TL;DR: Cannabis is a plant containing the psychoactive compound, THC. When smoked or consumed it leads to feelings of euphoria by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Cannabis is generally safe, although usage can cause bad trips, dependence and even increased risk of schizophrenia.
Intro
Weed, pot, grass, mary jane, kush. It’s the notorious plant that goes by many names: cannabis.
It can be found pretty much everywhere and anywhere. Slip out the back door at pretty much any event and you’re bound to run into a huddle of people, stealthy passing a joint between themselves. Dig a little into a college student’s closet and you’re bound to uncover a few mason jars neatly labeled “Tangerine Dream” or “Afghan Kush”.
Some call it God’s gift to man, others say it causes reefer madness, some just say it’s a great way to relax after a long day of work. Join us, as we delve into cannabis.
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis is a green, stalky plant that can be found growing natively in many parts of the world, easily identified by its distinctive leaf shape. The flowers of the cannabis plant naturally produce a psychoactive compound known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When consumed, THC can act as a depressant, stimulant and even a hallucinogen (read more about drug classifications in our intro to drugs here).
The most common way to consume cannabis is through the smoking of the dried buds. This can be done using a rolled cigarette, often referred to as a joint, a pipe, or a water pipe, often referred to as a bong. Alternative consumption methods include vaporizing the dried buds, consuming oils infused with THC, or consuming food with cannabis cooked into it, often referred to as edibles.
Cannabis usage has been around as long as recorded history, with evidence of the burning of it dating back to 3500 BC. Although, at the time of writing this article, cannabis is starting to become legalized in more and more parts of the world, it is still widely regarded as the most popular “illegal” drug in the world, with an estimated 2.7 to 4.9% of the global population using the drug in 2013 [1]. That’s well over 100 million users worldwide!
Cannabis is enjoyed broadly both by recreational and medicinal users. Recreational users usually take it for feelings of relaxation, euphoria, reduced stress and general wellbeing. Medicinally it is used to manage pain, reduce nausea, improve appetite, manage anxiety and assist with insomnia.
How does THC work?
Spread rather pervasively throughout the brain is what is known as the endocannabinoid (EC) system. The EC system essentially works as a feedback system for your neurons, using cannabinoids as a messenger to confirm that the neuron has fired as intended [2]. This can be a little tough to wrap your head around so we’ve provided a brief, step-by-step overview of the process below:
- A neuron wants to activate, so it sends a neurotransmitter from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron
- The postsynaptic neuron receives the neurotransmitter in one of its receptors and then activates accordingly
- The postsynaptic neuron then sends a cannabinoid back to the presynaptic neuron
- The presynaptic neuron receives the cannabinoid in one of it’s cannabinoid receptors, which essentially tells it “I’ve fired as instructed, stop sending me neurotransmitters”
Your brain’s cannabinoid messenger of choice is known as anandamide. As you can see from the image below, anandamide and THC share a very similar chemical structure, so much so that your EC system is not able to tell the difference between them. When your brain gets flooded with THC it begins to bind to the available cannabinoid receptors [2]. This makes your presynaptic neuron think that it’s postsynaptic counterpart has activated, when in reality it has not — a metaphorical “wire crossing”. As you can probably imagine, this is a very confusing state for your brain to be in, as it now has no idea which neurons have actually fired and which have not, leading to altered functioning across the board.
Unfortunately, due to cannabis still being illegal in most areas of the world, the functioning of THC beyond this is still not well understood. In short, THC disrupts your brain’s ability to know how it is functioning, leading to altered mood and perception and at higher doses even hallucinations and derealization. One could potentially view THC as temporarily “blinding” your brain; it is still able to function normally, it just can’t “see” the results of it’s functioning, which makes it harder for it to know how to function going forward.
Effects of Cannabis
There are two main effects of consuming cannabis recreationally: a mental high and a body high. Mental highs are often more associated with consuming the sativa types of cannabis, whereas body highs are more associated with indica types of cannabis. Keep in mind however that each type of high is not exclusive to each type of weed. It’s highly possible that you may experience body high symptoms after consuming sativa and vice versa.
A mental high is typically marked by feelings of euphoria. Senses are enhanced, making music sound better, colours appear more vivid and food more enjoyable. Time may seem to go by either faster or more slowly. The user typically feels in good spirits and is likely to laugh very easily. Creativity is often enhanced, as users may find themselves thinking less rigidly and more fluidly. Appetite is also usually increased, leading to a strong urge to snack, lovingly referred to as “the munchies”. Vivid closed eye hallucinations may also be experienced at higher doses.
A body high is marked by strong feelings of physical relaxation. The user feels extremely comfortable, often so much so that they find it not worth the effort to move, referred to as being “couch locked”. Aches and pains in the body are often reduced or completely eliminated. One may feel as if they are melting or sinking into whatever they are sitting on. Sometimes, a slight buzzing feeling may also be experienced in the head or teeth. When taking higher doses, many users might find that the relaxation effect can put them to sleep.
The experience, however, is not positive for everyone. Many people experience intense anxiety and panic when high on weed. This is especially common at higher doses or with inexperienced users. At very high doses, acute psychosis may even be experienced, symptoms of which include hallucinations, delusions and a loss of personal identity [3].
Cannabis has also been shown to have some quite powerful medicinal benefits, although research in this area is limited due to it still being an illegal substance in most areas of the world. Early evidence suggests that cannabis can be quite powerful in reducing chronic pain, control nausea and vomiting, as well as to relax muscle spasticity (tight or stiff muscles) [4]. As such research is being performed on potentially using cannabis to treat the following ailments:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Appetite loss
- Cancer
- Crohn’s disease
- Diseases affecting the immune system like HIV/AIDS or Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Eating disorders such as anorexia
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- Mental health conditions like schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscle spasms
- Nausea
- Pain
- Seizures
- Wasting syndrome (cachexia)
After smoking cannabis, effects begin to be experienced almost instantly, due to how fast it can enter your bloodstream from your lungs. Effects peak usually at around 30 minutes and wear off in 1 to 3 hours. When consuming cannabis orally, through an edible or drink, effects usually take much longer to begin to kick in, usually after about 30 minutes to an hour [3]. Because of this delayed response, many users make the mistake of redosing because they don’t think they took enough, often leading to them becoming way too high in the end. When taking edibles you should always wait several hours before redosing to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you.
Health Concerns with Cannabis
Overall, cannabis is on the safer side when it comes to drugs, however, that is not to say it is entirely safe. Below are some common health concerns involved with cannabis:
Smoking
Inhaling smoke in your lungs is bad for you. Period. We won’t go into too much detail here, but smoke from cannabis has been shown to contain many of the same harmful toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke. Read more on tobacco here [5]. Even worse, cannabis smokers usually hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers, leading to a longer exposure to the harmful smoke. Long term cannabis smoking can cause acute bronchitis and increased risks for lung infection [5].
Thankfully, these issues can be sidestepped by usings non-smoking forms of cannabis, such as edibles or drinks. For the sake of your lungs it is recommended to take these instead of smoking, if you decide to use cannabis.
Bad Trip
It is generally accepted that it is not possible to overdose on cannabis, at least in a conventional sense. The CDC does not attribute any deaths to cannabis usage [6]. For that reason, many consider the usage of cannabis to be quite safe.
With that being said, it is still very easy to have a bad time using cannabis, like a reaaaaally bad time. As mentioned above, cannabis can cause intense anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations and derealization. All in all, many users start really freaking out after getting too high. A quick google search brings up countless stories of people calling 911 after getting too high, for fear for their health.
While you won’t die from smoking weed, you can certainly get to feeling like you’re dying. From a perception standpoint, in the moment, there really isn’t that much a difference between those two, so proceed with caution.
Habit Forming/Dependence
There is a lot of debate over whether weed can really be said to be addictive. Most users seem to have no problem quitting cannabis at any time after moderate usage. However, with more regular and extended usage, cannabis can be habit forming, and withdrawal symptoms can be experienced when stopping usage.
Again, data is limited due to its legal status, but it is estimated that about 30% of people who use cannabis develop some sort of usage disorder [7], where they experience some sort of withdrawal symptom when stopping usage. Symptoms most reported are decreased appetite, cravings, restlessness, and various forms of physical discomfort that peak within the first week after quitting and last up to 2 weeks. This is caused by the brain adapting to the large amount of THC regularly present in the brain by reducing production of and sensitivity to it’s own EC neurotransmitters [7].
People who use cannabis before the age of 18 have been found to be about 4 to 7 times as likely to develop a usage disorder [7]. As such, younger people should be more careful using cannabis. A general rule of thumb is that cannabis usage should be extremely limited before the age of 25, as that is when the brain is said to be fully developed.
Schizophrenia
Cannabis usage has been correlated to increased occurrences of schizophrenia, although again, due to the legal status, research is limited. The most recent data [8] seems to suggest that weed is likely to bring out schizophrenia in those with a genetic predisposition to it. There is little to suggest that it may cause schizophrenia in those who aren’t genetically predisposed.
Men who are predisposed to schizophrenia usually tend to show symptoms in their late teens and early twenties, whereas women show symptoms in their late twenties and early thirties. The earlier marijuana usage starts, the more strongly it seems to be linked to schizophrenia [9]. This provides even stronger backing to the rule of thumb saying that you should limit weed use prior to the age of 25.
If you are aware that you have the genes that predispose you to schizophrenia, or if one of your blood relatives has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, you should probably err on the side of caution and stay away from weed.
Conclusion
Cannabis is a plant that can be found growing in many areas of the world. Its flowering buds produce a psychoactive compound known as THC. When smoked or consumed, THC blocks cannabinoid receptors in your brain, essentially “blinding” it. This usually causes symptoms of euphoria and relaxation, although in some cases it can cause anxiety, panic and hallucinations. Cannabis also has promising medicinal applications, although research is limited due to its current legal status.
In general cannabis is quite a safe drug, as no overdoses have been reported on it and it is not very addictive. However, it can lead to bad trips and even cause dependence with extended usage. It has also been shown to cause schizophrenia in those with a genetic predisposition to it. The negative effects of cannabis are especially prevalent in those with a still developing brain, so children under 18 should not use it and those under 25 should limit usage.
References:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)
[2] https://www.livescience.com/how-cannabis-high-works.html
[3] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuana-effects
[4] https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/medical-marijuana-faq
[5] https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/health-effects/marijuana-and-lung-health
[6] https://www.healthline.com/health/can-you-overdose-on-marijuana
[7] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-addictive
[8] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders
[9] https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-marijuana-link
