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nanowell t1_jbtg80a wrote

According to some studies, long-term cannabis abuse may cause abnormal brain structure and poor memory, especially in people who have or are at risk of developing schizophrenia. Cannabis, particularly THC (the main psychoactive component of cannabis), may also reduce REM sleep, which is the stage of sleep when we do our most active dreaming, processing emotions, and cementing new memories. Decreasing REM sleep may have some benefits for people with PTSD, since nightmares are a common and disturbing symptom. However, for most people, poor sleep may impair cognitive performance and focus, and increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in the long term. Therefore, it is possible that years of poor sleep due to cannabis abuse would contribute to some brain damage.

However, these effects may depend on several factors, such as the dose, frequency, duration, age of onset, and individual susceptibility of cannabis use. Some studies have found no significant effects of cannabis on brain structure or cognition after controlling for confounding variables. More research is needed to establish a causal link between cannabis abuse and brain damage.

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ahufflepuffhobbit t1_jbukiow wrote

Several studies have linked marijuana consumption with the onset of schizophrenia and persistent psychotic symptoms. Some of these report that a frequent user of cannabis has 6 times higher probability of developing schizophrenia. This, however is neither a necessary or sufficient condition, there are other factors at play, some kind of genetic susceptibility being probably one of them.

Source

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TheReapingFields t1_jbus5d8 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,210,605)

Show me where I specifically said it WILL, for sure. I said it CAN.

I am only half joking when I said at the start of my post that I hope it does, because otherwise I have been wasting my time! It helps a lot when you have occasional bouts of anxiety stemming from trauma, I know that much. A bit of a rewire is no bad thing when what you start with isn't any fun to deal with.

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ahufflepuffhobbit t1_jbuxtcs wrote

Replying to Half4sleep (#2,210,828)

It may be. I haven't read the studies that report this with enough attention to determine if it was 100% well realized or not, but the review article I cited seemed very interesting and comprehensive, citing several papers with different conclusions. Most of them appear to agree that there is a correlation between psychotic alterations and marijuana, but more research is definitely needed to fully understand the mechanisms and possible causality.

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crazybeardude t1_jbuxvqz wrote

  1. Is there an effect of cannabis abuse on brain structure? Evidence is mixed. While there are certainly correlations, it is hard to conclude that it is a causal relationship. While longitudinal evidence supports a causal effect, data from twin and genetic studies show the same genes that are associated with cannabis use are also associated with brain structure (and probably brain development). So we cannot rule out causes besides cannabis use (e.g., behavioral traits associated with a greater likelihood of using cannabis are associated with smaller brain structure). Some recent interesting work has also shown that associations with cannabis are in fact attributable to polysubstance use - not cannabis alone.

  2. If there are changes caused by cannabis, are they permanent? As opposed to alcohol, there have been very few studies of cannabis abstinence, though those that exist show some promise that any effects of cannabis on brain structure are probably reversible (provided use is stopped early enough).

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Half4sleep t1_jbwzja5 wrote

Replying to ahufflepuffhobbit (#2,210,855)

Now, I don't know too much about this myself, but jumping to a collusion about the correlation is dangerous.

People who eat a lot of cheese are more prone to heart attacks, does that mean cheese causes it? No, overweight people just eat more of it, and because they're fat they have an increased risk of heart diseases.

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fuerdiesache t1_jbys06s wrote

Replying to Half4sleep (#2,210,828)

this is more likely the case, though more studies are needed to confirm it. i suspect this is essentially similar to the myth that eating lots of sugar/carbs can cause diabetes -- it is not generally correct, but it can apply to people who are genetically predisposed to diabetes.

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mmoarpgfps t1_jbytxr7 wrote

Replying to chihuahuazord (#2,211,354)

"Sea levels been rising since the 60s, thats why the actual sea currents end on the same level and no island(looking at the one made for liberty statue) has maintain its sea level from its creation"

You can believe whatever you want at this point. Reality wont change because of it.

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