Short-term memory loss continues 1-2 days after I smoke marijuana.

Smoke hash instead.

Agreeing that this is fairly normal. I feel residual effects for up to 72 hours. Fasting during and briefly after (fruit juice only) and following up with an intense aerobic workout (like a mountain bike hill climb or a run) seems to minimize or prevent the hangover. Moderation helps too. I wouldn't characterize this state as "dumb" but limited in some ways. Transference of short term memory to long term is inhibited making it a bad time to memorize new material. Ability to juggle several variables in my head at once is reduced. Coordination and reaction time are slightly impeded. I'm skeptical about the vasopressin. Apparently caffeine and alcohol suppress vasopressin and they do not have this effect. As somewhat of an aside regarding the paranoia, I have this theory that it is related to a slight lifting of the http://www.metafilter.com/62226/Heckuva-job-Brownie to your perceptions. I've noticed that when my thoughts drift to a recent disagreement, often I am suddenly able to grasp the person's position, where before it seemed incomprehensible. So, let's face it, if you could really see yourself from others point of view, you would be paranoid all the time. Think about it the next time you toke up, and it will seem really profound ;).

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=dope derives from a dutch word for sauce, and, in the 1800's referred to liquid opium. It already meant "thick-headed" so it could have been a bit of a double-entendre. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=dopamine is a recent word based on its chemical composition and unrelated to dope. AFAIK marijuana has no direct effect on dopamine levels, but mimics another neurotransmitter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandamide, which was discovered because of THC.

I know this is a cliche, but that's exactly why it's called dope. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine

I'm not sure who you are trying to convince spitbull, but dishonesty is not a good way to go about it, nor does it lead to worthwhile debate. Personally, I'm one of those who genuinely think the world would be a better place if everyone had a toke now and again. But that doesn't mean I have to ignore the facts. It is telling that your quote from the thread betrays a memory somewhat less than photographic, and that the only reference you managed to google up only applies to people with multiple sclerosis. Marijuana also may have beneficial effects on memory for Alzheimer's sufferers, but that is equally irrelevant to the average person. One way to quickly take a read on consensus is to note that even legalization advocacy groups are honest about the effects of marijuana on short term memory. For example: - http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3475%22 - http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/ Another way is to read an http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/. Which notes that "A characteristic feature of a marijuana "high" is a distortion in the sense of time associated with deficits in short-term memory and learning", and also speculates that "the long half-life and slow elimination from the body of THC and the residual bioactivity of its metabolite, 11-OH-THC, can prevent substantial abstinence symptoms." In other words, the relatively mild withdrawal symptoms of marijuana may be attributable to its long half-life in the body. There is some legitimate controversy about whether there are long term negative effects of marijuana on the brain. In my opinion there is no compelling evidence of such. The same is not true for alcohol, and, contrary to your assertion, its effects on memory are not the same as marijuana. In fact, memory impairment associated with alcohol intoxication is indicative of permanent damage to the brain, which is not true for marijuana.

And the documentation of "temporary loss of short term memory" refers to the brief refractory period of THC inebriation. So you might as well say, when you are stoned on *anything* you have trouble remembering things. So what? The same is certainly true for alcohol, and in my experience much worse. The only good advice in this thread is: if you don't like pot, don't smoke it.

And I need to add one more thing: there is clinical science on the use of marijuana and synthetic THC to treat MS and pain disorders and side effects of chemotherapy that shows *improvement* in short term memory from pot smoking. e.g. 1997 European Neurology Vol. 38, Issue 1, pages 44-48 Paul F. Consroe, "The Perceived Effects of Smoked Cannabis on Patients with Multiple Sclerosis" So yeah, let's argue the science. Plenty more where that comes from.

And comment one says people quite smoking pot because they are tired of "feeling dumb all the time.' I offered my own case as an anecdotal rebuttal. I may be a stoner, but I make a very good living with my mind.

Actually, the science on short-term memory loss associated with THC consumption is not at all convincing, manjusri. And a lot of people are coming on this thread and saying "oh man, yeah, just wait until you get all paranoid and forget your name." I haven't forgotten anything I've read seriously in 20 years. I haven't forgotten what I ate for breakfast last week either. Most of my pot-smoking friends are serious intellectuals with excellent memories. So what is this "science" you speak of? I read the science on marijuana quite closely. What little negative info there is tends to be countered in subsequent studies, if any. And much of the so-called "clinical" science on THC is conducted with government funding and with the explicit intention of pathologizing marijuana use as if it were one of our more dangerous drugs, like beer.