Marijuana and intelligence levels

I have to say, when you browse this forum, through all the endlessly repeated topics and threads like “damn i need ROLLING PAPERZ!” “how much weeeed do u smoke?” “haha I’m so high uuunghhh” “what retarded things have you done while high?” and “HELP HOW DO I SMOKE IN MY ROOM WITHOUT MY PARENTS FINDING OUT?!?!?!?!?” stoners look like a pretty stupid bunch of people.

I don’t think pot (THC, that is) affects intelligence at all in the long term, unless, of course, it’s used so heavily that it seriously and permanently alters the brain chemistry, and that’s definitely possible. In the short term, pot can make you distracted, unmotivated, and detached – clouded, in short – which can be labeled as decreasing intelligence when it isn’t, really. Even when you’re so stoned you can’t hold a conversation, your intelligence is no lower than it used to be. Your brain is just temporarily unable to work normally. I can’t hold a conversation first thing in the morning, but that doesn’t mean my intelligence has dropped.

For me, personally, one thing pot does (at least before I cross the threshold from stoned to incapacitated) is it allows me to think in ways I can’t – or won’t – when I’m sober. It disables my inner critic and allows my thoughts to wander freely to places they could never go otherwise. The internal censor, installed by myself and by society in my subconscious, is bypassed and all kinds of things I subconsciously cancel out come into the light.

Pot can facilitate higher thinking, but I don’t think it increases intelligence any more than it decreases it. It either helps you reach your intellectual potential or it gets in the way, depending on how you use it and how you personally react to it. I also believe stupid people tend to be attracted to pot and other drugs, which really boosts the “braindead stoner” stereotype.

I hope this post isn’t too long and scrambled. It’s way past my bedtime.

 

yeah i guess that pretty much sums it up.

 

Amen to the stupid posts!

 

amen brotha!!!!

 

Cacophony, I like what you say but is there any chance you could make your writing a little bit bigger cos my eyes are unable to function at that precision for more than a few seconds!!


Cheers man!

 

i think more than anything, it takes away your motivation to do the bullshit/boring things. In school, they don't just measure your intelligence by how much you know, or if u can grasp the concepts. They want to see how hard and how long you can work and repeat the same routines in order to stuff information in your mind. I think that being high makes you see thru the bullshit, and makes you not want to do it at all. For instance, since i started puffing my grades have def. dropped in classes like math/science... because i got tired of the routine of reading info and then regurgitating it. BUt, i got the only solid A in creative writing in the class, and got a 1390 on the SAT. So... i don't know how "stupid" it makes me. I also think that weed enhances imagination more than anything, and to me imagination is a more important factor of intelligence than the ability to retain knowledge. I get the basic concepts of science and math, and find them interesting, but im more interested in the creative aspects and theories - weed has made it harder for me to sit down and draw a diagram of a soundwave structure blah blah blah.... maybe not a benefit, but while i'm spacing out and everyone is drawing their diagrams, my mind is trying to figure out the idea of string theory, and the nature of energy. Marijuana to me, opens up the mind to another side of non-conventional intelligence, not to mention its a whole lot of fun. and to me, and tim leary, having fun itself is an aspect of intelligence. its all about living in as many realities as possible, and finding the ones you prefer....

 

My best friend and I think about this stuff all the time. Smoking pot does open up your mind, alot. When I'm high my mind expands. I think that because you think soo much when you're high, you'r brain cells expand and pop because they become filled with too much information. That is the only explainable reason I can think of for someone losing brain cells. I can also see right through people when I'm high just like you can. It's weird. I smoke ALOT and my grades haven't changed. I'm still on the honorroll. My spelling is the only thing that has changed when it comes to knowledge. I also have a bit more trouble paying attention than I used to. Being a pot smoker certinaly has changed how I act. I used to yell and be a very loud person and cause alot of trouble. Now I am quiet and I stay away from trouble. All I can say to conclude my paragraph on pot smoking is that I FUCKING LOVE MARIJUANA!!!

 

it really depends on the person i know some people which came to a closed section of hospital and they could not handel that. but some people smoke for 20 years and they are normal no problem. it's a think everybody must find out

 

i'll admit, some stoners just let themselves go.
but i personally can't stand hearing people (in my case mostly jesus freaks) saying things like "oh he was just a stupid POTHEAD" and "there are no 'druggies' in THIS advanced class!"
i went through highschool smoking almost every day, yet still getting great grades in tough classes. i'm glad to be outta there, though, because of those damn uninformed PRUDES.
thankyou.