Millions are using (and
abusing) marijuana every day. In fact, 1 out of 7 high school students smoke it
more than once a day. Marijuana is thought by many to be benign and recreational,
so it is one of the most highly used drug of choice. For this reason, society
should know its short- and long-term effects on the brain. Marijuana
can affect these two areas emotionally or physically. Also, in some cases
physical damages causes the emotional response. The brain is the most
complicated part of the human body. To understand, let's
explain certain parts and their functions to better understand our brain
and thus the possibilities of chemical induced complications. The brain
with its 15 billion neurons and nerve cells operates using chemical and
electrical messages. This is how we perceive our senses. Differences in the way
our brain translates these messages can impair perceptions. Hallucinogens
prevent the brain from receiving all these messages in order. All the
information that we receive is through millions of transactions of neurons,
like a computer and marijuana alters these transactions.
After smoking, or consuming
marijuana, it is distributed in the brain. The concentration of marijuana in
the brain may be governed by an active transport process in the choroid plexus
network of blood vessels in the brain which regulates intra-ventricular
pressure by absorption and secretion of cerebral spinal fluid. One scientific
experiment gave an example of how the distribution of marijuana in the central
nervous system could affect man. At a high dose of 30 mg./kg, marked
sedation and pronounced motor in-coordination peaked at the one-hour interval
subsiding in 8 hours when overreaction occurred to external stimuli; man
reveals incapacitation of cognitive and motor function. High concentrations of
marijuana are usually found in the following parts of the brain: the frontal
cortex (the general association area), and hippocampus (short term memory and
orientation). As a result, perception of time, mood and general coordination is
impaired. Yes, marijuana intoxication affects neurological function, but what appears
to disappear in 24 hours, can become a permanent malfunction. THC affects the
limbic system which is vital to some everyday functions. The brain is made up
of 3 basic cerebral types differing in structure, chemistry and organization
(MacLean, 1970).
These are:
1) Reptilian or
brain stem responsible for instinctive (survival) behavior (and regulator of
vital functions of the body)
2) Old
Mammalian (paleo-cortex) or limbic brain surrounding the brain
stem (like a lap or limbus) having an important role in emotional behavior and
motivation (contains opiate receptors)
3) New Mammalian (neo-cortex)
brain (thinking cap) with the capacity for symbolic (written and spoken
language).
The 3 subdivisions of the
limbic cortical system or ring are linked by 3 pathways to the brain stem. The
lower part (hippocampus memory information) of the ring connected with the
amygdala insures self-presentation (survival). The upper part is connected to
the septum which is the area for pleasure. These 2 are connected to the
olfactory that deals with sense. In addition, there is a third passageway
dealing with sexual behaviors and visual activities. Any limbic dysfunction can
result in emotional and mood disturbances, alienation, distortions of
perceptions, and paranoid states. THC can reduce the blood flow to the
hippocampus, which is the controller of short-term memory and orientation.
To make a simple conclusion to
all this confusing data, marijuana results in chemical damage effecting
emotional, motivational and hormonal disturbances. After only 3 months of
light, or moderate, or heavy use, evidence of irreversible damage can be
detected. The effects of marijuana are mostly short term, meaning damages that
can be restored to a seemingly normal state. Most
symptoms from heavy usage vanish in about a year and a half of clean time. But
emotional and memory abnormalities are never fully restored.
Since more evident and severe short-term effects take about a month of being
clean to subside, one can see the potential for a problem in a weekend
smoker. That means that consistent users (about twice a week or less) aren’t
EVER sober.
The brain is one third fat.
Cannabinoids are fat soluble, and not only do they collect in brain cells, but
they also accumulate in billions of other cells in the body and are
consistently being released into the blood stream. In the case of moderate
twice a week use, before half of the cannabinoids that are being stored are
released, new cannabinoids are being introduced. The cannabinoids release
process is very slow and if there is continued use, it can make the user always
stoned! Maybe not all the effects of intoxication will be
evident, but noticeable differences in thinking and talking are evident. It
takes marijuana about 2 to 4 weeks to get out of your system. So, if you are
smoking marijuana 1 to 3 times a week - think of the implications.
Pot not only seems to disrupt
normal learning functions but also contains emotion altering properties. een as psychiatric outpatients, showed a
decrease in attention, logical thinking, personal hygiene, performance in
school, and participation in physical and social activities compared with their
pre-marijuana status. These changes revised when marijuana smoking
stopped. The effects of always being stoned even if they haven’t
smoked that day at all, can still include poor social judgment, poor attention
span, poor concentration, confusion, anxiety, depression, apathy, passivity and
often slow speech.
Most marijuana smokers also
suffer from anxiety disorders. The most common among users is social anxiety
disorder where the user is nervous around large groups of people. Some only can
function on one to one basis. Isolation of users is also common. Many people
with slight depression use the drug to feel better. Marijuana will do that at
first then it can intensify the depression. So, they continue to use the drug
at higher dosages’ which results in still more depression. One can see how cyclical
use of marijuana to cure the depression that comes from using it begins!
One of the biggest
controversies in marijuana abuse is: Which is causal? Are problems
caused by heavy smoking of marijuana, or is it just that people with problems
are more likely to end up using marijuana heavily?
One last finding of note is
interference with the maturation process. Yes, this deals with young people,
but has also been found to have permanently stunted the maturation process in adults
who not only ingested and smoked weed when young, but then also sealed the deal
with vaping THC as an adult. Not only is the maturing process halted, it is
known to make adults emotionally regress to a teen and even a preteen inability
to make cognitively consequential choices. These noted symptoms of the usage of
marijuana that take place can now be scientifically proven. Most findings
conclude that it affects brain function, including emotions. This usually wanes
in youth after approximately 3 months of being totally clean of cannabis. Unfortunately,
in adults (long-term users) the regression can be permanent, and the more use continues,
the less chance there is of any, much less complete, restoration.
This is how marijuana can now
be shown to have long term effects, with irreversible damage. Most damage can be
seen in chronic smokers who have built a tolerance and a degree of dependency
to the drug. Effects physically and mentally are also exhibited. Tolerance to a
drug develops when increasing doses are necessary to obtain the initial effect
of a lower dose. Dependence may be psychological and/or physical. Psychological
dependence refers to a craving for a drug often leading to compulsive drug use.
Physical or physiological dependence is a state whereby withdrawal of the drug
leads to undesirable effects in mood or the physical body. Marijuana is used to
experience a high and as a person continually introduces this chemical into the
body, they grow accustomed to it. Hence, in order to get the same high, you
must smoke more potent marijuana. Cells in the pleasure center of the brain are
being damaged and as more are damaged, more marijuana is needed. Also, the
natural high is harder to achieve.
Many studies show how marijuana
physically affects the brain. In one experiment, monkeys were
used. After making the monkeys smoke marijuana for 5 months, they
then kept them clean for 3 months, and documented the differences in physiology
and behavior with totally clean monkeys to compare to. Surprising abnormalities
included (RER) chaos and synaptic vesicle clumping. RER or rough endoplasmic reticulum
makes proteins so that each cell can function properly. RER is in neat strands
in the cell’s interior. But, in the heavy smoking monkeys there was chaos in all
the cells. Synaptic vesicle activity accounts for our thinking, feeling and
doing. The heavy smoking monkeys had synaptic vesicles that were all clumped
together. The vesicles were also filled with abnormal deposits of unknown
material.
The conclusion was that long-term
cannabis use in any form will produce irreversible effects in the brain. It causes
a degenerative “marijuana abused” brain; much like long term use of alcohol can
cause what is called an irreversible degenerative “wet” brain. The permanent
symptoms of a marijuana abused brain are lack of empathy, bad short-term
memory, apathy, inability to perceive consequences, lack of motivation, depression
AND surprisingly…. permanent physiological changes in the brain and DNA!
Don’t fool yourself,
marijuana in ANY form is not benign.
