New Research Says Smoking Pot Decreases Work Performance…

…DUH!

But seriously, a new study does indeed show that smoking marijuana is linked to decreased motivation in the workplace. Funny part is, the scientists on the study aren’t sure who to blame. It’s a chicken-or-egg scenario: is marijuana to blame for the decreased output of worker productivity, or are the people who frequently smoke pot lazy-asses in the first place? Or is it possible that work drives certain people to pot? It certainly drives some to drinking!

“There’s a popular belief that people who smoke cannabis are slackers and that they don’t want to work,” researcher Christer Hyggen said. Hyggen’s research comes from detailed questionnaires concerning subjects’ pot smoking and attitude toward their jobs.

Another ‘surprise’: people who confessed to smoking marijuana also admitted that they’re not as dedicated to their jobs as the abstainers tended to be, even accounting for other factors such as mental health, emotional well-being, etc. The study’s findings also suggested that over time, “people who quit smoking cannabis increase their work commitment, and people who take up smoking cannabis reduce their work commitment,” said Hyggen.

Hyggen also stated that it’s not overall a bad idea to stay away from recreational drug use, marijuana included. “At the same time I don’t think we should be overly afraid of people experimenting with drugs in youth,” he said.

Well, this is all news to me. Truly. I’m going to take Hyggen’s endorsement of drug-use though. Let me know if it improves my writing.

What say you, reader? News to you?