On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 18:25:35 +1000, "John H." <johnh at faraway.> wrote:
>Chong did a lot more than pot! Nonetheless, in some long term smokers I have
>known, well I just have to wonder about why they are so scatter brained,
>have such piss poor memories, and never seem to get anything done ... . One
>thing I have noted is that the intelligence of the individual seems to play
>some part here. The more intelligent, the less likelihood of these impacts
>occurring, though not with respect to getting things done. Additionally,
>chronic smokers generally have poorer health, come from lower socio-economic
>backgrounds, and often don't give a damn about intelligence.
But you've got to take care to avoid the post hoc fallacy of assuming
that because a person has x negative attributes and smokes lots of
grass that they have those attributes because they smoke it a lot.
It's possible that they smoke a lot because they have those attributes
and not the other way around.
Since there is a general lack of significant neurological harm found
in long-term studies as you note, this post hoc tendency has to be
seriously considered. But even then its also possible that the grass
plays some supporting role in personal problems, as any drug addiction
might. Or it might be possible that it could eliminate some negative
attributes, like being violent and dangerous, making the pot head more
relaxed and mellow. So it's probably a real mixed bag at best.