This article from today's Guardian says that cannabis helps with night vision! So not only is it good for Glaucoma patients, but fisherman & anyone who needs better night vision... When spliff gets in your eyes... Giles Tremlett in Madrid Wednesday July 7, 2004 The Guardian We knew it gave people the munchies and made them giggle. Now researchers claim to have found a new property in cannabis - it helps us see in the dark. Scientists made their discovery after becoming intrigued by Moroccan fishermen who not only failed to lose their sense of direction after smoking generous amounts of local kif, a mixture of cannabis and tobacco, but seemed to navigate better on dark nights. "They attribute their ability to see to the consumption of kif that they spend entire hours smoking before getting into their barques," one of the research team, drawn from the US, Spain and Morocco, reported. Jamaican fishermen have reportedly shown a similar reaction, suggesting that there may be something medically useful in cannabis apart from the pain-deadening properties already spotted by doctors treating cancer patients. Equipped with a machine for measuring night vision, the researchers headed for the Rif valley, the centre of Morocco's flourishing cannabis trade. "High-grade sifted cannabis was mixed with tobacco in a 2:1 ratio and smoked as kif by subjects employing a traditional sebsi pipe," the team write in the latest Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Three "kif-experienced" Moroccan volunteers were then invited to make "numerous inhalations". The volunteers demonstrated "consistent improvements" in tests, leading the researchers to suggest that further studies should be conducted. The researchers admit that the results have turned the ancient wisdom of Persian and Arab scientists, who suggested that cannabis made vision fuzzier, on its head. But their results backed up claims by the Observer columnist Sue Arnold, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and is officially registered blind. She noticed several years ago that drawing on strong Jamaican skunk suddenly and temporarily enabled her to see things clearly. But Ms Arnold has since warned of side-effects that could impede night-time navigation. "Only trouble was," she said, "I couldn't stand up."
Interesting... I've never smoked outside during night but once and didn't really take note of my surroudings; I was only smoking outside to avoid being caught.
and yet it is still illegal. The benefits of marijuana seem to outweigh the "dangers" a very interesting article tho
That's great. So not only can it improve nightvision and help fishermen, but it helped a blind woman to see clearly for a while. Surely it must be legalised, I can't actually think of any reasons to keep it illegal considering cigarettes are legal.
haha, neat. they should develop some was to make it so you cannt feel high and you have like a pund and you can see in the dark
Personally I have more trouble seeing at night, mainly when I'm driving. My eyes don't readjust quick enough, so when I pass a car w/ it's lights on, I'm blind for a few seconds even if it's not the high beams.
same here... i got nasty night blindness... i have problems seeing the road at night and when its raining... ha! might as well pullover(even though i dont)... my eyes play alot of tricks when i drive at night.. anything from double vision to temporary loss of vision.. it sucks
I generally think that marijuana disrupts my night vision. Obviously, it varies from person to person. The study is qualitative at best, and sounds very unscientific. All it does it respond to several people's individual reactions, which is hardly sound.
there are more factors involved than 'weed makes you see better'. look at the context. theyre ishermen. they do it ALL the time. most of the people here dont have much understanding of whatever theyre looking at in the first place. the reason weed stuff up with many peoles night vision is because they dont know what theyre looking at. however, fishermen do. theyre looking at teh stars and theyre looking for shores, and wave textures. in our environments, we could be looking at anything. see navigation requires finding signs you already know whereas people here are reffering to being able ot identify unknown objects in the dark. this definately is harder. but if yo uknow what your looking at like the moro fishermen, its then easier. evidently. and ocean byrd i cant quite understand what you mean that youve never smoked weed outside unless to not et cought... why? how long have you been smoking for? a while yes. are you afraid of the dark?
