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Pot Smokers Might Not Turn Into Dopes After All

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-see-what-you-did-there dept.

ananyo writes "Back in August last year, we discussed a study reportedly showing heavy marijuana use in teenagers had been linked to a decline in IQ in later life. Now, a new analysis suggests that the study may have been flawed. Using the same data, the researchers found that they could explain the IQ drop by properly accounting for socioeconomic factors — such as individuals from poorer backgrounds being more likely to smoke cannabis as well as having reduced access to schooling."

3 of 332 comments (clear)

  1. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I realized this when i met someone who had smoked for about 2 years. He was border line retarded. Then I met someone else who had been smoking since he was 14, and he was an engineer. Different strokes for different folks. Dont blame the drugs.

    1. Re:lol by tool462 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In my experience (which is extensive), the theoretical physicists smoke a LOT more pot than the engineers.
      The genesis of the membrane extension of string theory came about in the mid-90s due to a late night bake-out and some Cypress Hill. Who else would come up with an 11 dimension "solution" to the problem of string theory?

  2. And .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You realized that there wasn't a statistically significant correlation based on a sample size of two?
    What have you been smoking?

    And most people will focus on the person in the above stories that confirm their bias.

    Like pot? Then it'll make you an engineer!

    Hate drugs? Then it makes you a retard!

    My doctor likes to point out that many of these studies aren't randomized controled trials - RCT - because it's a bitch to do any study on "recreational" drugs in the US because of our Puritanical laws and this whole "War on Drugs" horseshit.

    Of course, there aren't any studies of whether smoking pot causes the same instances of emphysema, cancer, and other diseases that can happen from smoking anything.

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was a study years ago (not RCT either) that showed that there may be a link with smoking pot and slowing tumor growth.

    It hasn't been repeated as far as I know so the results haven't been verfied.

    Anyway, there are plenty of folks out there in the internet peanut gallery that cling to that one study and came to the conclusion that pot stops cancer.

    Oy!