Researcher

OK, so it's obvious that none of us who post on this site are certified and board registerd medical physicians and it's true that the advice we render is at best anectdotal and at worst maybe, well maybe ineffectual. So, to clear the air around here it is high time (no pun intended) that the pseudo-medical advice that is masquerading as sound scientifically-proven fact be disrobed and plainly stated. Herewith, and inventory of Medical Mis-conceptions of Cannabis Use. Mind you, I hav been a cannabis user and observer of users for 25 years:

#1: Cannabis use will Improve your Sex Drive. It may make you temporarily feel more erotic (horny) but it won't make you f**k like a po*rn star. I mean if you need to use cannabis just to feel erotic towards the man/woman you're with, then it's a false sense of 'love'.

#2: Cannabis use will not affect your Motivation to get things accomplished in Life. This is a commonly held belief by people who cite "amotivational syndrome". The fact that the simple amount of time it takes to get high before doing a task is reason enough to explain this effect; remember "couch-lock" is time spent doing absolutely nothing but being high.

#3 Cannabis use will cure your aches and pains. Well, I know I will likely be crucified on this webiste for saying this--but hey Galileo and Copernicus were my heros in going against the orthodoxy. More properly and correctly stated it should be that cannabis use will "distract" you from your aches and pains--this is a Treatment--NOT a cure. But hey, sometimes a distraction is all you need to get by on.

#4 Vaping Cannabis is ''better" than smoking cannabis. Actually, some users who were dyed-in-the-wool vapers have professed that vaping no longer has the same magnitude of psycho-therapeutic effect as smoking does--in fact leading some vapers to return to smoking cannabis!

#5 Cannabis use will make you a better learner---true it does improve your attention span for single task event processing--but simply being high will not make you cognitively "smarter" than you could be if you were sober-minded while processing task-oriented operations.

#6--ok, it's about my dinner time now so I shall continue this inventory when I return; however, your commentary in the form of rebuttals, out-right crucifixion or dare I say "agreement" with/ of these points is welcomed.

__________________
Researcher

Hey, it's just a daym plant!

Buzzby

I've never heard anyone say that it does. Cannabis magnifies sensations and frees your imagination, both of which make for more enjoyable sex.

Taking a hit off the vape takes 30 seconds. There's no "couch-lock" involved. If you get that stoned, it obviously won't help you get things done. The difference between a "functional" high and a "dysfunctional" high is simply a matter of degree.

This is more on the order of a personal opinion than any kind of scientific fact. What may merely distract you from your aches and pains may be a true analgesic for others. For me, unfortunately, marijuana intensifies all of my senses, including the sensation of pain.

Vaping is certainly better from a health POV. You don't get all of the crap from incomplete combustion into your lungs. Few people disagree that it saves money by stretching your stash. Whether you prefer the effects of vaping or smoking is merely a personal opinion. I prefer the vape high because I like to do things when I'm high. Smoking tends to be have much more of a body effect which makes me want to sit around and do nothing.

Here I agree with you - in part. From the anecdotal evidence on this website, it seems that people who suffer from ADD and ADHD may gain the ability to focus better under the influence of cannabis. For most people, the short-term memory effects will adversely affect learning ability. If what you "learn" never makes it into long-term memory, you really haven't learned anything.

__________________

shibshib

I'll be honest and blunt with you, researcher: I'm not sure if I like you. It's not a personal thing, its just... I don't appreciate how your posts all seem to rely on you knowing what you're talking about, yet you have shown no reason for us to believe you know what you're talking about. While I have no issue with this personally, I believe it only acts to confuse visitors who don't know any better, and thus hurt the site as a whole.

Granted, I am basing this on a bad first-impression on your part in this thread:
http://www.marijuana.com/medicinal-m...-cannabis.html

But I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt in hopes you can clarify a bit about who you are and why your opinions have any merit.

With that said...

Most of the site is anecdotal... but that is sort of the point of a forum community, isn't it? There are numerous occasions, however, when research data is supplied with statements and posts made here on the forums.

Scrolling ahead, I see not a single mention of research or a source, which begs the question of "Who are you and what gives you the authority to make any factual claims?"

So basically what you are saying is you have been a marijuana user for 25 years and this, somehow, has given you scientific knowledge on marijuana to the extent that we should just believe you? What makes you any different than the many other users here on the forums? I'm not putting you down, I'm honestly curious why you think your thoughts are factual by themselves.

How is this a mis-conception when you admit that it increases ones libido? This seems like a great opinion and I applaud you for making it, but how is this anything more than, as you put it, "pseudo-medical advice that is masquerading as sound scientifically-proven fact"?

This is true.

This is absolutely absurd. The reason "amotivational syndrome" is false is due to it being disproved in numerous studies, such as these: Erowid Cannabis Vault : Exposing Marijuana Myths

You seem to not understand the difference between scientific research and your personal gut-feelings.

I, for example, use marijuana medicinally to treat my ADHD. This means that I am *more* efficiently productive after vaping marijuana than I would be without.

The "couch-lock" you speak of varies from strain to strain and from person to person.

I don't think anyone has made the claim that marijuana "cures" an ache or a pain... simply because you can't "cure" an ache or a pain as aches and pains are symptoms rather than conditions.

Now, if you want to talk about specific conditions which *cause* pain and aches, then yes, marijuana can be considered a "cure", if not a reliable treatment.

Prior to using marijuana regularly, I would experience severe dibilitating migraines once or twice a month. Since I began using marijuana regularly (about a year ago), I have seen a huge reduction in migraines (only having one or so every few months, if that).

Again, I agree with you that by definition it doesn't "cure" things, but I believe you are being nitpicky over the symantics.

While I don't know any cases off the top of my head which show Marijuana literally curing something (in that it does not exist after the use of marijuana which leads to the reduction or ceasing of marijuana usage), I can think of many which come close. Irv Rosenfeld (and his doctors), for example, attributes his ability to function and the lack of new bone-tumors to his intake of marijuana.

Inhalation of vapor is ALWAYS healthier than inhalation of combusted materials. If you do not understand this, you should stop giving advice.

Huh?

Show me this study, please.

Science calls you a liar. While *everyone* may not experience the same benefits of marijuana which allow them to focus and learn better, others--like myself--benefit highly from combining education with marijuana.

ADD / ADHD | Show Me the Facts

This is the first semester I have used marijuana before class and it is the first semester where I am literally the highest grade in each of my classes (including mathmatics). Anecdotal, yes, but it is all the evidence I need to continue using it.

I honestly believe your heart is in the right place, however, you really need to take a minute to verify the "facts" you regurgitate to keep from spreading any myths or half-truths.

__________________
Q: Does weed make you smarter, ShibShib?
A: No, it just focuses me. ADHD is like having a bunch of TVs in your head, all running different programs, and having no ability to control them. Marijuana not only appears to give me a remote, it also allows me to shut off all the other TVs sucking up the juice... which makes the TV I'm watching a bit brighter.

nornerator

Cannabis can be used as both a tool for learning and a tool for relaxation at the same time if handled appropriately.

Being high on cannabis while trying to learn will impair your ability to learn, unless you are ADD which in that case it might make you calm down and this effect may overpower the temporary short term memory loss.

However using cannabis as a tool for learning is very different. First we must understand that cannabis simulates in the brain, what it is like to do challenging mental tasks for an extended period of time. Essentially it reduces a neurons ability to fire rapidly. This is because the endocannabinoid system is the braking system to prevent seizures. When your brain is very active the endocannabinoid system starts producing anandamide (an endocannabinoid) that travels from post synaptic neuron to presynaptic (yes, backwards from normal neurotransmission), and essentially "tells" the neuron to slow down as to not fry the brain. Additionally anadamide "tells" the neuron to produce proteins to strengthen the neural connection, and to produce new neurons. This is learning. When your brain is doing math all day, your endocannabinoid system is highly active in the areas of the brain concerned with math, this allows the brain to adapt to the environment of math, by strengthening and increasing the number of connections in this area of the brain, you learn to do math better and faster.

Now imagine doing math all day, your endocannabinoid system is highly active in this region in your brain. When you are all finished with math, you consume some cannabis. Flooding your brain with cannabinoids. Now cannabis is not selective, your whole brain will experience the flood of cannabinoids, but the region of your brain that was being intensely used doing math now gets a second hit of cannabinoids, further strengthening and increasing the number of connections.

In addition to this, simple classical conditioning can be used to condition yourself to learn to enjoy school and studying.

For instance, if you study all day, and right after you finish studying for the day, consume cannabis you will begin to associate (consciously, and subconsciously) the rewarding feeling with the studying done earlier. If you do this pattern enough you will end up classically conditioning yourself to actually enjoy studying and doing school work.
Now, if you get high enough times without studying, you will deteriorate your conditioning.

So yes, I would agree that typical cannabis use will not make you a better learner, however carefully controlled cannabis use can be a wonder drug to students.

I groaned at your post, and I will explain why.

You claim to be a source of knowledge on this subject, yet fail to provide any evidence to your claims. Im not saying everything you claim is made up, but if you are going to post a thread in one of the most highly trafficked areas on the site where you claim to dispel misconceptions, I would like to see sources. Giving your opinion is fine and I have no problem with that, but disguising your opinion as infallible fact is disingenuous.

Here are the sources I used in writing this response:

Lutz, Beat. "On-Demand activation of the endocannabinoid system in the control of neuronal excitability and epileptiform seizures." Biochemical Pharmacology 68(2004): 1691-1698.

Croxford, J. Ludovic. "Cannabinoids and the immune system: Potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases?." Journal of Neuroimmunology 166(2005): 3-18.

Grant, Igor. "Cannabis and endocannabinoid modulators: Therapeutic promises and challenges." Clinical Neuroscience Research 5(2005): 185-199.

Mechoulam R, Spatz M Endocannabinoids and neuroprotection. Sci STKE 2002;2002(129):RE5

Marchalant, Yannick. "Cannabinoid receptor stimulation is anti-inflammatory and improves memory in old rats." Neurobiology of Aging (2007):

dirtbomb

I score a little differently on #5 as well.
My problems with racing thoughts that interfere with cognition are set in their proper order after smoking. It works well for simple or complicated tasks.
As for Libido, it does intensify the physical sensations of sex. If you're suggesting that it isn't love after all, when you need a bit of herbal help to get your 'freak on', than there might be more than a few upset spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends out there.
Just my 2 cents.

__________________

----------------------------------------------------
Uh, I forgot, Man. What? Oh yeah I dig. Never mind.
Enjoy all the delicious flavours
of our posting guidelines!
http://www.marijuana.com/site-feedba...uidelines.html

Mushroom Man

#1: Cannabis use will Improve your Sex Drive. It may make you temporarily feel more erotic (horny) but it won't make you f**k like a po*rn star. I mean if you need to use cannabis just to feel erotic towards the man/woman you're with, then it's a false sense of 'love'.

I've never talked to anyone who insists that cannabis improves sex drive. As buzzby stated, there is a difference between improvement in your sex drive and just being more aware of your senses while having intercourse high. So I agree with this one.

#2: Cannabis use will not affect your Motivation to get things accomplished in Life. This is a commonly held belief by people who cite "amotivational syndrome". The fact that the simple amount of time it takes to get high before doing a task is reason enough to explain this effect; remember "couch-lock" is time spent doing absolutely nothing but being high.

That is just an opinion. Sure if someone smokes themselves to oblivion and they sit on the couch all night, its understandable they won't get anything done. But people who know their limits and know self-control can smoke to their desire and get work done as fast or maybe faster then they would sober.

#3 Cannabis use will cure your aches and pains. Well, I know I will likely be crucified on this webiste for saying this--but hey Galileo and Copernicus were my heros in going against the orthodoxy. More properly and correctly stated it should be that cannabis use will "distract" you from your aches and pains--this is a Treatment--NOT a cure. But hey, sometimes a distraction is all you need to get by on.

Most people understand the difference between curing a pain, and temporarily treating it. I don't know anyone who thinks they can smoke a bowl and be cured of arthritis or a sprained ankle. That's not a misconception. That's a twisting of your words.

#4 Vaping Cannabis is ''better" than smoking cannabis. Actually, some users who were dyed-in-the-wool vapers have professed that vaping no longer has the same magnitude of psycho-therapeutic effect as smoking does--in fact leading some vapers to return to smoking cannabis!

Again, personal opinion. As far as health benefits go, vaping clearly takes the cake. I'm sure with all the sources you have yet to show you can't find one that claims smoking is healthier than vaping. Why would they stop vaping and start smoking? Why not just vape more?

#5 Cannabis use will make you a better learner---true it does improve your attention span for single task event processing--but simply being high will not make you cognitively "smarter" than you could be if you were sober-minded while processing task-oriented operations.

I'm not getting into this one. But I will say if I'm slightly buzzed I have a easier time learning because I find it more interesting. I can see how being stoned to the bone could hinder your learning capacity.

#6--ok, it's about my dinner time now so I shall continue this inventory when I return; however, your commentary in the form of rebuttals, out-right crucifixion or dare I say "agreement" with/ of these points is welcomed.[/quote]

Have a good dinner. But I agree with shib on this one, with all the 'facts' you give you'd be better off and be more respected posting your sources. You just said our 'commentary' will most likely contradict what you wrote, however if everything you said was backed up to fact you won't have any arguments. But what do I know, you knowledge seems to be greatly superior to mine

__________________

Buzzby

My debate coach once told me, "If you can't overwhelm your opponent with the facts and logic, baffle him with bullshit." Couching BS in erudite language actually works, sometimes, if your opponent is ignorant enough.

Vicki

Since everyone else pretty much covered the other topics, quite well, I'm just going to address this one since I have personal experience.

No one here, including myself, ever said Cannabis cured their pain completely. That would be like someone taking a Tylenol, the pain goes away temporarily, and the person thinking they are cured. Of course, they are not. The medicine can only last so long to help alleviate the pain.

For me, like many others, Cannabis (and Tylenol) help my physical pain by making it better. They actually help reduce the pain and inflammation, not distract me from it.

__________________
Be kinder than necessary as everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Save the Wand Hash!
Hungry? Non-Cannabis Recipes
Want real free samples?
Those that forget the past are condemned to re-live it.
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity,
you have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man."
~ St. Francis of Assisi ~

SleepyJohn

Wow! I've been put in place for My capitalization of letters,and extreme punctuation,BUT, I've never been dissected point to point,as You gave such an easy tall tail to tell. Freedom of speech and right are to be of the extreme in Here. Taking a misleading Point, and, then driving it into the dirt, shows a manner of thought not desirous to those More, in the know. "Straightin'' Up", or We won't want to type to You anymore. Do Not Misjudge, The Credentials,of This Forum Guide.

Researcher

OK, I have carefully read (and re-read) each of the posts to my post on this topic and I must say that I am thoroughly lead to re-consider the rationale of the points I have made. Now, I truly realize that this is a "community" forum and NOT an "academic" site wherein the issues are discussed in a formalistic manner. But even though it is a community forum--we (I am speaking collectively of all of you) serve as an ad-hoc "peer-review" of the comments that any one person makes. In the post I simply endeavored to highlight some of the advice that could come off as mis-leading to the casual reader (i.e., visitors) to this site. And now I realize that I myself have come off as unfair and somewhat misleading myself. So, on behalf of all of you whom I have offended (specifically all of you who have kindly taken the time & effort to reply to this thread) I sincerely offer my apologies. Inspite of our differences of opinion, since I've been a member of this webstie [since 2006] I really do value and find useful the very fine posts all of you have rendered in other threads--I have learned much from each/all of you'all. As a fellow stoner--talking to the community of other brethren/sistren stoners--I truly apologize for the content of my post that had been misconstrued. I offer my apologies to each of you--and in the future I will seek to be a better and more conscientious poster of information our collective website. In veri-truth we are all members of the "same team" per se--and I feel that I have violated a sanctity of our collective trust. As a personal pennance I will not initiate any new threads for a coupla of days--though I will continue to respone/reply to existing threads.
Respectfully,
Researcher