The name of the article chosen is Cognitive Functioning of Long-term Heavy Cannabis Users Seeking Treatment. Published in March 6, 2002 by the Journal of the American Medical Association, this article outlines and experiment on the effects of cannibis on cognitive functions on both long- and short-term users. The burning question of this experiment is whether or not short- and long-term cannabis use affects cognitive functioning beyond the intoxication experienced directly after use, and this experiments hypothesis states that cognitive performance would deteriorate with as the years of cannabis use increased. My interest in the topic stems from the debates between millions of people across the country about the classification of marijuana, whether or not it should be legalized and whether or not it should be considered a controlled substance. Memory and reaction are already known to be both chemical and electrical processes, and the study of cannabis" effects on these functions is crucial to the further evaluation of this drug.
Review:.
The overall purpose of this experiment is to measure the different cognitive dysfunctions associated with cannabis use, such as memory loss and word recognition. 102 cannabis users, 51 long-term users (avg. use 23.9 years) and 51 short-term users (avg. use 10.2 years) were the experiment group, split between long- and short-term use. These subjects were recruited from recovery centers, confidentiality and consent were considered and accommodated in accord with ethics rules of the United States. A control group of 33 people was formed to isolate the effects of marijuana from other confounding variables. These variables, such as age, IQ, ect. were controlled via statistical measures. This control group was found using advertisements and were aware they were the control group. No double-blind practices were used in this experiment. Members of the experiment group included users of at least three years who worked at least once a day and seeking treatment.