Marijuana makes blood rush to the head

[hh339]

Ok, this is from last year but some may find it interesting:

"Smoking marijuana can affect blood flow in the brain so much that it takes over a month to return to normal. And for heavy smokers, the effects could last much longer, a new study suggests.

Regular marijuana use can harm memory and the ability to make decisions, according to Jean Cadet at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore, Maryland, US. To find out why, he monitored the flow of blood through the brains of 54 marijuana smokers, among whom the heaviest user smoked 50 joints every day.

People who smoked cannabis had higher blood flow through their brains than non-users. Yet there was also greater resistance to the blood flow, suggesting that cannabis changes the blood vessels in the brain in a way which hinders oxygen in reaching the tissue effectively. In an attempt to compensate, extra blood is sent to that part of the brain, increasing resistance but probably failing to get enough oxygen through the vessels, Cadet suggests.

Cadet and his colleagues used an extremely sensitive non-invasive technique called transcranial Doppler sonography to "see" the blood flow through individual arteries from the head's surface.

After a month without cannabis - during which the volunteers agreed to remain in a clinic, with no access to marijuana - Cadet repeated the sonography. The resistance to blood flow of light and moderate users - who usually smoked an average of 11 and 44 joints per week, respectively - was starting to return to normal.
Neuropsychological problems

But there was no improvement observed in the heavy users, who smoked an average of 131 joints per week. "We were surprised because we'd expected that as marijuana cleared the system things would improve," says Cadet. He now wants to see if there is a link between the changes in the brain's blood flow and the extent of neuropsychological problems.

To eliminate the effect of tobacco in the joints, Cadet compared his results to those obtained from smokers, who showed normal blood flow. But, says William Notcutt of James Paget Hospital in Norfolk, UK, the longer-term effect on the brain may not have been caused by the same substance that produces the high.

"Somebody smoking 50 joints per day is getting a huge number of carcinogens from the marijuana plant," he notes. "We know the cardiovascular effect [of cannabis] is very complex and multi-factorial so it's not as simple as with other drugs. The group that needs to be studied now is people that use high quality medicinal extracts."

He adds that the results may also be different for people that only smoke marijuana occasionally, and so are exposed to lower doses of the toxic substances."

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6975

[Nature Boy]

SWIM would only smoke about three joints a day on average, a few more at the weekends. Why would one have to smoke 50 joints a day? That's simply ridiculous. Either the weed is way too weak or else they're wasting their weed by getting completely baked but continuing smoking anyway for no particular reason. These statistics would only apply to very few people. SWIM considers himself to be a reasonably heavy smoker and knows no-one who would smoke that much. You have to ask, are they smoking entire joints to themselves or are they passing them around? This study reeks of falseness.

[The Doors]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

SWIM would only smoke about three joints a day on average, a few more at the weekends. Why would one have to smoke 50 joints a day? That's simply ridiculous. Either the weed is way too weak or else they're wasting their weed by getting completely baked but continuing smoking anyway for no particular reason. These statistics would only apply to very few people. SWIM considers himself to be a reasonably heavy smoker and knows no-one who would smoke that much. You have to ask, are they smoking entire joints to themselves or are they passing them around? This study reeks of falseness.

I was just thinking that haha. Why the hell would someone smoke 50joints a day, that's basically two packs of cigarettes... gross!

To smoke that much, you'd have to be physically addicted to marijuana, and we all know that it isn't the case, unlike nicotine. This study is another pile of crap as usual.

[Mr. Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

SWIM would only smoke about three joints a day on average, a few more at the weekends. Why would one have to smoke 50 joints a day? That's simply ridiculous. Either the weed is way too weak or else they're wasting their weed by getting completely baked but continuing smoking anyway for no particular reason. These statistics would only apply to very few people. SWIM considers himself to be a reasonably heavy smoker and knows no-one who would smoke that much. You have to ask, are they smoking entire joints to themselves or are they passing them around? This study reeks of falseness.

Indeed. Have these crazy 50-a-day maniacs never pulled a whitey?

[snapper]

I wonder what constitutes a joint? I see it used as a unit of measurement all the time, but it is never quantified. What does that translate to in pipe/bong hits ? How does increased blood flow equate to poor oxygenation of the brain? I thought that was a popular mode of action for cognitive enhancers. What is meant by increased resistance?
Maybe this information is hidden in the materials and methods section of the study ? Might actually be worth looking it up - sounds like a prominent journal which should be available at any university library. Sounds like NIDA might have funded it as well.

[IHrtHalucingens]

SWIM says if he could afford to smoke 50 joints a day he would. he says the sky is the limit to how much he would smoke if money was not an issue. Call him stupid call him what you will, but SWIM loves to smoke weed, and as much as he can afford.

[Sklander]

SWIM thinks its asinine to smoke fifty joints a day. With some good sinsemillia one would get baked enough to not want to smoke that much... Fifty joints a day... what a waste of weed.

[Woodman]

"Marijuana makes blood rush to the head"

So what, this is supposed to be news to me?

...like I've never heard of a "head rush" before?

[Benzeneringz]

Pot also causes food to rush into my mouth

[Creeping Death]

Funny. Weed tends to lower my bloodpressure, not raise it.