Does Smoking Pot Make You Lazy?
Answered by Lita Perna, MA, Family and Community Counseling
Question
You say you smoke a daily joint. This is not heavy use.
On the other hand, heavy marijuana use can include apathy, lethargy, reduced concentration, lowered intelligence and a lack of desire to partake in meaningful activities of upwards mobility. It is called amotivational syndrome. But 'amotivational syndrome' has never been clinically proven as factual or real.
There are however certain statistics that do show the correlation between marijuana use and lowered academic and professional success and accomplishments. Marijuana users are less likely to finish high school and they get lower grades in high school and in college than do non smokers. They perform lower on tests of intellectual capacity and report a decreased ability to excel professionally. Heavy marijuana users also report that their marijuana use decreases their ability to perform complex work tasks well, and to learn new tasks professionally.
I googled for studies that would indicate that pot smoking makes people lazy but was not successful. Perhaps there's a study tucked away somewhere. Maybe lazy people who smoke pot would be just as lazy if they spent the whole day eating chicken instead. Maybe lazy people like pot and were lazy people before smoking.
Most probably it's the amount one smokes that makes the difference. From what you say, it doesn't make YOU lazy.
About the Expert
Lita Perna
MA, Family and Community Counseling
Klamath Falls, United States of America
Specialties
Life Coaching, Addiction or Substance Abuse, Mood Disorders, Domestic Abuse or Domestic Violence, Women, Loss or Grief, Eating Disorders, Depression, Finding Your Purpose in Life
License
my_license #LCPC 180.006720 retired as of 3/2013
