How do the chemicals in marijuana change the way a person sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels things?
When someone uses marijuana, these chemicals travel through the bloodstream and quickly attach to special places on the brain’s nerve cells. These places are called receptors, because they receive information from other nerve cells and from chemicals. When a receptor receives information, it causes changes in the nerve cell.
The chemical in marijuana that has a big impact on the brain is called THC — tetrahydrocannabinol. (Whew! Try saying that 10 times fast.) Scientists recently discovered that some areas of the brain have a lot of THC receptors, while others have very few or none. These clues are helping researchers figure out exactly how THC works in the brain.
Marijuana may cause some parts of the body to react in different ways. What do you know about:
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Rapid Heartbeat
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Dilated blood vessels
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A feeling of panic
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Daily cough and more frequent chest colds.
One region of the brain that contains a lot of THC receptors is the hippocampus, which processes memory. When THC attaches to receptors in the hippocampus, it weakens short-term memory.
The hippocampus also communicates with other brain regions that process new information into long-term memory. (That’s how you can remember today’s shopping list or a friend’s phone number.) In the brain, under the influence of marijuana, new information may never register – and may be lost from memory.
Maybe you’ve heard that in some people, marijuana can cause uncontrollable laughter one minute and paranoia the next. That’s because THC also influences emotions, probably by acting on a region of the brain called the limbic system.
And don’t forget this: THC can make something as simple as driving a car really dangerous.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
If it’s not hurting anybody, what’s the big deal
Most people are unaware of the facts.
Thank you for this very informative article. I decided to quit smoking marijuana because of all the things you mentioned above. You see, I have kids who need me and I am only so grateful that it wasn’t to late before I came to realize how terribly dumb I was to even think of using and abusing the drug.
It’s only a drug because we have classified it as a drug. Marijuana does no long term damage and is only an addictive drug if you let it take over you, the Danish have had legalized marijuana for years now in Denmark and due to its legal status they’ve actually found out that majority of teens in Denmark don’t even smoke weed, in fact is only about 10% whereas here in the States it is around 50%.
JonMarley@Marijuana Smokers´s last blog ..Dragon Vap Portable Vaporizer Review
Legalization has nothing to do with addiction and how it adversely affects the brain. Think science and fact, not politics and rhetoric.