Does Cannabis Use Lead to Poor Memory?

[natertots]

Depends. If im smokeing and doing a task I enjoy like messing with my plants, listening to ky delta blues, or trying to beat the outdoors into my oldest boy (I blame his mom lol) I seem to have crisper memories. Now if I have a lazy weekend and somehow all my kids are gone ill blaze the sun goes down and not remember where the time went.....but I think thats tye point Its nice to have a day like that sometimes. But we all know a "burnout," but I dont blame the weed. Some people just dont want to flex their brain muscle and have no responsibilities, which is cool. Im a live and let live guy. Just pass me the joint burnouts always have the best stories. Ima be one when im all grown up lol.

 

[Somerset]

Since growing, I've started smoking more (because its free and I have so much!) and my short term memory has definitely been affected negatively, although its not massive. My wife has noted it several times and is slightly concerned which has made me try and find the sweet spot between too much and not enough. We have hectic lives and a lot of small things that need remembering, so I need to choose my times to smoke slightly more carefully.
that said, We need to switch off, we need to not worry about stuff and we need to forget. Has anyone read what Michael Pollan has written about MJ in 'The Botany of Desire' - he makes the point that humans need to forget stuff, that what helps us carry on. Really interesting...

 

[Dr Fluff]

Here you go Somerset

[video=youtube;QeCra-sn0dI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeCra-sn0dI[/video]

 

[Roark]

I haven't read botany of desire, however I have listened to smoke signals like 5 times. That book inspired me to smoke an grow. I do better with lists anyways.

 

[Wait what?]

Alcohol affects my memory. I forget how many times I've been in jail for it

 

[drgreen]

what was the question??
oh ye errm i think so?? thats why we all stil come back to the forums ,,,we cant remeber how we grow xD

nah man aint ya seen the medical evidence?? not to mension all the research and shit thats on here??
damn some of the things people post and research is insane and damn should be recognised as botanical geniuses with degrees ,

i smoke 7grams aday atleast man and i can tell ya i aint loosin it quite the oppasite

 

[Justinsane]

People have often remarked on my ability to remember things. One reason is I have an active inquiring mind that just loves learning new and interesting stuff.
The fact I am interested in something plays a massive part in remembering things.
A case in point is films, I watch films as entertainment. pure escapism sit back and let it roll and afterwards I'm just happy to had not to think about anything too hard.
So, the point is I really don't remember all the details of a film because I am not putting any importance to it and I have no interest in remembering what was this or that , Where as a film buff will tell you what happened step by step and who was in it and who was not etc because it is important to them , it is their choosen thing to converse with others about.

When we get stoned we enter a different head state where what is important is seen differently because we we are shit faced, in a land of what could be called escapism. We choose to do this, but think of certain stories you remember when in that state, you can tell them to your friends blow by blow to the minutest detail. The reason why is because at that time you were focused/intersted on the event unfolding at that time, no matter that you were stoned at the time.

When we are stoned everything has less importance, we get stoned because it is pleasurable not to have shit to deal with and want to just lay back and relax, which is not to say sometime in this state of mind, we won't find somethings memorable because it is so poignant to our state of mind and whats going on around us.

As I get older and my brain is slowly calcifing the plasticity of our synapses reduces and the ability to create new neural pathways and so it is harder to remember things, especially in the short term.
Long term memory is more hard wired and easier to remember, one of the reason we get set in our ways and find new tech harder to work out.
VCR's was one example, when I was young a lot of old people said I can't work out how to program the damn thing but my 7 year old grandson knows how, same thing happens today with smart phones, older people use it as a phone, where as young people are doing a million thing with them and using a multitude of apps etc

I've been a cannabis user for 25 years and cannabis does not affect my life in any way from day to day when I need to remember something, my mind is working just as it should, but when I decide to leave all my shit behind me and get stoned or even watch a film don't expect me to have a moment by moment detailed memory of it because right at that moment I'm not in a state of mind to remember, in fact almost the complete opposite, I'm relaxed and content and letting it all drift by.

Having said that if should I find my self in a situation, where I am stoned and need to pull my shit together, I can go from one state of mind to another, becoming more alert and having a more highly functioning state of mind, but I will still be intoxicated which still has an effect on decision making and response times but my memory is up and functioning again, due to an interest in self preservation or whatever situation I need to deal with etc

Fuckin hell arty zan...now this is what I call a really good answer. I have never thought in that way about my poor memory but when I think about it now it is fucking SPOT ON.
I must show my GF this thread and your brilliant answer
Love it!

Justin

 

[Wait what?]

 

[Muddy]

I agree that interest level plays a lot into how much we remember when stoned. I believe that I retain everything I've learned, it's just a matter of accessing those memories. So I work at it. I naturally have a head for trivia, jazz and blues history, growing cannabis, all things of high interest to me. I can tell you every member of the 1938 Count Basie Band or the starting line up of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. When I run across something I don't remember immediately I keep working at it. It might take a week or two, but eventually I will remember. Sometimes it's just a matter of something unrelated triggering that memory. It drives my wife nuts. I'll be like "remember that conversation we were having last week and you asked me . . ., well here's the answer. LOL, most of the time she doesn't even remember the conversation, let alone what we were trying to remember. While I do keep notes and a lot of links to useful growing information and reference material, most of the information I dispense here is all from memory.

 

[wwwillie]

My empirical observations:

Me, I a bloody f'n genius, certified even. Tested at 150+, unfortunately I am also add/adhd with a fair amount of dyslexia built in. On top of that I was born in 1955 and growing up they did not know from add/adhd, so I was labeled trouble maker, no self control, the words of my father echo through me and my life "what's wrong with you!" I have an almost eidetic memory that could have been trained much better when I was younger but was not. I quit school in the 11th grade. I have been smoking since 1972, 42 years, with a 12 year hiatus that recently ended in February.

OK that said, I do notice a bit of cloudiness to my thoughts sometimes, but no real memory loss. My wife does comment on how spacey I seem at times. I do think age has a part in it too. I still have difficulty remembering things on demand, but I always have. Like Muddy, things come to me unbidden at another time, but they always come. Alcohol makes me black out, I will not remember anything, now that's memory loss! So I don't drink other than a few beers now and again.

So, maybe a bit of STML as I go through the day, but no major memory dysfunction that I can notice.