Marijuana and the MCAT

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ssjsike

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Hi All,

How does the use of marijuana affect one's ability to study and do well on the MCAT? I have heard/read a lot of conflicting information regarding marijuana's effects on memory and cognitive skills. I have also searched for answers on this website from the experiences of other individuals, but have not found the answers that I was looking for.

I know an individual who will be studying for the MCAT during this summer. This individual wants to know if there will be any adverse effects if he/she uses a vaporizer at night as a way to relax and unwind from a long day of studying. This individual has no intent of using marijuana at the same time that he/she is studying.

Can members of SDN please give feedback regarding this matter? Also, please do not input your opinion regarding legality and ethics of using marijuana. This individual is located in a state where marijuana use is legal with a prescription. Also, the individual has obtained the proper prescription to legally use it. Thank You.
 
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ssjsike said:
Hi All,

How does the use of marijuana affect one's ability to study and do well on the MCAT? I have heard/read a lot of conflicting information regarding marijuana's effects on memory and cognitive skills. I have also searched for answers on this website from the experiences of other individuals, but have not found the answers that I was looking for.

I know an individual who will be studying for the MCAT during this summer. This individual wants to know if there will be any adverse effects if he/she uses a vaporizer at night as a way to relax and unwind from a long day of studying. This individual has no intent of using marijuana at the same time that he/she is studying.

Can members of SDN please give feedback regarding this matter? Also, please do not input your opinion regarding legality and ethics of using marijuana. This individual is located in a state where marijuana use is legal with a prescription. Also, the individual has obtained the proper prescription to legally use it. Thank You.
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I don't recommend studying (or driving, or working) while high. Marijuana tends to do the opposite of helping you process information and memorize. I can only imagine it being used during downtime to relieve stress.
 
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I don't think there are going to be any adverse side effects. How long does your friend use the vaporizer for? Maybe it'll mess up their sleep cycle a little bit if they can't go to sleep while high, I guess...

This isn't professional advice though. I've smoked weed a few times before, and it didn't adversely affect me after the effects wore off.
 
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I took a neurobiology class at UC and a student asked the professor if weed is bad and he reluctantly said no. As long as you don't abuse it I don't think it will mess up your brain.
 
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No one on this forum is an expert in anything remotely close to answering this. Don't waste your time getting high, it will only keep you from using your time to study.
 
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Hahaha.... Might want to do a lit review on this. I'd suggest the search phrases "state based learning AND marijuana" "cognitive performance AND marijuana" "memory deficit AND marijuana" etc.
 
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Opposing actions of chronic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinoid antagonists on hippocampal long-term potentiation Alexander F. Hoffman,1 Murat Oz,1 Ruiqin Yang,2 Aron H. Lichtman,2 and Carl R. Lupica1,3

"Although cannabinoids acutely reduce glutamate release and block hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a potential substrate for learning and memory, the consequences of prolonged exposure to Δ9-THC for hippocampal function are poorly understood."

"The complete blockade of LTP persisted for 3 d after the last Δ9-THC injection, and full reversal of the LTP deficit was not observed up to 14 d following Δ9-THC withdrawal."
 
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Overmjnd said:
Opposing actions of chronic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinoid antagonists on hippocampal long-term potentiation Alexander F. Hoffman,1 Murat Oz,1 Ruiqin Yang,2 Aron H. Lichtman,2 and Carl R. Lupica1,3

"Although cannabinoids acutely reduce glutamate release and block hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a potential substrate for learning and memory, the consequences of prolonged exposure to Δ9-THC for hippocampal function are poorly understood."

"The complete blockade of LTP persisted for 3 d after the last Δ9-THC injection, and full reversal of the LTP deficit was not observed up to 14 d following Δ9-THC withdrawal."
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Might I suggest something in the cognitive sciences. You're going to get more useful information by looking at studies of cognitive performance instead of neurobiological studies that focus on potentiation. The issues seem to come up primarily from being high either during study or during the exam itself. As this abstract indicates, long-term effects are poorly understood. What IS well understood are the state based learning effects associated with marijuana.
 
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apumic said:
Might I suggest something in the cognitive sciences. You're going to get more useful information by looking at studies of cognitive performance instead of neurobiological studies that focus on potentiation. The issues seem to come up primarily from being high either during study or during the exam itself. As this abstract indicates, long-term effects are poorly understood. What IS well understood are the state based learning effects associated with marijuana.
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LTP is how you learn long-term declarative memory (IE facts, like MCAT equations), and while a molecular mechanism, has definite cognitive effects. The mind isn't independent of the body, it seems.

The issue at stake isn't the long term effects, in the sense that the article indicates (long term effects generally refer to permanent damage, which is not associated with THC). However, it is saying there is a definite time period that your LTP-dependent learning is impaired. In other words, you will not remember what you studied during that window very well, let's say 1-2 months later when you have your MCAT and need to rely on LTP-dependent memory.
 
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I took neuropsychopharmacology and it had a chapter on cannabinoids and their effects. I know that marijuana definitely affects short term memory and overall, it is a bad idea to smoke anytime while studying during the mcat. (Marijuana will not only affect your short term memory, it will make you less motivated and often times more lazy, regardless of whether you smoke late at night prior to going to sleep.

Also, I remember the molecular mechanism in which it affects memory. In the class, it stated that Calcium uptake in the axon terminal was affected, and as a result, transmitter release was reduced. This affects the way the neurons communicated with one another and thus, the way circuits were formed and neuronal firing (neurons that fire together wire together).

so, although you stated your in a state where it is legal (I'm assuming california, it doesn't make it any better). Most people who use weed "legally" use it to reduce intraoccular pressure or they use it to increase their appetite (chemotherapy patients). So I don't really see how it would benefit you to do it at night; if you want to unwind, drink a jack and coke.👍 that way you'l unwind and not risk affecting your memory.
 
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Thank you everyone for your feedback! Keep it coming! Why is it that I have heard about people who used marijuana a lot while preparing for the MCAT and still scored 35+? Are they fibbing? Also, please note the individual I am speaking about does not study while being in an impaired state. He/She becomes impaired at night after studying.
 
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ssjsike said:
Thank you everyone for your feedback! Keep it coming! Why is it that I have heard about people who used marijuana a lot while preparing for the MCAT and still scored 35+? Are they fibbing? Also, please note the individual I am speaking about does not study while being in an impaired state. He/She becomes impaired at night after studying.
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Who the hell says "fibbing"?
 
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Thank you everyone for your feedback! Keep it coming! Why is it that I have heard about people who used marijuana a lot while preparing for the MCAT and still scored 35+? Are they lying?
 
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ssjsike said:
Thank you everyone for your feedback! Keep it coming! Why is it that I have heard about people who used marijuana a lot while preparing for the MCAT and still scored 35+? Are they lying?
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As long as we're on this track, people also take the the MCAT without studying and score 35+. I think you're overstating the correlation between MJ and performance on the MCAT.

I think you can break down success on the MCAT to 4 main components: intelligence, aptitude for standardized test-taking, study habits, and luck. I'm pretty sure if you're relying on cannabis as the magic bullet that will get you a 35+, you're doing something wrong.
 
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Whatyousay said:
As long as we're on this track, people also take the the MCAT without studying and score 35+. I think you're overstating the correlation between MJ and performance on the MCAT.

I think you can break down success on the MCAT to 4 main components: intelligence, aptitude for standardized test-taking, study habits, and luck. I'm pretty sure if you're relying on cannabis as the magic bullet that will get you a 35+, you're doing something wrong.
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Great Point! Very insightful!
 
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plzNOCarribbean said:
. So I don't really see how it would benefit you to do it at night; if you want to unwind, drink a jack and coke.👍 that way you'l unwind and not risk affecting your memory.
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Alcohol increases NMDA activity which can lead to exitotoxic death due to increased glutamate activity from my understanding.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1993.tb00720.x/abstract

I do know guys who smoke regularly that scored very high, but they would have scored high without it. They used to sleep and chill out and relax/treat insomnia. One thing to note these were very driven and mostly smoked to overcome the effect of legally prescribed adderall.
 
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It depends on the person in particular. Some people can smoke to unwind and their attention span/ability to absorb information isn't affected at all. I know someone who just graduated from UCB with a 4.0 who smokes nearly every day. I also know someone who found smoking affects her ability to focus in class, even up to a week later.
 
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ridethecliche said:
You sound like you have no insight.
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LOL! You are correct!!! I don't have insight, which is why I made the post in the first place!!!😀


To everyone else, thank you for the information. I am glad that there are people who actually want to help answer my questions instead of being mean about it.
 
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The fact that you'd even ask this question shows how naive you really are.

I have tons of friends who are brilliant and smoke tons of the ganja. They're not smart because of it. Correlation does not imply causation.
 
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ridethecliche said:
The fact that you'd even ask this question shows how naive you really are.

I have tons of friends who are brilliant and smoke tons of the ganja. They're not smart because of it. Correlation does not imply causation.
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I don't know what your problem is, but I asked this question because I DIDN'T know the answer. I realize that not knowing the answer to questions might show lack of insight and naivety.

Next, I never implied that correlation implies causation. Once again, I was sincerely asking members of this forum to give their own insights in order to improve my own.
 
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For those of you who have inhaled, you know that the effects of THC are evident even after the day you smoke. The extent to which these aftereffects exist depends on the amount of marijuana you smoke and how often you smoke.

I wouldn't recommend smoking ALOT while studying for the mcat. You're going to need every bit of your cognition and memory to study. However, from the experience of others, I can say that smoking every now and then wont do any harm. If anything, it may just make you feel more lazy, tired, and slightly stupid- all of which can be reversed upon the cessation of smoking marijuana.
 
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psychme said:
For those of you who have inhaled, you know that the effects of THC are evident even after the day you smoke. The extent to which these aftereffects exist depends on the amount of marijuana you smoke and how often you smoke.

I wouldn't recommend smoking ALOT while studying for the mcat. You're going to need every bit of your cognition and memory to study. However, from the experience of others, I can say that smoking every now and then wont do any harm. If anything, it may just make you feel more lazy, tired, and slightly stupid- all of which can be reversed upon the cessation of smoking marijuana.
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Thank you for providing this information!
 
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Some years ago I took a cognitive psychology class that addressed a similar question. Apparently, your best performance is if you study sober and take the test sober. However, if you take the test high and study high, you do better than if you took the test sober/study high or took the test high/study sober.

I don't know whether the people in this study who "studied high" got high before their study sessions or during their study sessions.
 
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yes! and listen to some bedouin soundclash while ur at it. im determined to get an amazing score on the mcat while smokin regularly. il let u guys kno how that goes in about 3 or 4 months
 
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It just depends what strain you're smoking. Avoid indicas, look for sativas. Indicas will couch lock you and make you sleepy, sativas do all kinds of good wonders mentally.
 
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SurfWaxAmerica said:
It just depends what strain you're smoking. Avoid indicas, look for sativas. Indicas will couch lock you and make you sleepy, sativas do all kinds of good wonders mentally.
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this man knows wat hes talkin about hes from LA.. too bad its ridiculously hard to find someone who deals sativas i wish i knew someone
 
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2308954

Abstract

[3H]CP 55,940, a radiolabeled synthetic cannabinoid, which is 10-100 times more potent in vivo than delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, was used to characterize and localize a specific cannabinoid receptor in brain sections. The potencies of a series of natural and synthetic cannabinoids as competitors of [3H]CP 55,940 binding correlated closely with their relative potencies in several biological assays, suggesting that the receptor characterized in our in vitro assay is the same receptor that mediates behavioral and pharmacological effects of cannabinoids, including human subjective experience. Autoradiography of cannabinoid receptors in brain sections from several mammalian species, including human, reveals a unique and conserved distribution; binding is most dense in outflow nuclei of the basal ganglia--the substantia nigra pars reticulata and globus pallidus--and in the hippocampus and cerebellum. Generally high densities in forebrain and cerebellum implicate roles for cannabinoids in cognition and movement. Sparse densities in lower brainstem areas controlling cardiovascular and respiratory functions may explain why high doses of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol are not lethal.
 
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http://www.jneurosci.org/content/19/16/6795.short

Cannabinoids, the active constituents of marijuana, are known to impair learning and memory. Receptors for cannabinoids are highly expressed in the hippocampus, a brain region that is believed to play an important role in certain forms of learning and memory. To investigate the possible contribution of cannabinoid receptor-mediated deficits in hippocampal function to the learning and memory impairments produced by marijuana, we studied the effects of cannabinoid receptor activation on two models of learning and memory, long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), in hippocampal slices. Although LTP and LTD of CA1 field potentials were blocked by cannabinoid receptor activation in the presence of Mg2+, they could be induced after Mg2+ was removed. Similarly, LTP and LTD of whole-cell EPSCs were unimpaired in the presence of cannabinoid receptor agonist when the postsynaptic membrane was depolarized during the LTP or LTD induction protocol. Cannabinoid receptor activation also reduced EPSCs and enhanced paired-pulse facilitation, while having no effect on the amplitude of spontaneous miniature EPSCs. Finally, as with cannabinoid receptor activation, inhibition of LTP by adenosine receptor activation could be overcome by removal of Mg2+ or depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane during tetanus. Our results indicate that cannabinoid receptor activation does not directly inhibit the molecular mechanisms responsible for long-term synaptic plasticity but instead impairs LTP and LTD by reducing presynaptic neurotransmitter release to a level below that required to depolarize the postsynaptic membrane to relieve Mg2+ blockade of NMDA receptors.
 
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ssjsike said:
Hi All,

How does the use of marijuana affect one's ability to study and do well on the MCAT? I have heard/read a lot of conflicting information regarding marijuana's effects on memory and cognitive skills. I have also searched for answers on this website from the experiences of other individuals, but have not found the answers that I was looking for.

I know an individual who will be studying for the MCAT during this summer. This individual wants to know if there will be any adverse effects if he/she uses a vaporizer at night as a way to relax and unwind from a long day of studying. This individual has no intent of using marijuana at the same time that he/she is studying.

Can members of SDN please give feedback regarding this matter? Also, please do not input your opinion regarding legality and ethics of using marijuana. This individual is located in a state where marijuana use is legal with a prescription. Also, the individual has obtained the proper prescription to legally use it. Thank You.
Click to expand...


It might not affect you since the MCAT is more of a logic than a memory test, but I wouldn't continue your weed smoking in medical school, because the first two years are all memorization and you are going to forget a ton of **** if you're smoking it daily.
 
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The effect (and even the after-effect) of mj really varies depending on the person. There are people (many of them from my experience) who can smoke frequently and have 0 to little impact on their performance. But of course that is not true for everyone. I think it depends on one's personality and perspective on it as well (for exp if someone THINKS smoking a little at the end of the night helps him relax and perform better the next day, i wouldnt be surprised if there is a psychological effect that really can benefit his performance or study habits. and vice versa).

Obviously stop if hes scoring very low on practice mcats, but if hes doing well, is on schedule, and confident about the exam, it really wont hurt. There are daily smokers in medical school..or at least used-to-be daily smokers in college.
 
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