exams with a slight buzz on...

the final statement was somewhat unsettling:

   Whether the absence of a residual marijuana effect would
   also be evident in more specific cognitive domains such as
   memory and attention remains to be ascertained.

yikes

rudy
("i smoked marijuana once but i never exhaled")




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