Herbal Memory

... i am actually currently trying to piece together numerous thoughts into an essay about marijuana law reform, based around a new report recently published collating all current data and research in an effort to lift the international negativity towards the drug through the UN's international policies on psychoactives. Thus far, it is generally believed that it impairs memory. This research about alzheimers of course could prove otherwise.

I personally have long held the belief that we only have a rather limited conception of memory. Certainly in western culture anyway where we valorize the importance of recall over and above anything else. For example, most psychology is focussed on retaining a conventional sense of normality, or trying to understand exceptions of this in the context of aberration. Marijuana, along with other pscyhedellics, open us up to other realms of consciousness and therefore surely to other, wider conceptions of memory. It is here that I see the issue converge with altered states of mind not induced by material substances, such as hypnosis and other trance states that can cause people to remember past lives and recall details of things they could not physically have been present at.

The loss of short term memory whilst under the influence of marijuana surely allows one to enter that nether realm of memory. Somewhere one returns from with other areas of their brain (and memory) refreshed; and new ones awakened and over time, sharpened.

"recall ability is unduly emphasized above curiosity, investigation, creativity, laughter..." Well put!

As, for alzheimers, it deserves more research on my part certainly, but as i understand it at the moment, it is a complex and contradictory condition. I mean, apart from the fact that weed might actually help it, I was under the impression, as you point out, that an active mind could help stave off the condition in later life. However, Terry Pratchett, a wonderfully eccentric and witty literary figure in Britian, is bringing new attention to it because he is suffering from it himself and has been for a number of years. He is relatively young for one and certainly has an active mind and imagination! I'd recommend his books to anyone with a vague interest in fantasy and a sense of humour! So that is contrary to a popular conception of alzheimers.

Anyway, maybe you could emlighten me further?...

All of these comments raise interesting points. I too wonder at the efficacy of such reports on the mass because, as also pointed out here, although the anti-weed propaganda has got less ridiculous, the desire to rid us of its subversive qualities still exists and the propaganda has become more sophisticated. Not to the likes of you and I, but thats the point.

However, I do have to agree (optimistically) that each of these reports edges us closer towards true reform. I actually aim to post an article i'm currrently writing on all of this on RS quite soon. I look particularly at this: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/policy/cannabis_commission.html and discuss all these issues.