# stupid stoners might just be living up to a sterotype



## prplchknz (Nov 30, 2010)

Are Stoners Really Dumb, or Do They Just Think They Are? – TIME Healthland


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

Most of the stoners I have known were deeply intellectual, but then, maybe pot does different things to different people, and the ones I was friends with were mostly people who used it for similar reasons. I think it's frequently good for idealists and rationals, and I think it also brings out the best in certain SP types, contrary to what some people may believe based on the stereotypes. I've only known a few dumb stoners, and I suspect they were just as dumb before they became stoners. 

Interesting things to think about, though. I'm sure self-perception does influence mental performance.


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## Awakening (Nov 30, 2010)

I didn't read it, but as a stoner myself, I never consider myself stupid and I never act it, either. I have had people tell me I'm borderline genius before... but I don't think I'm that uhh genius?


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

Yes, _stoners_ are borderline retarded. Because to me, a stoner is someone who smokes pot all day every day and their brain is fried and the only pronoun they know is "dude". 

Casual/recreational pot smokers however, I've found are as smart or dumb as anyone else.


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## prplchknz (Nov 30, 2010)

Thrifty Walrus said:


> Yes, _stoners_ are borderline retarded. Because to me, a stoner is someone who smokes pot all day every day and their brain is fried and the only pronoun they know is "dude".
> 
> Casual/recreational pot smokers however, I've found are as smart or dumb as anyone else.


read the god damn article.


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

prplchknz said:


> read the god damn article.


..... I did, sorry that the article didn't change my mind.


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## sarek (May 20, 2010)

What I am seeing in the article is that its not the effects of pot smoking what was studied but the effects of answering in the way that was expected of the test subjects.

Of course, in reality there is no reason whatsoever that pot smokers should be less intelligent than anyone else. Personally I would say its the other way around but that is a strictly personal opinion which I have no way to prove.


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## Mutatio NOmenis (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm not taking that sort of drug; I have a great brain and I don't want to fuck it up.


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## Hiccups24-7 (Oct 17, 2009)

snail said:


> I've only known a few dumb stoners, and I suspect they were just as dumb before they became stoners.


this^^^

I think some people are just desperate to label any body of people as one thing regardless of what it is...but really it's impossible to do that. We are all different and to suggest otherwise is well.......stupid. Go figure. If someone is willing to think they are a part of a stereotype then perhaps there is a chance they are stupid... but then... define stupid. :S


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## Choptop (Nov 20, 2010)

Mm, most conversations I have with stoners are not very intellectual. But I could also be biased on the subject matter. I find that their opinions are infinitely more amazing if I'm high myself.


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

Hiccups24-7 said:


> this^^^
> 
> I think some people are just desperate to label any body of people as one thing regardless of what it is...but really it's impossible to do that. We are all different and to suggest otherwise is well.......stupid. Go figure. If someone is willing to think they are a part of a stereotype then perhaps there is a chance they are stupid... but then... define stupid. :S


So to say our DNA is actually 99.9% alike and twins are more like 99.95% makes me stupid? Who is really more close minded here!?


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## Hiccups24-7 (Oct 17, 2009)

Thrifty Walrus said:


> So to say our DNA is actually 99.9% alike and twins are more like 99.95% makes me stupid? Who is really more close minded here!?


lols...huh? How did you get that from my post? Well without twisting my words? Actually don't answer that as I really don't care. *adds troll to ignore*


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

Hiccups24-7 said:


> lols...huh? How did you get that from my post? Well without twisting my words? Actually don't answer that as I really don't care. *adds troll to ignore*


"We are all different and to suggest otherwise is well.......stupid."

I'm just saying that you claim that to suggest people are not different, is stupid. So I'm just pointing out that when it comes to our DNA we are actually all almost the exact same. So I just said that I suppose this would make me stupid according to you; and it's ironic that you would stereotype me as stupid whilst not really knowing me, since you are trying to defend an open minded point of view.


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## Hiccups24-7 (Oct 17, 2009)

Thrifty Walrus said:


> "We are all different and to suggest otherwise is well.......stupid."
> 
> I'm just saying that you claim that to suggest people are not different, is stupid. So I'm just pointing out that when it comes to our DNA we are actually all almost the exact same. So I just said that I suppose this would make me stupid according to you; and it's ironic that you would stereotype me as stupid whilst not really knowing me, since you are trying to defend an open minded point of view.



Well that is the way it appears to me because you twisted my words in order to attack me *post reported*.


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## prplchknz (Nov 30, 2010)

............................................


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

Hiccups24-7 said:


> Well that is the way it appears to me because you twisted my words in order to attack me *post reported*.


Lol I didn't twist anything, I quoted you exactly :laughing:

And you didn't attack anyone by saying "We are all different and *to suggest otherwise is well.......stupid*."?

Maybe I should report you too then? If you didn't actually mean that 100% of people who don't agree with your statement are stupid, then you could have just corrected yourself.....

To get back to the OP - I disagree with Hiccups in that everyone is different, I think while we do have subtle differences they are smaller than we like to imagine them. If everyone realized we are really the same there would probably be much less war and fighting in general (imo)

edit: So I think that the vast majority of people who smoke pot very frequently are actually less intelligent, rather than "living up to a stereotype" that the article suggests.


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## Ormazd (Jan 26, 2010)

I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't have any long term effects, however the short term effects seem debilitating enough for me to be completely confused as to why anyone would do it.

And in my experience stoners seem to try to be intellectual but don't really have the capacity for it (when they're stoned).


As for the article.

They mention how reminding someone about their sterotypes makes them fit into that stereotype. So why is it at all remarkable when that happens concerning pot? (Or for the majority of the women make them resist the stereotype.) 

And did they not compare tests with people who do not smoke pot? Wouldn't it be possible for the pot smokers tests to be worse than the non-pot smokers tests?

This seems like a silly and reduntant article to me.


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## Dupree (Feb 21, 2010)

The evidence automatically goes against anyone who claims either side of this hypothesis. That is, to say stoners are more intelligent is false and to say they're less intelligent is false, and claiming to know either assumption is false. I'd wager smoking it every day might hinder specific intellectual capabilities, heighten others, and have no effect on the rest.


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## OxidativeCleavage (Dec 27, 2010)

Scientific literature shows that chronic pot users have no lasting negative cognitive effects a month after completely quitting.. Intelligence is severely diminished *while* using pot and the jury is still out regarding any long-term damage to the structure of the brain... 

This is because pot restricts blood circulation, the most relevant area affected here are the small veins and capillaries in the brain... because the human brain requires consistent blood flow to function normally... What happens in pot smokers - while they are smoking pot and up to a month after they quit - is their brains get sporadic blood flow that can be compared to a busted hose or faucet shooting water out at random intervals etc... The neurochemistry is also responsible for the negative effects etc.. 

All of this results in negative effects on the structure of the brain and thus cognition... it manifests in the stereotypical characteristics of pot smokers that cause some people to think pot smokers are "stupid".. in reality they are - but it is not a lasting effect - at least according to the studies which did point out that - on average - there don't seem to be any extremely intelligent pot smokers (i.e. most of them retain average intelligence) and there seemed to be other long-lasting negative effects for people that chronically smoke pot - such as underemployment, high drop out rates, financial problems, etc... No correlation could be made to determine if pot was the cause of the negative social status or if the negative social status results in pot use... It was also impossible to determine if intelligence was higher prior to pot use and then subsequently lowered afterwards - although pot smokers did "self-report" feeling as though they were not what they used to be and that pot had a negative impact on their lives etc... but that is all anecdotal and can't really be proven scientifically (from the data collected in the studies I am referencing)...


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## Teigue (Jun 8, 2010)

Interesting, we learned about this in sociology.....the self for-filling prophecy!


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