Stoners! This Is What Happens To Your Body And Brain When You Smoke Weed

It’s not as bad as drinking alcohol but the next time you light up to get that mellow high, think about what it is doing to both your body and your brain.

1. THC

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. THC stimulates cells in the brain to release dopamine, creating euphoria and can cause hallucinations, change thinking and cause delusions. On average, the effects last about two hours, and kick in 10 to 30 minutes after ingestion. Users like it because of the effects, including feelings of relaxation, giddiness, and that characteristic stoner ‘chill.’

2. Inhaling

When you inhale, eat, or otherwise consume marijuana, THC enters the bloodstream (or the lungs first if you’re smoking) where it makes its way to special cannabinoid receptors in the brain that normally interact with naturally occurring body chemicals. Marijuana smoke contains a similar range of harmful chemicals to that of tobacco smoke including bronchial irritants, tumor promoters and carcinogens. when smoking marijuana compared to tobacco, there is a prolonged and deeper inhalation and it is smoked to a shorter butt length and at a higher combustion temperature. Inhaling from a ‘joint’ results in approximately 5 times the carbon monoxide concentration, 3 times the tar, and higher levels of ammonia as compared to tobacco, though no study has shown a correlation between cancer and smoking marijuana.

3. Your Brain

The active chemical in marijuana mimics a natural neurotransmitter called anandamide. Anandamide is often referred to as the “bliss molecule” because of its role in boosting memory and learning, dulling pain, and stimulating the appetite. Anandamide normally buddies up with dopamine, and together these neurotransmitters turn on and turn off different chemical pathways as needed. However, the feeling of bliss is just being mimicked and when THC gets its groove on in the cannabinoid receptors, it actually blocks the areas where short-term memory, learning, problem solving and unconscious muscle movements come from. When THC reaches the brain, all of those functions become overactive and scrambled. The receptors, in turn, release dopamine and give your body that recognizable, feel-good high.

4. More Weed, More Effects

Basically, marijuana messes with your brain’s processing system, disrupting the way it communicates within itself because all of the receptors are scrambled. The more you smoke, the more the system becomes addled. Some studies have shown that frequent adolescent marijuana use—especially when use begins at a younger age—can reduce IQ by middle age. Further research argues that smoking regularly causes overuse of the CB1 receptors, which can lead to a sloth-like brain. However, there are also studies that show that puffing the magic dragon won’t actually zap your brain cells in the long-term and that the effects can actually wear off after a period of time depending on the person.

5. Paranoia

The discombobulation of your brain’s mood and emotion receptors can also lend itself to feelings of paranoia or anxiety in some highs. “Paranoid” in this context means the unfounded or excessive fear that other people are trying to harm us. THC can make the brain produce negative thoughts about oneself and negative emotions leave us feeling down and vulnerable. Worry leads us to the worst conclusions. The good news for stoners is that this feeling goes away as soon as the chemicals begin to leave the bloodstream, and not everyone experiences this feeling.

6. When Eaten

When marijuana is eaten or ingested, it may take hours for THC to reach the brain and initiate the high effects. The good news is that it’s a natural plant product and unlike smoking the buds, it normally does not cause many side effects when eaten or upset the stomach. Food makers are now extracting THC and the other chemicals from the plant and making compounds with various foods like candy, cookies, yogurt, soda, and even hamburgers.

7. Stoner Eyes

People can tell when you’ve been smoking mary jane because most people get red eye. The brain receptors cause vasodilation, or the expansion of your blood vessels, which irritates your eyes and causes them to become red and itchy. Marijuana causes the inner-eye pressure to decrease after use. When the pressure drops in your eye, the small blood vessels have room to expand, causing you to look like you just lost a battle with allergies. The chemicals in Visine cause your blood vessels to constrict, minimizing your stoned glaze, the stoner’s friend since 1963.

8. Heart Rate

Vasodilation also causes a smoker’s heart rate to increase between 20 and 100 percent. Any smoke inhaled into your blood stream will raise your heart rate level substantially. The problem with it, however, it that not only does the heart beat faster, but it beats harder, increasing blood pressure. The good news is the effect only lasts up to three hours after smoking. This effect is also present when consuming the marijuana in foods or liquids form, so if you have a weak heart, smoking ganja is not a good idea.

9. Munchies

Your same receptors responsible for the ‘high’ feeling also play a role in energy regulation and food intake, which may explain why some people get “the munchies” after smoking. When THC gets thrown in the mix, the endocannabinoids can cause hunger and trigger food cravings through a heightened sense of smell. Next thing you know, you’ve eaten three cheeseburgers, half a pizza, and half the menue at Taco Bell.

10. Coming Down

As the drug wears off, so does the high from the dopamine. And that dopamine drop-off can lead to sadness or even depression, research shows. Between two and six hours after your first smoke, the ‘feel-good’ effects of marijuana start to fade and leave you tired. The quick drop-off in dopamine chemicals can sometimes inspire feelings of sadness or leave your brain feeling sluggish and burned out. Some people get headaches or muscle aches for a very short time at this stage, but after repetitive 

usage, this side effect stops occurring.

11. Your Body After Smoking

There are studies after studies on the effects of using marijuana. Most report that the use does decrease the number of receptors that control brain functions ranging from emotion to appetite. But those receptors usually pop back to normal levels once people quit the drug after two to four months, and the long-term effects are not as detrimental as smoking cigarettes or even consuming alcohol on a steady basis. Though the effects of THC fade after only a few hours, the chemicals stay in your body from anywhere between 20 hours and 10 days. So if you’re celebrating 4/20 the usual way, don’t bank on passing a drug test anytime soon.

culled - www.infoplaceng.com