--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradh...@...> wrote: > > > On Feb 25, 2009, at 10:30 AM, grate.swan wrote: > > >> In his books on meditation, Zen master and neurologist Jim Austin not > >> only goes into the bodies endogenous "drug" producing systems, he > >> also goes over the research on all the major recreational drugs as > >> well. > >> > >> On marijuana he shares an interesting study of 311 grown twins, where > >> one twin had used marijuana before 17, the other had not. The twin > >> who HAD used marijuana before 17 was 2.1 to 5.2 times more likely to > >> engage in other drug use, to develop alcohol dependence and to > >> develop some drug dependence. It true, it would back the idea of > >> marijuana being a gateway drug. (But clearly Austin is also of a > >> previous generation, he was born in 1925, and he seems to abhor all > >> drug use, even of botanicals.) > >> > >> Marijuana also decrease theta waves globally in the brain and > >> "disrupts both the transient attentional and the more sustained > >> functions that the subjects require to solve working memory tasks." > >> > > > > And the point is? > > The point is, it's effects on the brain are real and not necessarily > helpful for certain people in certain situations where quick memory > retrieval is necessary.
Yes? And? Per my prior post -- some activities are not enhanced with cannabis. Don't do them. We are not talking using it 24/7 whereby the features of cnnabis are permanent. And the gateway drug thing may not be a myth. > Put it this way: I don't want to be the heart attack victim in an ER > with the Doc who just returned from two weeks of constantly being > stoned in Jamaica who can't remember what WTF to do next, I hope you realized what a crap argument that is. Else I might wonder how meditation affects logical and rational areas of the brain. The effects on memory are DURING its use. nor do I > want that guy as my pilot trying to land by plane in the Hudson river > in a pinch. Nor do I necessarily want him working on my home or > building my car. > Crap squared. > > > > The obvious seems to be being ignored in some of these posts. Cannabis > > produces an altered state. As does meditation (different ones). Some > > activities are enhanced by cannabis, others are diminished. As with > > all altered states. That's the point. The suspension (during the > > state, not after) of short-term memory is a BENEFIT of the altered > > state. It gets rid of the clutter in the mind, the monkey/rat response > > to everything, the chatter of the mind. In that state, different > > perceptions and thoughts, connections, insights arise. > > > > Sort of like when you sleep -- sleep is not dismissed as a dangerous > > state just because memory is impaired in sleep -- as is motor > > coordination. Don't drive while sleeping! Does that mean sleeping is > > bad in general? > > > > Meditation also reduces short term memory during that state. And it > > impairs motor coordination during that state. Should we ban meditation > > because it imparirs the ability to drive a car during the altered > > state? > > > > > > > >> It's interesting that in Ayurveda, a botanical that causes excitation > >> of the cerebral cortex is used as the antidote for marijuana. > > > > What botanical is that? > > Calamus root. >
