Study Backs Up Pot Users' 'Slacker' Stereotype
Marijuana users' brains have less motivational chemistry, researchers claim
Marijuana users' brains have less motivational chemistry, researchers claim
There's more than a kernel, or a nug if you prefer, of truth to the claim that marijuana users are slackers, according to a new UK study.
In scanning the brains of a handful of pot users as well as those who didn't touch the stuff, it was found that pot smokers were relatively deficient in dopamine, a "feel good" chemical partly responsible for motivation - and the subsequent sense of satisfaction for a job well done.
One caveat: those involved in the study all used heavily, and began using as teenagers. Even more unlike most fans of marijuana (we're going to assume) are the fact that all the smokers under review "had experienced symptoms of psychosis while under the influence." Still, that doesn't necessarily let more infrequent users off the hook.
"Although we only looked at cannabis users who have had psychotic-like experiences while using the drug, we think the findings would apply to cannabis users in general, since we didn't see a stronger effect in the subjects who have more psychotic-like symptoms," said lead study author Michael Bloomfield.
Luckily, the "slacker" effect can be reversed, he says. According to previous studies, levels of dopamine production between former pot users and those who'd never tried it were about equal.
http://politix.topix.com 03/07/2013
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