Your Brain on Drugs Marijuana (weed)

Marijuana also known as cannabis among several other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine.The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); one of 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids. Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporization, within food, or as an extract.

Cannabis is often used for its mental and physical effects, such as a "high" or "stoned" feeling, a general change in perception, euphoria (heightened mood), and an increase in appetite. Short term side effects may include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, red eyes, and feelings of paranoia or anxiety. Long term side effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started as teenagers, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy Onset of effects is within minutes when smoked and about 30 to 60 minutes when cooked and eaten.They last for between two and six hours.

For centuries, humans have been using substances to alter their state of mind. From caffeine, cigarettes and alcohol to more extreme drugs. But as the most commonly used illicit drug in North America, Where does marijuana fit in and how exactly does it affect your brain? First, we need to understand how the brain functions. Neurons are the cells that process information in the brain. By releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters from the axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another they change the electrical charge of the receiving neuron consequently exciting or inhibiting it. 

If excited, the signal is passed on. Though it sounds simple these signals work together and the effect is quickly compouned into complex configurations within milliseconds flashing over the entire brain. This is what happens every single time you think, breathe or move. So what is going on inside your brain when you’re smoking marijuana? Well unlike alcohol, which contains molecules nothing like those in our body, cannabis contains molecules that resemble those produced in our very own brains cannabonoids. Although naturally these cannabonoids circulate at much lower quantities compared to the large influx imposed by smoking, specifically the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol or THC resembles a natural transmitter called “anandamide”. These cannabonoids are specialized neurotransmitters released by neurons having just fired. 


Neurons temporarily become unresponsive after firing to prevent them from overracting or being too dominant. This allows your brain to function in a calm and controlled manner. But cannabonoids interrupt this approach in some parts of the brain. Instead, they remove the refractory period of neurons that are already active and can cause your thoughts, imagination and perception to utterly magnify itself. This means, once you begin your train of thought it becomes the most significant and profound thing ever. You can’t see the big picture or even recall your last epiphany because you’re caught up in the momentum of a particular idea and your neurons keep firing until a new idea takes hold and you go off on a new tangent.

These cannabonoids also affect the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in your brain often leading to a sense of euphoria, relaxation, pain modulation and general enhancement of an experience, though sometimes causing anxiety. Furthermore, there are cannabonoid receptors in areas controlling short-term memory, learning, coordination, movement control and higher cognitive functions. 

Got a burning question you want answered?Ask them in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe for more posts directly to Your mail box.

SHARING IS CARING