Marijuana Blog

The Office of National Drug Control Policy released an email invitation this past Friday for the first White House Drug Policy Reform Conference in history. The email contained a graphic with a quote from U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske that read, Drug policy reform should be rooted in NEUROSCIENCE – NOT POLITICAL SCIENCE. Now, MPP is asking the office to explain the meaning behind their contradictory statement, since actual neuroscience has shown that marijuana harms the human brain far less than alcohol does.

 

For example, in 2005, Researchers at Harvard University reported in the American Journal on Addictions that marijuana use was not associated with structural changes within the brain.

 

When compared to control subjects, [marijuana] smokers displayed no significant adjusted differences in volumes of gray matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, or left and right hippocampus. … These findings are consistent with recent literature suggesting that cannabis use is not associated with structural changes within the brain as a whole or the hippocampus in particular.

 

Furthermore, according to a 2004 report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

 

Heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple ‘slips’ in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care.

 

Studies that compare the effects of marijuana and alcohol side by side also find that alcohol is more damaging than marijuana. A 2009 study published in the journal Clinical EEG and Neuroscience found:

 

Abnormalities have been seen in brain structure volume, white matter quality, and activation to cognitive tasks, even in youth with as little as 1-2 years of heavy drinking and consumption levels of 20 drinks per month, especially if  >4-5 drinks are consumed on a single occasion. Heavy marijuana users show some subtle anomalies too, but generally not the same degree of divergence from demographically similar non-using adolescents.

 

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.co

Movies are a large part of pothead culture. Let's face it, getting baked and watching  movie sounds like a good time, especially if you're stocked up on munchies. There are some classic films out there that every stoner loves. The following is a list of five of some of the best ones. If you have a suggestion for a further film, feel free to share it with me by emailing missbotwin42o@gmail.com and I'll start making up a second part!

 

1. Grandma's Boy

This film was fantastic. Hilariously funny, it follows the hazy story of a pothead video game designer who's constantly battling his nemesis JT, a dude who thinks that he's a robot. With an epic cast, if you haven't seen this one yet, you should probably get to it!

 

2. Half Baked

Dave Chapelle makes this one perfect with his loud humor. When one of the members of a group of friends murders a diabetic police horse, the other three members start stealing medical marijuana to sell and help bail their friend out. While at the same time, Chapelle falls in love with a girl who hates marijuana... Ironically named Mary Jane.

 

3. Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke

The most famous stoner duo obviously needs a mention on this list! Up In Smoke is about the adventure that Cheech and Chong take in the marijuana van (It's actually made of marijuana!). The two are trying to get from Mexico to LA with the ever annoying Sgt Stedenko on their trail.

 

4. Evil Bong

While it's not the most convincing movie ever made, it is pretty amusing to watch. This film is about a bong that traps the soul of the user in a crazy strip club fantasy where the strippers are killers, among other strange things. This movie also features Chong as the voice of the haunted piece.

 

5. Fast Times At Ridgemont High

A favorite of stoners of all ages! This movie follows a few different stories of teens in their high school years. The ups, downs, and everything else. Everyone's favorite is Spicoli, the super pothead orders pizza while in class. Definitely a stoner classic, watch this movie if you haven't already.

For anyone who grows any kind of plant, they've probably heard the idea of playing music near the plants stimulates a positive response from the plant. Depending on the kind of music, the plants grow bigger and stronger, giving the grower a bigger yield. But the growth of the plant depends on the kind of music that is played for the plant, with some genres producing extremely satisfying results in the plants.

 

The original experiment was done in different rooms, where single tones were played. The first room had a steady tone playing for multiple hours. In the second room, the tone was played for a few hours and then shut off for a few hours. The third chamber had no tone playing. It was found that the plants in the first chamber not only died, but died quickly, while the plants in the second chamber grew the fastest and most healthy. The plants in the last chamber grew at about a normal rate. When the tones were changed to smooth relaxing music compared to rock music, the smooth music plants actually grew towards the radios in the room, while the rock music plants died within 15 days.

 

There are vineyards around the world that are installing speakers above their grapes that play classical music. The grapes next to the speakers are growing larger than those away from the speakers. It's an incredibly positive response but only happens with the classical, more calming music. So if you can, putting a music playing device in the grow room probably isn't such a bad idea. Even if the plants don't show a huge difference in growth, at least your grow room will be ambient and calming.

 

Remember that if you're going to play music, it should be played intermittently throughout the day. Continuous music may have negative effects on the plants and you don't want that. With some low volume classical, hopefully your plants will respond in a good way. There are skeptics who disbelieve the experiments done to test this theory, so trying it out for yourself is probably your best bet.