Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone!
I just wanted to ask if anyone has had experience with smoking weed, and had any problems with memory and focus, and trying to improve it.
I've not been in a very good place for a few years now, and my way of coping and escaping from things was to smoke weed. I've done this for maybe 4 or 5 years now. I recently stopped smoking (at the start of this year), in an attempt to improve my short term memory and focus. I used to have a really good short term memory, I used to be able to remember things without even really thinking about it. I know there are many factors in my life that have had an affect on my memory (bad eating, drinking habits (not alcohol) a lot of energy drinks, lack of exercise, not enough sleep, depression... the list goes on) but obviously the weed had the biggest impact on my memory and focus. I have noticed a big improvement since stopping, but it still isn't what it was. I've read about various studies into weed use and memory / focus, and based on what most of them say, I don't believe i've smoked enough to do permenant damage. I've read that eating better and drinking more water can help improve my state of mind, as well as regular exercise, which I am doing all of this. I also know it isn't going to happen right away, but i'd like to ask if anyone else has found themselves in a similar situation, and were you able to get back to how your memory once was, if so, what would you recommend doing to help improve it? Are there any activities, or maybe even mind games, that will help me get back to how I was?
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
I know that specific extracts of Cannabis can be very effective for pain management & hope the Government gets it's act together to allow their use for people with otherwise untreatable conditions, but I would be very wary of smoking it untreated using supplies of unknown strength or origin.
I tried it myself a couple of times at University, but found it quite boring & honestly prefer alcohol. That was forty years ago though, well before it had been selectively cultured to massively increase the THC content, thus creating the much more dangerous variant 'Skunk'.
Whilst it is true that millions of people have used ordinary Cannabis recreationally & suffered few ill effects (if any), in people with a history of mental illness, or with the dormant propensity to develop it, continued use of even regular Cannabis can potentially trigger permanent changes like Psychosis & Schizophrenia. Usage of Skunk obviously carries a far greater risk though, due to the increased strength. Since it isn't usually possible to know whether you might be susceptible (unless for example there is a family history of mental illness), the question you have to ask is whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Personally I have enough mental health problems without wanting to trigger any more & wouldn't touch any other illegal drugs for similar reasons, e.g. frequent use of 'Ecstacy' has been linked to having a higher chance of problems with depression in later life, which seems an obvious consequence when you think of how the drug chemically operates on your brain.
As with many things that are considered 'Counter Culture', any attempt at caution or criticism results in conspiracy theories about government control from it's advocates. Despite evidence from many seperate studies linking Cannabis & especially Skunk to mental illness, the usual excuses are that the medical studies are fake, governments just want to control people's lives, take away their freedoms, stop them from having a good time, etc etc.
Another argument I often hear used is that alcohol is far more dangerous, but as far as I am concerned that only further proves my point. I have always been able to safely consume alcohol without risking becoming an alcoholic. There are several alcoholics in my Dad's extended family, but luckily we both seem to have dodged that genetic bullet & neither of us has problems with alcohol despite drinking quite a lot of it. One of my best friends is a 'Binge Cycle' alcholic though, meaning that he can go months without drinking then falls off the wagon spectacularly & drinks so much that it almost kills him (actually he has technically died several times already due to alcohol overdose). When he is sober though, apart from the permanent liver damage he is otherwise fine, with no ongoing mental health problems yet. Provided you aren't an alcoholic though & don't drink to excess, in my personal opinion alcohol is much safer because it naturally occurs within your body & consequently your body knows exactly how to deal with it.
I understand all the arguments about legalising drugs making society safer & taking the money away from criminal gangs to give to the NHS, but in my opinion this would just encourage many people who would have otherwise avoided them to succumb to peer pressure & expose themselves to risk. Peer pressure seems to be at the root of most problems linked to excessive alcohol consumption in younger people, with anyone that doesn't want to constantly go out & get hammered being ridiculed. If many common illegal drugs were suddenly legitimised, it does worry me that some people would be pressured into taking them to avoid criticism. I can remember watching a TV program where it was discussed that the initial reason that crash helmets & seatbelts were made compulsory was that they wanted to neutralise the toxic cultural belief that 'real men' didn't need them.
To be clear, I am not criticising people who do choose to use illegal drugs, I just don't know what the longer terms effects would be for me personally due to potential genetic factors & would rather not take the risk.