Yo, what’s good fam? You ever wonder what’s really going on in your head when you hit that weed? Like, what does it do to your brain, you know? When it’s done right, that stuff can make music, food and all kinds of pleasures feel even better. But what’s really happening up there? Well, we got some answers for ya, especially if you’re just a casual user like myself.
Now, we all know that like alcohol and other drugs, things are definitely going down when you’re sparking up. Some of it’s good, but some of it can be sketchy AF. We’ve come a long way in understanding the brain when it’s high, but there’s still a lot we don’t know yet. Right now, about half of cannabis research is focused on the negatives of the plant. But there are plenty of people who want to learn more about the benefits, especially when it comes to medical use.
So here’s the deal – alcohol can seriously mess with your brain’s communication pathways and mess up how it looks and works. It makes things harder for areas in charge of balance, memory, speech and judgment to do their jobs, which can lead to all kinds of injuries and bad outcomes. Not cool, right?
But marijuana is different – it affects your brain function in its own unique way. Specifically, it messes with parts of the brain that control memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotions and reaction time. And depending on how strong the weed is and how you consume it (smoking, edibles, oil…you know the deal), effects can vary from person to person. Sometimes it can make your senses feel extra intense – colors might seem brighter and sounds might seem louder. It can mess with your sense of time and mess with your motor skills too.
Now here’s where things get extra interesting. THC (that’s the stuff in weed that gets you high) actually triggers the reward system in your brain, which includes areas that light up when you’re doing other pleasurable things like eating and sex. And like other drugs, THC can make neurons in your brain release dopamine, which is a chemical that makes you feel good. Researchers have even seen how it messes with time perception in both humans and animals.
But here’s where things get a little weirder – using marijuana for a short time can help you spend more time in deep sleep, which is the kind of sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed when you wake up. Sounds chill, right? But at the same time, it can mess with your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the stage when you do more dreaming and processing of emotions. So if you’re looking to remember your dreams or process some heavy feelings, smoking a lot of weed might not be the way to go.
But don’t worry – medical marijuana is definitely a safer and better option than alcohol or those sketchy pain killers you hear so much about. It’s been proven to help with everything from pain to nausea during cancer treatments. And with more research coming out every day, we might just find even more benefits to using this sweet little plant. So keep on sparking up, but remember – moderation is key!