What exactly defines a "heavy long-term cannabis user"?

[Unregistered]

For those of you who do not know there was a very small 2008 study (15 "heavy long-term cannabis users and 16 non-cannabis users, 31 total) that confirmed that "heavy long term cannabis users (at least five joints daily for more than 10 years)" had smaller hippocampus (average of 12% smaller based on test applicants) and amygdala (average of 7.1% smaller based on test applicants) areas of the brain.

I can't post any sources because I am not a registered member, but simply search the terms I ripped from this study in any search engine and you will find it.

So according to this study they claim "heavy long-term cannabis users" have permanent shrinkage is this area.

So what I want to know is since this study was so small is this definition of "heavy long-term cannabis users" (at least five joints daily for more than 10 years) the actual solid definition? Or is this just a shitty vague definition they threw together because the only study applicants they had all met this criteria they labeled "heavy long-term cannabis users" as? Because this could actually be a solid definition or could be a vague definition, sadly they do not state weather it is or not, but they do say something along the lines of this study concludes that heavy long-term cannabis users suffer permanent brain damage.

Imo they are trying to say they do not know the exact definition of a "heavy long-term cannabis user" but this is the criteria they had for their study and thats why they chose the set "at least 5 joints daily for more than 10 years criteria) but I was hoping someone with greater knowledge on this subject could answer me rather than leaving me hanging with this lame vague answer, I despise shitty vague answers in studies.

Also I smoked around 1-3 joints daily for a year and a half and then quit cold turkey, so would I meet this criteria for a "heavy long-term cannabis user", resulting in my hippocampus and amygdala being shrunken?

[BFB]

Hi and welcome,

To be honest I am not sure what the exact definition of heavy use is with cannabis any more than with any other drug and perhaps there is always going to be a certain degree of subjective interpretation as to what sort of amount qualifies. I can’t speak for that particular study as I know nothing about it although I would imagine they picked an amount they thought would qualify, but other than that I am afraid you know more about it than me. I smoked an eighth a day which I considered to be pretty heavy.

The thing is with cannabis studies is they can often appear to conflict a little, for every study the anti people point to the pro will usually point to another. Unfortunately cannabis is the kind of drug that can affect everyone differently and the effects it can have on one person it isn’t necessary going to have on another, maybe some do get that degree of shrinking to those parts of the brain but that’s not to say it will necessarily be the case for everyone, or so I have read.

Some people seem to get away with using this particular drug more than others, what I always say is that the individual should closely monitor the way it is affecting them, if you are noticing adverse affects then you should stop before they progress any further.

All the best,

[Unregistered]

Dang =/, looks like I have 11 more miserable months to find out if I can give up on my life and be a homeless smoker if I end up being brain damaged. Thanks for trying.

[BFB]

Yeah sorry it’s a tough one to answer I guess every study may have its own subjective definition of what a heavy smoker is, maybe others here may have their own opinions, back when I was smoking I probably would have said anything over a 16th a day, but then again I was a pretty big smoker or I think I was anyway.

I do know that for what they are worth there are plenty of studies that have proved it can damage the brain and I know I certainly feel it harmed mine, by the time I stopped smoking I could barely string a sentence together, my advice from personal experience would be to stop if you can.

All the best,

[Unregistered]

I truly fear that weather or not there is a definition for a heavy long-term cannabis smoker I still have permanently damaged my brain even if I'm not considered one. I fear this because this study is practacly saying almost any "long term" daily use of marijuana use will cause permanent brain damage, weather it be a large or small ammount of damage.

I've had a boatload of depression and anxiety problems all of my life even before I smoked, I don't think I can handle having memory and emotional loss as well, that kills me even more inside. Im starting to believe im just one of those people who is not ment to be in this world. Its an eternal nightmare with no escape at this point. Eternal ****ing misery since I was 11 years old. Smoking the rest of my rotting days seems like my only minuscule escape I will ever receive. What a ****ed up, rotting world some of us live in waiting and waiting for hope to come our ways, yet we rot for years never receiving it. I truly know what it is like to be insane, its a living nightmare for some of us and its real.

[BFB]

I understand it can freak you out when you read studies like that and understandably so and as much as I want to reassure you I am not going to try and pretend to you that there isn’t good evidence to suggest cannabis can harm the brain as that would be irresponsible both towards you and others.

However according to the studies and experts I have come across and the research they have done using scans to prove their findings, they say that the amount of damage or harm cannabis can do to an individual’s brain can vary as some seem to be able to take it better than others, they also say as can the ability to recover, some people seem to regain function better than others and yes the brain is plastic and can recover to a certain extent although obviously it’s not got to be as good as it once was.

The thing is you don’t know how much harm you have or have not done, or how much you will or will not recover until you have discontinued using for a fairly significant amount of time, some say it can take quite some time to recover, but others feel a lot better much quicker. At the end of the day you have to give life without pot a good enough go before you can rule it out as not worth living, you may find it is much better than you think.

All the best,

[Unregistered]

I don't know how you do this, you're a really strong person BFB.

[Unregistered]

You know what? I truly would have killed myself if I wouldn't had stared smoking marijuana and wpuldn't have kept on smoking it during the time I did, so i'll be ok with whatever damage I may end up having because to me it was what I needed during the time to make it. To all of you feeling really down about having permanent damage or possibly ending up with permanent damage you guys need to remember we were all doing our best during that time in our lives and it's what we needed to cope and keep on living.

Btw BFB, I am the same person who posted about having hppd from marijuana a while back reffering to it as "flashing colored dots". And guess what? The LSD I took didn't give it to me and i've been 1 month drug free and all my hppd symptoms are gone accept slight light sensativity and barely any visual snow. Im sure i'll be fine in a few months, thanks for being the strong person that you are and good luck to you as well.

[dutchseedsbank]

if you've been smoking for years and rarely ever stop for a prelonged period of time then I'd say your a long term user.