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From bud to brain : a psychiatrist's view of marijuana / Timmen L. Cermak, MD.

by Cermak, Timmen L., author.

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Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, New York : Cambridge University Press, part of the University of Cambridge, [2020]

Marijuana -- Psychological aspects.

Marijuana -- Physiological effect.

Marijuana abuse.

xix, 236 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm

Introduction -- Section I. The science of marijuana and the brain: -- 1. Monumental discoveries -- 2. Marijuana's acute effects: from brain to experience -- 3. Flies in the ointment: cannabinoid deficiency and the reality of addiction -- 4. Epidemiology: how many, and who, use how much marijuana -- 5. The impacts of ongoing marijuana use on the brain -- 6. The impacts of ongoing marijuana use on the mind, part I: memory, executive functions, risk assessment and impulsivity -- 7. The impacts of ongoing marijuana use on the mind, part II: emotion, motivation, psychosis and practical impacts -- 8. The impacts of ongoing marijuana use on adolescent psychology: understanding the journey from childhood to adulthood -- 9. Second hand marijuana: prenatal cannabis exposure -- Section II. The science and art of healing: -- 10. Cannabinoid-based medication -- 11. Understanding and encouragement: compassion for cannabis use disorder sufferers -- 12. Principles of motivational interviewing -- 13. Treatment of regular heavy marijuana users -- Section III. The history and art of marijuana policy: -- 14. Policy, part I: sociopolitical history of marijuana and America's war on drugs -- 15. Policy, part II: the post drug war era -- Section IV. Epilogue: -- 16. The future of marijuana -- Index.

Most people get information about marijuana from friends, the Internet, popular newscasts and personal experience - all echo chambers filled with anecdotes, opinions, exaggerations and a smattering of facts. This is not because the public lacks curiosity about the topic. Rather, the general lack of scientific literacy about marijuana stems from the "Googlization" of information, the failure of clinicians to have objective and useful answers to patients' questions about marijuana, the superior power of stories to persuade more than facts, and scientists' difficulty translating their vast body of information about marijuana into an intriguing, easily understood narrative. Googlization encourages people to seek specific answers to specific questions without requiring familiarity with the deeper background context. People no longer need to study a field of information in order to discover individual facts that satisfy their immediate curiosity. And, of course, Google is designed to gather and present information that comports with each individual's interests. Marijuana advocates are directed toward one set of website "facts" while opponents are presented another set of cherry picked "facts", which leads to different silos of information reinforcing already fixed perspectives. (Publisher)

Royal College of Psychiatrists.

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