The Straight Toke - THE Marijuana Blog

Dear Julius:
A lot of the people that I know who smoke frequently (several times a day) seem to be "burnouts", i.e. they seem to perpetually be in a daze, even when not high. Their reactions seem slowed, and they have trouble remembering things. This is due to their frequent marijuana use, right?

To date, there have been no studies that prove that frequent marijuana use results in permanent mental impairment. There has, however been an overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests otherwise. So how does a (potential) user know what's really going to happen if he lights up frequently?

Marijuana certainly causes temporary mental impairment -- there's no denying that. After smoking, even once the "high" has worn off, a user's short-term memory is significantly impaired. This impairment decreases gradually over the course of the next few days, sometimes taking as long as a couple weeks to fully disappear. For the most part though, users are back to baseline after a few days. The impairment, however, is cumulative. If you regularly smoke, the impairment will increase at a rate directly proportional to the frequency of use, and you will need proportionally more time to recover back to baseline. For example, if you smoke once on Monday, it might take until Thursday for you to recover. If, however, you smoke twice on Monday, and twice on Tuesday, it might take until Wednesday of the next week to fully recover.

So what about "burnouts"? Typically people who are described as such smoke regularly, often several times a day. In this case, it is not that they have done permanent damage -- just that they have not allowed themselves any recovery time. If they were to cease smoking for a year, it is quite likely that most, if not all of the effects would subside.

So "burnouts" per se, don't really exist (in that they haven't done permanent damage). But what about the stereotypical "lazy stoner"? That's a matter of personality. Marijuana does promote lethargy in some people, but such a change is temporary (usually it disappears within a day or so of use.) However, since marijuana makes this lethargy extremely pleasant (the "stoned" euphoria), it becomes quite attractive to people who are naturally somewhat lazy. When you give a lazy person an activity that rewards them for being lazy, it's pretty clear what will happen: they'll continue to be lazy, and possibly become more lazy. Quite simple. If you're lazy before you smoke, chances are you're going to be lazy after you smoke. Likewise, there are many people who use marijuana regularly, yet still maintain a good work ethic. As with taste, colour, and sound, marijuana does not create -- it merely enhances what's already there. So it is with one's personality.

A wise man once said "All things in moderation." This phrase should be taken to heart by every marijuana user. If you use marijuana regularly yet responsibly, you will not become a burnout. If you use it regularly but irresponsibly, you will suffer the consequences.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Health/Medicine, Q/A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.