Smoking Pot Lowers IQ

[Jihadjoe]

Is there any real consensus about what the IQ tests actually measure? Other than the ability to solve IQ tests?

This is a pretty major issue with drawing any conclusions from IQ tests. It doesn't measure perceptiveness, observation, social or emotional "intelligence". For a long time IQ tests were based heavily on western geometry... This left those who grew up in culture where straight lines, squares and triangles, were not the norm, at a massive disadvantage. They were therefore labelled as "less intelligent".

You'll notice a pattern with IQ tests. The more IQ tests you do, the faster and more adept you become at doing them, as you teach yourself how to quickly solve the sort of problems they present. That doesn't mean you are becoming more intelligent, it just means you're learning the patterns of the tests.

I'd suggest that your social situation directly effects how focused you can be on an IQ test. If you are wondering about the myriad other problems in your life, or are struggling to cope with an underlying depression, then the effort and focus you'll be able to direct towards getting a good score is going to be a something less than awesome, especially when compared to people who don't have such pressing distractions in their life...

As for weed smoked during teenage years contributing to a lower IQ score, I'd suggest it's probably a more pressing concern to look at the social background of the individuals in question. The people who I know who's use of pot would be described as "heavy" or "a problem" are people who were pretty damned unhappy before starting to use the drug.

As for the mental effects of marijuana... Yeah, there is an increased tendancy towards certain mental illnesses and yeah, there's a tendancy towards people ending up with anxiety disorders... But primarily in those who use the drug heavily.

The best thing to look at here would be "why the heavy drug use?"

Social and environmental factors play into this a huge amount. People don't go "Oh hey, I think I'll develop a massive cocaine habit! That seems like fun!" and by the same token, they don't think "Today I will develop a psychological dependancy to weed."

So what is it that's lacking in people's lives for them to try and seek it, whatever 'it' may be, by sinking into a red-eyed coma?

Comfort? A distraction? If your life requires those things to be generated externally, then you're already in a pretty bad state socially anyway.

There is a huge difference between recreational use of a substance (for example, alcohol) and a problem... A few glasses of wine in an evening with some friends over dinner definitely doesn't constitute a problem. A beer after work doesn't either.

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