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The most useless article ever written - Bloody Anus - 09-06-2007
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In order to expedite things and not waste everybody’s I’m sure precious time; I have pasted the article below. It is a pretty lengthy read which I know worries some, but don’t worry. I highlighted the only parts of the story that you need to read.
Pot may hike risk of psychosis, research finds
Even limited use could up chance of serious mental illness by 40 percent
LONDON - Using marijuana seems to increase the chance of becoming psychotic, researchers report in an analysis of past research that reignites the issue of whether pot is dangerous.
The new review suggests that even infrequent use could raise the small but real risk of this serious mental illness by 40 percent.
Doctors have long suspected a connection and say the latest findings underline the need to highlight marijuana’s long-term risks. The research, paid for by the British Health Department, is being published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet.
“The available evidence now suggests that cannabis is not as harmless as many people think,” said Dr. Stanley Zammit, one of the study’s authors and a lecturer in the department of psychological medicine at Cardiff University.
The researchers said they couldn’t prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis, a category of several disorders with schizophrenia being the most commonly known.
There could be something else about marijuana users, “like their tendency to use other drugs or certain personality traits, that could be causing the psychoses,” Zammit said.
Thousands tracked
Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal substance in many countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. About 20 percent of young adults report using it at least once a week, according to government statistics.
Zammit and colleagues from the University of Bristol, Imperial College and Cambridge University examined 35 studies that tracked tens of thousands of people for periods ranging from one year to 27 years to examine the effect of marijuana on mental health.
They looked for psychotic illnesses as well as cognitive disorders including delusions and hallucinations, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, neuroses and suicidal tendencies.
They found that people who used marijuana had roughly a 40 percent higher chance of developing a psychotic disorder later in life. The overall risk remains very low.
For example, Zammit said the risk of developing schizophrenia for most people is less than 1 percent. The prevalence of schizophrenia is believed to be about five in 1,000 people. But because of the drug’s wide popularity, the researchers estimate that about 800 new cases of psychosis could be prevented by reducing marijuana use.
Disturbing outlook
The scientists found a more disturbing outlook for “heavy users” of pot, those who used it daily or weekly: Their risk for psychosis jumped to a range of 50 percent to 200 percent.
One doctor noted that people with a history of mental illness in their families could be at higher risk. For them, marijuana use “could unmask the underlying schizophrenia,” said Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University, who was not involved in the study.
Dr. Wilson Compton, a senior scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Washington, called the study persuasive.
“The strongest case is that there are consistencies across all of the studies,” and that the link was seen only with psychoses — not anxiety, depression or other mental health problems, he said.
Scientists cannot rule out that pre-existing conditions could have led to both marijuana use and later psychoses, he added.
Dispel the misconception
Scientists think it is biologically possible that marijuana could cause psychoses because it interrupts important neurotransmitters such as dopamine. That can interfere with the brain’s communication systems.
Some experts say governments should now work to dispel the misconception that marijuana is a benign drug.
“We’ve reached the end of the road with these kinds of studies,” said Dr. Robin Murray of King’s College, who had no role in the Lancet study. “Experts are now agreed on the connection between cannabis and psychoses. What we need now is for 14-year-olds to know it.”
In the U.K., the government will soon reconsider how marijuana should be classified in its hierarchy of drugs. In 2004, it was downgraded and penalties for possession were reduced. Many expect marijuana will be bumped up to a class “B” category, with offenses likely to lead to arrests or longer jail sentences.
Two of the authors of the study were invited experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Cannabis Review in 2005. Several authors reported being paid to attend drug company-sponsored meetings related to marijuana, and one received consulting fees from companies that make antipsychotic medications.
So in other words, the headline of the article is “pot may hike risk of psychosis”, yet the fifth paragraph states that it couldn’t be proven if marijuana increases the risk of psychosis. So what in the fuck was the point of this article? It says absolutely NOTHING. Then of course there’s the last paragraph, which needs no further commenting. It speaks for itself and tells you all you need to know about the motives behind this study.
This kind of “journalism” or “research” is a complete joke. Anybody can throw out random, unsubstantiated theories and statistics to support whatever cause they want. What’s that? You want proof? Here, case in point. I’ll just recreate this article by replacing a few words here and there:
Eating fish tacos may hike risk of Alzheimer’s, research finds
Even limited consumption could up chance of serious dementia by 80 percent
LONDON – Eating fish tacos seems to increase the chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report in an analysis of past research that reignites the issue of whether fish tacos are dangerous.
The new review suggests that even infrequent consumption could raise the small but real risk of this serious neurodegenerative disease by 80 percent.
Doctors have long suspected a connection and say the latest findings underline the need to highlight Taco Bell’s long-term risks. The research, paid for by Burger King, is being published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet.
“The available evidence now suggests that combining fish with a hard taco shell is not as harmless as many people think,” said Dr. Stanley Zammit, one of the study’s authors and a lecturer in the department of neurological medicine at Cardiff University.
The researchers said they couldn’t prove that eating fish tacos itself increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
There could be something else about fish taco eaters, “like their tendency to eat other disgusting food combinations or certain personality traits, that could be causing the Alzheimer’s,” Zammit said.
Billions tracked
Fish tacos are the most frequently ordered menu item in many taco restaurants, including Taco Bell. About 90 percent of young adults report eating them at least twice a day, according to government statistics.
Zammit and colleagues from the University of Arkansas, Imperial College and Iona University examined 185 studies that tracked hundreds of billions of people for periods ranging from twelve minutes to 8 years to examine the effect of fish tacos on mental health.
They looked for signs of memory loss as well as other disorders including delusions and hallucinations, bleeding eyes, bipolar disorder, depression, explosive diarrhea, hair loss and HIV.
They found that people who eat fish tacos had roughly an 80 percent higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The overall risk remains very low.
For example, Zammit said the risk of developing Alzheimer’s for most people is less than 61 percent. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s is believed to be about nine in 84,397 people. But because of the food’s wide popularity, the researchers estimate that about 950,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s could be prevented by reducing the consumption of fish tacos.
Disturbing outlook
The scientists found a more disturbing outlook for “heavy users” of fish tacos, those who eat it hourly or daily: Their risk for Alzheimer’s jumped to a range of 85 percent to 700 percent.
One doctor noted that people with a history of Alzheimer’s or dementia in their families could be at higher risk. For them, eating fish tacos “could unmask the underlying Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, an associate professor of economics at Bethune Cookman University, who was not involved in the study.
Dr. Wilson Compton, a senior custodian at the National Institute on Fast Food Abuse in Albany, called the study persuasive.
“The strongest case is that there are consistencies across all of the studies,” and that the link was seen only with Alzheimer’s — not anxiety, depression, cancer, gout, athlete’s foot, or other health problems, he said.
Scientists cannot rule out that pre-existing conditions could have led to both fish taco consumption and later Alzheimer’s, he added.
Dispel the misconception
Scientists think it is biologically possible that fish tacos could cause Alzheimer’s because it interrupts important neurotransmitters such as dopamine. That can interfere with the brain’s communication systems.
Some experts say governments should now work to dispel the misconception that fish tacos are a benign menu item.
“We’ve reached the end of the road with these kinds of studies,” said Dr. Robin Murray of King’s College, who had no role in the Lancet study.
“Experts are now agreed on the connection between fish tacos and Alzheimer’s. What we need now is for 14-year-olds to know it.”
In the U.K., the government will soon reconsider how fish tacos should be classified in its hierarchy of fast food menu items. In 2004, it was downgraded and penalties for possession were reduced. Many expect fish tacos will be bumped up to a class “B” category, with offenses likely to lead to constipation or longer time on the toilet bowl.
Two of the authors of the study were invited experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Fast Food Review in 2005. Several authors reported being paid to attend Burger King-sponsored meetings related to fish tacos, and one received consulting fees from companies that make regular, safe, meat tacos.
Re: The most useless article ever written - Goatweed - 09-06-2007
so I shouldn't smoke fish tacos?
Re: The most useless article ever written - Mad - 09-06-2007
Shouldn't be much of a problem for you, pole smoker!111!!!1!11!1!1
Re: The most useless article ever written - The Jays - 09-07-2007
I do recall seeing this as a news item on msnbc a few weeks ago, they're always throwing out articles intended to frighten and attempt to be informative while failing in both respects completely once reading comprehension is applied.
Re: The most useless article ever written - Goatweed - 09-07-2007
but fish tacos are fuckin' good, maaaaaaaaaaaaaan!