study challenges "lazy stoner" stereotype

[duke]

Study Challenges 'Lazy Stoner' Stereotyping of Cannabis Users
Dr Rob Hicks, MB BS | 02 September 2022
UK researchers have found that adult and adolescent cannabis users are no more likely than non-users to lack motivation or be unable to enjoy life’s pleasure, countering the cannabis-user stereotype often portrayed in the media.

The authors of the study, published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, highlighted that a common stereotype of cannabis users is the 'stoner' – "think Jesse Pinkman in 'Breaking Bad', The Dude in 'The Big Lebowski', or, more recently, Argyle in 'Stranger Things'," they said. Individuals who, they pointed out, are "generally depicted as lazy and apathetic".

Cannabis is the third most commonly used controlled substance worldwide, after alcohol and nicotine, highlighted the authors. A report from NHS Digital published in 2019 stated: "Cannabis is the drug that pupils (mostly aged 11-15 years old) are most likely to have taken in the last year, with 8% saying they had done so in 2018."

The authors pointed out that: "There has been considerable concern of the potential impact of cannabis use on the developing brain and that using cannabis during adolescence might have a damaging effect at an important time in an individual’s life."
Dr Will Lawn, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, and one of the study's authors, added: "There’s been a lot of concern that cannabis use in adolescence might lead to worse outcomes than cannabis use during adulthood."

Cannabis Users Appeared Better Able to Enjoy Themselves
The team of researchers led by scientists at University College London, (UCL), the University of Cambridge, and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience at King’s College London, wanted to explore whether this stereotype was representative of cannabis users – more specifically they investigated the association between non-acute cannabis use and apathy, anhedonia, pleasure, and effort-based decision-making for reward, and whether these relationships were moderated by age-group.

The researchers used data from the CannTEEN study and involved 274 participants in their research – 76 adolescent (aged 16-17 years old) cannabis users and 63 adolescent controls, and 71 adult (aged 26-29 years old) cannabis users and 64 adult controls – recruited from the Greater London area via school assemblies, physical posters and flyers, and social media advertisements. Cannabis users had used it at least weekly over the previous 3 months, with an average of 4 days per week, and were matched with non-users of the same age and gender.

Participants completed questionnaires (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale) to measure anhedonia, asking them to rate statements such as "I would enjoy being with family or close friends". They also completed questionnaires (Apathy Evaluation Scale) to measure their levels of apathy, which asked them to rate characteristics such as how interested they were in learning new things or how likely they were to see a job through to the end.
Cannabis users scored slightly lower than non-users on anhedonia – "they appeared better able to enjoy themselves", reported the authors. However, there was no significant difference when it came to apathy, they commented. The researchers also found no link between frequency of cannabis use and either apathy or anhedonia in the people who used cannabis.

"In general, adolescents tended to score higher than adults on anhedonia and apathy in both user and non-user groups, but cannabis use did not augment this difference," said the authors.

Surprise Findings Should be Treated With Caution
Martine Skumlien, PhD candidate in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, and lead author, said: "We were surprised to see that there was really very little difference between cannabis users and non-users when it came to lack of motivation or lack of enjoyment, even among those who used cannabis every day. This is contrary to the stereotypical portrayal we see on TV and in movies."

The finding of lower anhedonia in cannabis users was "contrary to our hypotheses", said the authors. "It could be that cannabis potentiates the reinforcing effects of some rewards or that people who are more prone to seek out pleasure are also more likely to use cannabis," they speculated. However, they explained how the mean difference between cannabis users and controls that they identified corresponded to a "small effect size", and suggested that the finding may not therefore be clinically relevant, and should be "interpreted with caution".

To measure how much pleasure participants received from rewards, using the Physical Effort task, participants were told to estimate how much they wanted to receive each of three rewards - 30 seconds of one of their favourite songs, one piece of chocolate or a sweet, and a £1 coin - on a scale from 'do not want at all' to 'intensely want'. Next, having received each reward in turn, using the Real Reward Pleasure task they were asked to rate how pleasurable they found them on a scale from 'do not like at all' to 'intensely like'. The researchers found that cannabis users demonstrated "no difference in motivation for rewards, pleasure taken from rewards, or the brain's response when seeking rewards", compared to non-users.

Dr Will Lawn commented that the study suggests "adolescents are no more vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of cannabis on motivation, the experience of pleasure, or the brain’s response to reward".

"In fact, it seems cannabis may have no link – or at most only weak associations – with these outcomes in general," he said. However, he emphasised that studies looking for these associations over a long period of time are needed to confirm the findings.

Accurate Information Needed Not Stereotyping
Martine Skumlien commented: "We’re so used to seeing 'lazy stoners' on our screens that we don't stop to ask whether they're an accurate representation of cannabis users. Our work implies that this is in itself a lazy stereotype, and that people who use cannabis are no more likely to lack motivation or be lazier than people who don’t.
"Unfair assumptions can be stigmatising and could get in the way of messages around harm reduction. We need to be honest and frank about what are and are not the harmful consequences of drug use."

Professor Barbara Sahakian, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, said: "Our evidence indicates that cannabis use does not appear to have an effect on motivation for recreational users. The participants in our study included users who took cannabis daily and they were no more likely to lack motivation. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that greater use, as seen in some people with cannabis-use disorder, has an effect."

She cautioned: "Until we have future research studies that follow adolescent users, starting from onset through to young adulthood, and which combine measures of motivation and brain imaging, we cannot determine for certain that regular cannabis use won’t negatively impact motivation and the developing brain."

The authors concluded that their findings should help to "reduce stigma" experienced by people who use cannabis by further dispelling claims of the 'amotivational syndrome', which increasingly appears "lacking in scientific support", they said.
Lead Image Credit: Moment/Getty Images

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References
Skumlien M, Mokrysz C, Freeman TP, et al. Anhedonia, apathy, pleasure, and effort-based decision-making in adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2022: pyac056, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyac056
see i told her im more than a lazy stoner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nom]

I saw a thing about this when it came out, it's about time the myth gets dispelled. I'm a stoner of nye on 30 years and I work my ass off, everyday. I was talking to a chap at work who was telling me all his young guys are massive stoners and they smoke all day at work and it pisses him off, but he said they are all really hard grafters that go all day without a break so he just lets them crack on. As for motivation, i reckon we're all fairly motivated aswel. You got to be to learn about this hobby.

Nice read duke