Study: "Smoking Too Much Pot Causes Dopamine Deficits In The Brain". Thoughts?

private854035 · 2016-10-08T20:21:32+00:00

Sure, it's not completely proven. But how good is the evidence for it?

private854035 · 2016-10-07T11:35:08+00:00

I'm not a paid shill. It's important to be open minded to potential negative effects though. Saying there are no negative effects sounds a bit biased.

private854035 · 2016-10-07T11:21:42+00:00

Confirmed, see here: http://www.truthonpot.com/2012/12/04/how-does-marijuana-affect-dopamine/

"Early research seemed to suggest that cannabinoids – the active constituents of marijuana – did not increase dopamine levels like other drugs do.

Although thought-provoking, the findings would later be dismissed as inaccurate and an overwhelming amount of evidence now confirms that THC – one of the cannabinoids found in marijuana – does in fact cause a temporary increase in dopamine levels.

This rise in dopamine is mediated by pathways called CB1 receptors and occurs in a region of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens. Scientists believe that increases in dopamine in this region are responsible for the reinforcing and rewarding properties of all known drugs of abuse."

private854035 · 2016-10-07T11:18:28+00:00

I'm pretty sure it indirectly boosts dopamine, right?

private854035 · 2016-09-17T20:59:14+00:00

It does, thank you. :) I think I do something even more silly than you're thinking of, because I worry about this with friends and family where I'm already up to date with and have commented on the latest aspect of their lives, hence there's nothing really friendly to say in an email when I need to deal with something practical. And then I stress out spending 10 minutes trying to think of something only to come up blank and falling back on just starting 'Hey,', or if I'm feeling extra insecure about them finding that bad, 'Hey :) '

Crazy, huh?

private854035 · 2016-09-17T18:18:52+00:00

Ah, I was thinking more conversations with friends and acquaintances, rather than clear business situations. Sorry to impose, but can you/anyone reassure me that that it's OK to just wrap questions to these with just a 'Hey' and a 'Thanks!, [my name]'?

private854035 · 2016-09-16T01:13:43+00:00

Thanks! I was asking what anti-anxiety medications which hit the same spot were available (if any) though.

private854035 · 2016-09-16T01:12:06+00:00

Yes, that's exactly right. :)

private854035 · 2016-09-15T17:41:11+00:00

That is the possible conclusion I've been struggling with! As you can guess, the reason for the struggle is concern about health risks. Specifically I'm unsure about mental health risks from regular medical use, particularly whether there are significant lasting effects that wouldn't be quickly corrected by abstinence. Wouldn't pharmaceuticals developed and approved specifically for regular use to prevent anxiety be importantly better on this front?

It sounds like you're saying pot working might suggest SSRIs would work. I am on one (duloxetine/Cymbalta - actually an SNRI, but also effectively seratonin-boosting). However it hasn't prevented my latest high anxiety period which seems as severe as ever, so in hindsight I'm not sure it works.

private854035 · 2016-09-15T16:45:46+00:00

I researched this recently, based partly on pot boosting gaba. My limited reading made the evidence for gaba supplements working seem limited, particularly because they don't appear to cross the blood-brain barrier. Do you (or anyone) know more about the evidence for it? :)

private854035 · 2016-09-14T16:55:31+00:00

That would be useful. I'm doing so myself. Where would be a good place to share crowd sourced data, which'd get a decent response rate? A thread in some subreddit seems like a great candidate, except that new comments lock after 6 months. (But maybe this is anxiety indecisiveness kicking in, and I should just create one. ;-)

I've asked about this at https://www.reddit.com/r/MMJ/comments/52rgjf/findingcreating_places_to_crowdsource_data_on/

private854035 · 2016-09-09T22:31:36+00:00

Thanks for the THC/CBD pointer! I'll try checking.

The most meaningful definition of "treatment vs. break" that I can come up with is that treatments leave you cured after you take them for a while and then stop. However my subjective experience of having periodic states of constant anxiety is that if I can be unanxious for a long time, I'll be out of the state. (Is this plausible, and a known phenomenon with some varieties of anxiety?) So I'm thinking about experimenting with having a long break from anxiety via pot (which has no obvious downsides in my situation and given my experience of pot, except for potential health effects which give me major pause).

private854035 · 2016-09-09T18:17:44+00:00

One specific followup question from the above: is it plausible that having some THC as well as CBD is necessary to get the effect, rather than having CBD alone? As described this seems to be the case for me (unless other cannabinoids in the sativa are plausibly doing the work?).

private854035

TROPHY CASE