Talula,

You are allowed to discuss any and all drugs on ADH including Nexus
(2C-B), XTC, pot, heroin, and even Benadryl and alcohol. There is no
drug snobbery on this site. All drugs are hard. Drugs that people...

"MobiusDick" gmail.com> wrote in
news:1162851386.375581.266040@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

i'm skeptical of this, mobius. first off, will i be safe if i smoke
joints instead of bongs? secondly, i know that thc and the other active
constituents of the weeds accumulate in fatty tissue preferentially...

MobiusDick wrote:

"Anapiel" gmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9874CC516AD3anapielgmailcom@216.196.97.136...

MobiusDick wrote:

"Anapiel" gmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns98743E3265613anapielgmailcom@216.196.97.136...

I am speaking euphemistically. You get tar like deposits that remind me
of bong resin in the brain, liver and other fatty areas of the body. It
is not literally bong resin, it is fat soluble cannabinol derivatives
that precipitate out of the blood in these fatty areas due to the
thermodynamics of hydrophobic interactions (and London forces and all
those other physical chemistry terms that are beyond the scope of this
discussion --although if you want to get into the PChem of it, we can.

These deposits in the brain disrupt neuronal transmission and probably
have something to do with why working memory (once known as short term
memory) is so grossly affected in heavy users after a long period of
time.

I haven't finished reading all of your post as I must skim things
sometimes when they get real long as time is a factor, but I will go
back and see if I can add anything to it. But the general point is that
heavy pot use is far from harmless. Oral opiates, without acetaminophen
or ibuprofen, have a much milder long term effect on the body and brain
over time that pot does (not to say that opiates cannot ruin your life
easier than pot can, but physiologically there is not any real
irreversible damage done.

Mobi
creamedbrainsontoast wrote:

If you are actively chasing a high, you can probably say with
confidence that you have graduated from being physically dependent (and
when it is caused by a doctor it is known as iatrogenically dependent)
to addicted. But that is still just an opinion. There are no real hard
and fast rules.

Mobi

Talula wrote:

I wouldn't refer to the short term memory loss being caused by resinous
build up in the brain as putative. It is not quite there yet. It is one
possible explanation, but a good one. The truth is no one is confident
enough with data behind them to say this is why marijuana causes
working memory loss. There are good data behind the idea that marijuana
causes working memory loss, which eventually becomes irreversible (That
part is putative.)

But as far as marijuana being harmless, that depends on what you mean
by harmless. Does it cause pathophysiological changes with heavy use?
Putatively yes. Is it as addictive as heroin and does it cause people
to go into severe withdrawal. No. THC withdrawal is minor due to its
long duration of action (unless precipitated by a CB antagonist, where
it is fairly severe.)

I am not saying that marijuana is a deadly drug that is going to
destroy your mind. But it is far from innocuous. And yes I have had the
luxury of dissecting a brain of a heavy user before, and it is very
obvious what is happening to the brain morphologically when you come
across this. There is nothing else I know that causes the brain to look
this way.

MobiusDick wrote:

The only thing that is clear is that during cannabis intoxication your
short term memory
and cognitive faculties in general can be impaired, but there is no
substantial evidence supporting the claim that these effects last
beyond the duration of intoxication (a few hours after smoking or up to
4 hours or so after oral consumption).
Even if there are such residual effects from long term excessive
cannabis use they are quite subtle and nowhere in the same ballpark as
the permanent cognitive impairment associated with prolonged excessive
alcohol abuse.