Did Cheech and Chong shrink their cerebral cortex in vain? Anyone with the I.Q. of a non-pot smoker could have told you that habitual smoking of reefer, maryjane, grass, cannabis, Acapulco gold, Maui wowie, Panama red, bhang, doobie, dope, ganja, hash, hashish,hemp, herb, joint, loco weed, roach, sinsemilla, weed gives you turd brain.

Teenagers who frequently smoke marijuana may be setting themselves up for declines in intelligence and mental function that persist well into adulthood, new research suggests.

In a decades-long study of more than 1,000 New Zealanders, researchers found that adolescents who used marijuana at least four days per week lost an average of eight IQ points between the ages of 13 and 38 — a pattern not seen among people who began smoking heavily only in adulthood.

Heavy pot smokers tended to show deficits in memory, concentration, and overall brainpower in relation to their peers, but these problems were more pronounced — and seemingly more lasting — among those who picked up the habit as teens, the study found.

Individuals who smoked heavily in adolescence had consistently lower IQs at age 38, even if they’d cut back in the previous year. By contrast, the IQ of the relative latecomers to marijuana was more closely linked with how much pot they’d smoked recently.

So for all you decriminalizers out there, keep this in what’s left of your mind.

Despite a popular myth that cannabis use is harmless, marijuana smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains cyanide, as well as higher levels of benzopyrene and carbon monoxide. Marijuana joints the same size as a cigarette produce five times the carbon monoxide in subjects’ blood. Smoking marijuana produces three to four times the tar of tobacco, and more of it stays in the lungs. Because marijuana smoke is inhaled more deeply and held far longer in the lungs than tobacco smoke, damage to the delicate pleural tissues is as or more pronounced. Some researchers equate one joint to five cigarettes; others contend that three to four joints are as damaging as a pack of cigarettes.

Women who smoke marijuana during pregnancy may have low birth-weight babies who are at risk for developmental difficulties and are more susceptible to disease. Like other drugs, THC also crosses the placental barrier and affects the embryo as it grows; some studies indicate that this may increase a baby’s risk of developing leukemia. THC also passes into breast milk, where research has shown that it can affect a child’s motor development. Toddlers whose parents smoke marijuana have been found to be angrier and to have more behavioral problems than children whose parents do not use marijuana.

Oh, and pot nearly doubles the rate of car collisions and the risk of fatal car accidents.

I understand that people need to find ways to cope with anxiety, tension, and stress in life, that we can’t all just grin and bear it.

That’s what heroin is for. It will put you to sleep in a nice back alley somewhere — and far away from me.

Idiots.