This Is Your Brain While Videogaming Stoned

Daniel_Stuckey (2647775) writes "Pot and video games have long been bound together in hazy, wedded bliss—as well as in compulsion and codependency. Many a World of Warcraft binger has been found in the darkest hours of the night with clouds of sweet, milk-white smoke curling around him, a bong next to the keyboard. But the way these lovers, games and weed, commingle has only rarely been studied, and when done so, usually exclusively in the context of substance abuse and how it relates to what is known as PVP: 'problem video game playing.'" Motherboard takes a different look.

Comparison with other drugs

[globaljustin]

Let's see this same thing repeated with these for comparison:

alcohol
cocaine
LSD
MDA
MDNA
adderall
zoloft
perkoset
xanax

etc...you get my point...

every damn time people anywhere talk about "drugs" and their effects we need to **compare** it to other similar things!

In other news: my iPhone keeps tigers away

[Powercntrl]

Could it be the case that playing video games are simply the most likely recreational activity a stoner is going to feel motivated enough to perform? Honestly, how many people get stoned and then go hiking, running, playing football or whatever?

It's bad enough that some people believe video games cause violent behavior, but now drug use too? Next we'll be demonizing food, since every murderer, stoner and rapist ate food regularly during their lives.
 

Drugs and programming

[Kevin Fishburne]

From personal experience, drinking while programming isn't so bad, although the increasing mental and physical clumsiness will eventually become a problem. Smoking weed while programming, on the other hand, is asking for trouble. If you're a designer brainstorming before coming up with a rough design document, weed's probably an ally in many ways. Programming, though, God help you. I suppose it adversely affects the ability to base one logical proposition upon another, which is generally bad for a series of equations relying upon the results of the previous for a useful result.

While playing games it depends on the game. If it requires the same sort of sequential, analytical processes as programming then you're doomed. If it's just a twitch game with simple goals and gameplay you'll be minimally handicapped. In any case, I can't imagine being high will improve your ability to play a game; just your enjoyment of it.

Re:Comparison with other drugs

[jones_supa]

etc...you get my point...

No, I don't. Of your list of drugs (which included both recreational drugs and medicinal drugs), some of them might increase a person's gaming capabilities, while some of them might dampen a person's gaming capabilities. So what?

every damn time people anywhere talk about "drugs" and their effects we need to **compare** it to other similar things!

I do not see why that would be necessary. You don't need to review other drugs to see how marijuana affects a person.