This is all you need to know to know that the author of the Forbes piece doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. Or, rather, that he's trying really hard to sell his book about EQ. He says, "They didn't measure this, but it's very important, nonetheless." Really? Why? Because you say so? Higher cognition and emotional control have very different neural correlates. Affecting one (if there is an effect; the PNAS article isn't that convincing to begin with), doesn't say anything about the other. That would have to be a separate study. So in the end, I'm not sure about the IQ decline associated with marijuana (my guess is that it's a little of column A and a little of column B), but I'm damn sure that Forbes is a bunch of used car salesmen quality hacks.While the study didn’t measure the effects of marijuana upon teenagers’ emotional intelligence, it’s likely they are dire. Emotional intelligence (EQ) in teenagers lags behind their cognitive development. This explains why teenagers are so impulsive, emotional, and prone to risky behavior. Since teenagers’ EQ develops much later than their IQ, this area of the brain is even more susceptible to the negative influences of marijuana.
Just within the passage you've quoted: vs. He's literally just told us that he don't know whether or not marijuana effects EQ (and I find "EQ" a dubious concept in-and-of itself), but then three sentences later, asserts that EQ development is more susceptible to pot use than IQ because... ummm... teenagers are pretty immature, right guys? Am I right, or what?!? Also worth considering: The guy who smokes a bowl and works on coding vs. the guy sinking into the sofa sitting through SpongeBob re-runs. The latter is more common, and IQ tends to decline with age regardless of environment. Did they control for that? I don't read marijuana studies anymore, they're just too political.While the study didn’t measure the effects of marijuana upon teenagers’ emotional intelligence, it’s likely they are dire.
Since teenagers’ EQ develops much later than their IQ, this area of the brain is even more susceptible to the negative influences of marijuana.
Yeah, they mentioned looking at frequency of use (number of days), but not the context of use (before running vs. before couch-potatoing vs. before sleep) nor the amount per use (0.1 gram? 1 gram? A KILOGRAM!?) nor the method of use (bong? bowl? vape? edibles?).Also worth considering: The guy who smokes a bowl and works on coding vs. the guy sinking into the sofa sitting through SpongeBob re-runs. The latter is more common, and IQ tends to decline with age regardless of environment. Did they control for that?
Too many unknowns in general. We'll be teasing out the details for decades after legalization. I'll probably start reading meta-studies sometime around 2050. Of course, that's if I can still read by then, after all the pot I plan to smoke* in the meantime. So far, I'm the best lab rat for me. Haven't been able to conduct any double-blind studies with myself (still working on developing that schizophrenia), but single-blind studies are going well. I can distinguish between many jelly bean flavors, and between several mainstream psychedelics. *I've gotta get a vaporizer...