DRUGS: WARNING - CANNABIS MAY CAUSE INCREASED LEVELS OF INTELLIGENCE

Dear Editor,

By now you have seen some press coverage of the new Carleton study of
cannabis and IQ published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, and
you might be surprised to learn that the study found that moderate cannabis
use actually increases IQ scores.

Funny about all that press coverage, especially the hatchet job and "Reefer
Madness" headlines that came out of the CP wire service.

The actual Cannabis/IQ study is on the CMAJ website, with the conclusions
of the study as they are actually written by the scientists who did the
study, including the finding that moderate cannabis use (less than five
joints a week) increases IQ, and that any teen or young adult who quits
after extended periods of heavy use fully recovers prior cognitive functioning.

Johns Hopkins came to similar conclusions on the same subject, but for an
age-group 20 to 65.

The massive Johns Hopkins study of cannabis and cognition examined almost a
thousand individuals in their twenties to fifties for a ten-year period,
and found no cognitive decline, even among heavy users of cannabis, when
compared to a control group who had never done cannabis. The study did not
test IQ, but did use a number of other respected scientific tests of
cognitive function.

The Johns Hopkins' study should be kept in mind when looking at the recent
JAMA-published study from Australia possible permanent loss of cognitive
ability for heavy cannabis users: that study tested heavy users who had not
ceased smoking cannabis for any length of time, and an editorial by a
respected Harvard Professor and researcher in the same issue of JAMA
basically trashed the Australian conclusions on those grounds.

As you read this, keep in mind the permanent destruction of brain cells and
IQ that are a proven result of "heavy" drinking.

Chris Donald via e-mail