How could cannabis alter the teenage brain?

28 August 2012

When a teenager smokes cannabis are they permanently damaging their brain and dulling their intellect for a lifetime?

The dangers of smoking cannabis, and the potential health benefits, have been a source of controversy for many years.

The latest study on the drug suggested heavy and prolonged cannabis smoking as a teenager resulted in a permanently lower IQ. You can read Dominic Hughes's report on the findings here.

But how could cannabis have this effect on the brain and why might teenagers be particularly susceptible?

The drug is made from the cannabis plant and contains more than 400 different chemicals, which could have a range of effects on the mind and body.

It includes psychoactive chemicals, which act on the brain. The main element is a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This provides the "chilled out" sensation associated with smoking cannabis, but has also been linked to memory impairment.
Brain chemistry
Some of these chemicals are already in all our brains, cannabis smokers or not, as the brain has its own endocannabinoid system.

Prof Val Curran, from the British Association for Psychopharmacology and University College London, said: "Any drug will affect the brain's natural chemistry.

"We believe cannabis use can affect the natural cannabinoid system."

But how could persistent use have a heightened impact on the teenage brain? The study noticed a difference between drug use before and after the 18th birthday.

The first thing to note is the brain is constantly changing. Even reading this article or learning the face of someone new at work will leave an impression on your brain. However, the teenage brain changes on a dramatic scale, even IQ does not seem to be stable.

In terms of size, the brain is pretty much done by the age of seven. But during adolescence the brain then ruthlessly prunes connections between brain cells, synapses, in the grey matter.

Dr Anne-Lisa Goddings, who researchers the teenage brain at University College London, said: "The brain produces loads of synapses, probably more than it needs, then it starts cutting down, making them more efficient."

She said it was difficult to tell exactly how cannabis could alter the brain's development. However, she said during this period when the structure and function of the brain is changing, the organ might be more susceptible than an adult brain, which is relatively fixed.
'Too laid back'
A consultant psychiatrist at Kings College London, Dr Zerrin Atakan, believes cannabis may be bit of a double-whammy for the brain.

She said using the drug could directly affect the brain and was "bound to leave its imprint".

But she thought heavy use could make you "too laid back to want to do anything". From not participating fully in school or not reading a book, or not meeting new people, she argues the experiences that can shape the mind are lost, meaning the brain does not develop.

What we do not know is if cannabis is any worse than very heavy use of any other psychoactive drug in your teenage years?

Prof Curran argues: "You would probably find the same thing in heavy drinking. We should not put cannabis on a pedestal."
BBC

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Coca-cola cup : Maharjan guides Army School to win

KATHMANDU, AUG 29 - Army School thrashed Deep Jyoti School 5-0 in the Coca-Cola Inter School Boys/Girls National Football Tournament on Tuesday. Ranjit Maharjan of Army School opened the scoring in the 11th minute followed by Sansar Gurung and Sanjeeb Rana Magar who both scored a brace to complete an emphatic victory. In the second match of the day played at the ANFA Technical Center in Chyasal, Path Finder School defeated Nepal Adharsha Madhyamik School 3-2 with Pawan Rai, Yusuf Rai and Sudhakar Neupane scoring a goal each. Nisat Pun scored twice for Nepal Adharsha but his effort was not enough to save his team from defeat. The third match of the day saw Gyanodaya Co-ed School outclass Sidhartha Boarding School 8-1 in a one sided affair. Roshan Shrestha scored four for Gyanodaya in the 11th, 47th, 51st and 58th minute respectively. Ashok Jaweju scored a hat-trick as he struck in the 59th, 64th and 69th minute. Rohit Gurung also managed to grab a goal in the 54th minute.

Him Shikhar English School defeated Sidhartha Banasthali 3-1 to qualify for the semi finals. Umesh Rai scored twice for the victors while Khem Raj Tamang added a third to complete a comfortable victory. In the girls section, played in ANFA Complex, Deep Jyoti Vidyashram overcame Nandi Higher Scecondary School 3-0, while Tops Higher Secondary School, Pokhara defeated Vikash Higher Secondary school 3-1. Likewise, JP high School defeated Kanra Higher Scecondary School 3-1 with Anjila Theeng, Sunita Khadka and Resham Tamang scoring in the 8th, 37th and 58th minute respectively.
ekantipur

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Red Cross halts most Pakistan aid after beheading

GENEVA , AUG 29 - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday it was halting most of its aid programs in Pakistan due to deteriorating security and the beheading of a British staff doctor in April blamed on Taliban insurgents. The independent agency, which had already suspended operations in three of Pakistan's four provinces in May pending a security assessment, said it would carry on working in the country "but on a reduced scale". "All relief and protection activities are being stopped. All projects of rehabilitation, economic projects, have been terminated," said Jacques de Maio, head of ICRC operations in South Asia, on one of the organization's blog. "We have closed a number of offices. We are also terminating all visits to detainees in Pakistan," he added. The agency, which rarely suspends its operations even in war zones, has worked in the country since the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
It was providing mainly health services and physical rehabilitation for victims of violence and natural disasters, many of whom have lost limbs. The ICRC said it would focus on treating patients wounded in fighting and aimed to reopen a surgical field hospital in Peshawar. It has been closed since the murder of staff member Khalil Rasjed Dale, abducted by suspected militants in January. The beheaded body of Dale, who ran a health program in the southwestern city of Quetta in the Baluchistan province, was found on April 29. De Maio said the plan was for Peshawar hospital to be its "flagship" operation in the country ... "unless we determine in the next few weeks that the prerequisites are not fulfilled and therefore the conditions are not met for us to redeploy". ICRC offices in Sindh province, where flood recovery work is now complete, and in Quetta are being closed, the agency said.

In 2011, Pakistan was one of the largest ICRC operations in the world. The delegation employed 1,300 staff who assisted hundreds of thousands of people. "We are ready to continue helping people in need, such as the wounded and the physically disabled, provided working conditions for our staff are adequate," Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Islamabad, said in Tuesday's statement. Dale was the third Westerner to be beheaded by militants in Pakistan. The others include Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 and Piotr Stanczak, a Polish geologist, in 2009. A senior police officer said when Dale's body was recovered that the Pakistan Taliban had claimed responsibility for the killing, saying a ransom had not been paid. The Pakistan Taliban have been fighting a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani state since the group was formed 2007. It is close to al Qaeda and it claimed credit for a failed car bomb attempt in New York's Times Square in May 2010.

Pro-Taliban militants are also active in Baluchistan, which shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan is an increasingly dangerous environment for aid workers. Gunmen in Pakistan shot and wounded a staff member of the World Health Organization and an expatriate consultant working for the United Nations health agency in July. A month earlier, a Pakistani militant group threatened action against anyone conducting polio vaccinations in the region where it is based, saying the health care drive was a cover for U.S spies.
ekantipur

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Typhoon hits N. Korea, still reeling from floods

SEOUL, AUG 29 - A powerful typhoon that killed at least 10 people in South Korea hit the North early Wednesday, knocking down hundreds of trees, destroying power cables and causing blackouts in a country already struggling to rebuild from earlier flooding. Big rainstorms often mean catastrophe in North Korea because of poor drainage, deforestation and decrepit infrastructure, but the extent of wind and rain damage in the country wasn't immediately clear Wednesday. Pyongyang, the capital, saw strong winds but little apparent damage. Cars splashed through slightly flooded streets, spraying people on crowded sidewalks. Typhoon Bolaven began pummeling the North late Tuesday, on the country's first Youth Day since new leader Kim Jong Un took over in December. Weather officials had warned that it would be the strongest typhoon to hit the region in several years, but its gusts in other parts of Asia weren't as powerful as predicted. In South Korea, Bolaven left hundreds of thousands without power, canceled flights and temporarily halted joint war games by U.S. and South Korean military forces. The storm also churned up rough seas that smashed two fishing ships into rocks off southern Jeju island, killing five people and leaving 10 missing.

Dangerous waves kept rescue vessels from approaching the wrecked Chinese fishing ships. The coast guard used a special gun to shoot rope to one ship so officers could pull themselves over and bring the fishermen back to shore, coast guard spokesman Ko Chang-keon said. The coast guard rescued 12 fishermen, and six others swam or were washed ashore. The storm killed at least five other people across South Korea. A large container box crushed an apartment janitor to death, a woman fell to her death from a rooftop and another person died after bricks hit a house, according to disaster and fire officials. An 80-year-old man died after a small makeshift building fell on him, officials said, and another man was killed by a falling tree. About 1.9 million South Korean homes and businesses lost power, the National Emergency Management Agency said, though all but about 34,000 had electricity restored by Wednesday morning. Nearly 100 families were left homeless Wednesday because of floods or storm damage. Nearly 200 flights were canceled Tuesday, but airports were running normally on Wednesday. There were 860 hectares (2,130 acres) of farmland flooded and 32 ships damaged, the agency said in a statement.

The storm came as North Korea tries to help people with food, shelter, health care and clean water after heavy flooding in July, according to a recent United Nations situation report. More than 170 died nationwide, and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed in the floods, according to official North Korean accounts. Many flood victims still live in tents with limited access to water and other basic facilities, the U.N. report said, and there is worry about increased malnutrition in coming weeks.
AP

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Tourists going it alone won’t do a world of good

POKHARA, AUG 28 - While trekking from Tilicho lake in Manang to Jomsom in Mustang, Kasper Ldjten from the Netherlands went missing on August 7. Fortunately, the very next day, a team from the Nepal Army High Altitude and Mountain Warfare School and the Durgadal battalion found and rescued Ldjten. It then came to light that Ldjten had been travelling without a guide. Recently, there have been many incidents of tourists going missing while trekking without a guide. Secretary of the Pokhara chapter of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), Narayan Sapkota, said that cases of tourists being robbed, raped or murdered might have taken place in the absence of a knowledgeable local guide.
“Besides safety and security, not hiring a guide results in a decline in revenue collection, a loss to the trekking business and unemployment among Nepalis,” said Sapkota. He stressed that the practice of taking a guide or a porter on trekking would greatly increase their safety and would also facilitate the keeping of records. Of more than 1,000 trained guides in Pokhara, only 150 are currently employed while around 2,200 porters work per season. Chairman of TAAN Pokhara, Basanta Dabadi, also general secretary of the Pokhara Tourism Council (PTC), said that a guide or porter would boost the country’s economy and reduce illegal operations in the trekking business.

Tourism entrepreneurs claimed that there is an increasing trend of foreigners who have already visited the country, guiding new visitors on their travels and treks, saving their money but costing the Nepali economy. A mandatory government order to take along a guide or porter would ensure their safety while adding to the country’s coffers, they said. In order to curb illegal activities in the trekking industry and ensure the safety of trekkers, the government had previously introduced a Trekking Registration Certificate (TRC), requiring all visitors to travel only through registered trekking agencies. However, the TRC was scrapped saying that the country had entered the peace process and no danger remained.

Rambabu Bastakoti, a long-time guide, said that besides creating employment, tourists become familiar with Nepali language, culture and lifestyle if guided by a Nepali. However, hoteliers said that implementing a mandatory provision for tourists to be guided by Nepalis was not the right approach. Chairman of the Western Regional Hotel Association, Biplav Poudel, said that with the expansion of motorways in Pokhara, the flow of tourists was already declining. “Unnecessary economic burdens on tourists may add to the decline,” said Poudel, adding that such a provision may also affect the tourism sector if guides do not provide good service to tourists. Apart from the Trekkers’ Management Information System (TIMS), which charges tourists entering the Annapurna area under coordination of the Tourism Ministry, the Nepal Tourism Board, the TAAN and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) charge every tourist Rs 2,000 for entry. Out of the 300,000 tourists that visit Pokhara each year, 70 percent go trekking.

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Life insurance cos to have shares in reinsurance co

KATHMANDU, AUG 29 - The Insurance Pool, which is being converted into a reinsurance company, will also have the involvement of life-insurance companies as shareholders after the transformation. The existing shareholders of the pool include the government and 17 non-life insurance companies. The memorandum of association prepared for the establishment of the company has adopted a provision for involving life insurance companies as minority shareholders in the company. The Insurance Pool was established a decade ago to give reinsurance coverage to damages by terrorist activities after foreign-based reinsurance companies denied to give risk coverage to such damages. “While the existing shareholders will have 50 percent stake in the new company, 20 percent will be offered to life-insurance companies and institutions such as Employees Provident Fund and Citizens Investment Trust and the rest 30 percent will be offered to the public,” said Ramesh Lamsal, chief executive officer of the pool.
He said the pool has informally notified life insurance companies and other institutions about the plan and has yet to hold formal talks. However, the existing shareholders will initially have 100 percent stake in the proposed company whose initial paid-up capital will be Rs 1 billion. Its issued capital and authorised capital have been proposed at Rs 3 billion and Rs 5 billion, respectively. The pool plans to involve life insurance companies and other institutions and the public while increasing the paid-up capital to the level of the issued capital. As per the latest audit of the pool’s transactions, it has funds worth Rs 1.35 billion. “Rs 350 million will be kept in reserve and Rs 1 billion will be converted into paid-up capital,” said Lamsal.

Although a taskforce headed by Bishnu Lamsal, then joint secretary at the Finance Ministry, suggested bringing in foreign investors, the memorandum of association does not talk about any such plans. The taskforce had also advised the government to allow foreign investors, particularly international insurance companies and brokers, to hold a 25 percent stake in the new company. The involvement of foreign strategic partner was suggested in order to ensure the transfer of expertise into the country as the company would be the first of its kind here. “First, we will convert the pool into a reinsurance company and initiate dialogue for the possible entry of foreign investors,” said Lamsal. “The memorandum of article can be amended through the annual general meeting.”

According to Lamsal, preparations are underway to get the plan approved within mid-September. “We will send the memorandum of association to the finance ministry for approval within one or one and half week, which will be then be sent to the Cabinet for approval,” said Lamsal. He said if things go as planned, the country will get its first reinsurance company around Dashain.

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