Effects of Marijuana on Brains and Bodies

These are just some of the problems marijuana can cause:

Memory Problems
Marijuana makes it hard to remember things that just happened a few minutes
ago. That makes it hard to learn in school or to pay attention to your job.

Heart Problems
Using marijuana makes the heart beat fast and raises your risk of having a heart
attack.

Coughing and Breathing Problems

People who smoke marijuana can get some of the same coughing and breathing
problems as people who smoke cigarettes. Marijuana smoke can hurt your lungs.

Drugged Driving
Driving when you're high on marijuana is dangerous. It is similar to driving drunk.
Your reactions to traffic signs and sounds are slow. It's hard to pay attention to
the road. And it's even worse when you're high on marijuana and alcohol at the
same time.

Not Caring about Life

Over time, people who use marijuana can get "burnt out." They don't think about
much or do much. They can't concentrate. They don't seem to care about
anything but smoking marijuana.

Overdose
An overdose happens when a person uses enough of a drug to have a very bad
reaction or death. People can overdose on marijuana when they take too much
of it. This can cause very uncomfortable side effects. In recent years, emergency
room doctors are seeing more overdoses in people who eat marijuana edibles
(gummies, lollipops and other foods). It takes longer to feel high from edibles
than from smoking. Because of this, sometimes people eat too much because
they think it isn’t working.

Signs of marijuana overdose are:

 a lot of anxiety (feeling very worried)

 panic attacks
 paranoia (thinking people are out to get you)
 hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t there)
We do not know of any person who has died from using just marijuana.

Addiction
Although some people don't know it, you can get addicted to marijuana after
using it for a while. Over time, it can change the way your brain works. If you stop
using it, your body can get confused and you can start to feel really sick. This
makes it hard to stop. This is called addiction.

This is more likely to happen to people who use marijuana every day or who
started using it when they were teenagers. They might need to smoke more and
more of it to get the same high.

People who are trying to quit using marijuana can:

 be in a bad mood
 feel nervous
 have trouble sleeping

They will feel a strong need to take the drug.

Fortunately, there is counseling that can help someone with a marijuana

addiction.

Remember that even if you get treatment, it can be hard to stay off the drug.
People who stopped using marijuana can still feel strong cravings for the drug,
sometimes even years later. This is normal. This is also why it’s important to stay
in treatment for as long as your doctor suggests.

Also known as: Boom, Bud, Chronic, Gangster, Ganja, Grass, Herb, Kif, Mary
Jane, MJ, Pot, Reefer, Skunk, and Weed

Marijuana is the dried leaves and flowers of the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis
indica plant. Stronger forms of the drug include high potency strains - known as
sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah), hashish (hash for short), and extracts including hash
oil, shatter, wax, and budder.

Of the more than 500 chemicals in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol,

known as THC, is responsible for many of the drug’s psychotropic (mind-altering)
effects. It’s this chemical that distorts how the mind perceives the world.

Strength and Potency

The amount of THC in marijuana has increased over the past few decades. In
the early 1990s, the average THC content in marijuana was about 3.74 percent.
In 2013, it was almost 10 percent, and much higher in some products such as
oils and other extracts (see below). Scientists do not yet know what this increase
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in potency means for a person’s health. It may cause users to take in higher
amounts of THC – which could lead to greater health risks including increased
risk of addiction, or they may adjust how they consume marijuana (by smoking or
eating less) to compensate for the greater potency. There have been reports of
people seeking help in emergency rooms with symptoms, including psychosis
(having false thoughts or seeing or hearing things that aren't there), after
consuming high concentrations of THC.

Marijuana Extracts

Smoking extracts and resins from the marijuana plant with high levels of THC is
on the rise. There are several forms of these extracts, such as hash oil, budder,
wax, and shatter. These resins have 3 to 5 times more THC than the plant itself.
Smoking or vaping it (also called dabbing) can deliver dangerous amounts of
THC to users, and has led some people to seek treatment in the emergency
room. There have also been reports of people injured in fires and explosions
caused by attempts to extract hash oil from marijuana leaves using butane
(lighter fluid).

When marijuana is smoked or vaporized, THC quickly passes from the lungs into
the bloodstream, which carries it to organs throughout the body, including the
brain. Its effects begin almost immediately and can last from 1 to 3 hours.
Decision making, concentration, and memory can be affected for days after use,
especially in regular users. If marijuana is consumed in foods or beverages, the
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effects of THC appear later—usually in 30 minutes to 1 hour—and may last for

many hours.

As it enters the brain, THC attaches to cells, or neurons, with specific kinds of
receptors called cannabinoid receptors. Normally, these receptors are activated
by chemicals similar to THC that occur naturally in the body. They are part of a
communication network in the brain called the endocannabinoid system. This
system is important in normal brain development and function.

Most of the cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence
pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and
coordinated movement. Marijuana activates the endocannabinoid system, which
causes the pleasurable feelings or "high" and stimulates the release
of dopamine in the brain's reward centers, reinforcing the behavior. Other effects
include changes in perceptions and mood, lack of coordination, difficulty with
thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.

Certain parts of the brain have a lot of cannabinoid receptors. These areas are
the hippocampus, the cerebellum, the basal ganglia, and the cerebral cortex.
(Learn more about these areas and how THC affects them.) As a result,
marijuana affects these functions:

 Learning and memory. The hippocampus plays a critical role in certain

types of learning. Disrupting its normal functioning can lead to problems
studying, learning new things, and recalling recent events. Chronic
marijuana use disorder, that begins in adolescence, is associated with a
loss of IQ points, as compared with people who don't use marijuana during
their teen years. However, two recent twin studies suggest that this
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decline is related to other risk factors (e.g., genetics, family, and

environment), not by marijuana use itself.4

 Coordination. THC affects the cerebellum, the area of our brain that
controls balance and coordination, and the basal ganglia, another part of
the brain that helps control movement. These effects can influence
performance in such activities as sports, driving, and video games.
 Judgment. Since THC affects areas of the frontal cortex involved in
decision making, using it can make you more likely to engage in risky
behavior, such as unprotected sex or getting in a car with someone who’s
been drinking or is high on marijuana.

Is marijuana addictive?
 Yes, marijuana can be addictive. Someone who regularly uses marijuana
may continue to use it despite negative consequences in their life.
 Approximately 10 percent of users may develop what is called a marijuana
use disorder—problems with their health, school, friendships, family or
other conflicts in their life. A serious substance use disorder is commonly
called an addiction. The person can’t stop using marijuana even though it
gets in the way of daily life. People who begin using marijuana before the
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age of 18 are 4–7 times more likely than adults to develop a marijuana use
disorder.10

 What causes one person to become addicted to marijuana while another

does not depends on many factors—including their family history
(genetics), the age they start using, whether they also use other drugs,
their family and friend relationships, and whether they take part in positive
activities like school or sports (environment). More research needs to be
done to determine whether people who use marijuana for medical reasons
are at the same risk for addiction as those who use it recreationally.
  What is methamphetamine (meth)?
 Also known as: Chalk, Meth, Speed, and Tina; or for crystal meth, Crank,
Fire, Glass, Go fast, and Ice
 Methamphetamine—known as “meth”—is a very addictive stimulant drug.
Stimulants are a class of drugs that can boost mood, increase feelings of
well-being, increase energy, and make you more alert. But they also have
dangerous effects like raising heart rate and blood pressure, and use can
lead to addiction.
 Methamphetamine is a manmade, white, bitter-tasting powder. Sometimes
it's made into a white pill or a shiny, white or clear rock called a crystal.
Meth is made in the United States and often in Mexico—in "superlabs"—
big illegal laboratories that make the drug in large quantities. But it is also
made in small labs using cheap, over-the-counter ingredients such as
pseudoephedrine, which is common in cold medicines. Other chemicals,
some of them toxic, are also involved in making methamphetamine.
 Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II drug, meaning it has high
potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot
be refilled. It is prescribed by doctors in limited doses in rare cases for
certain medical conditions.
 Methamphetamine causes a quick release of the
neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, producing feelings of extreme
pleasure, sometimes referred to as a “rush” or “flash.” It is important to
note that when you do fun drug-free things like listen to music, play video
games, or eat tasty food, the brain naturally releases small amounts of
dopamine, making you feel pleasure. But meth floods the brain with
dopamine, depleting its supply. So, once the effects have warn off, the
brain will no longer send the small amounts of this pleasure producing
chemical to the brain when you do ordinary activities, and that can lead to
depression.
 Regular use of methamphetamine causes chemical and molecular
changes in the brain, sometimes for a long time. The activity of the
dopamine system changes, causing problems with feeling pleasure,
movement, and thinking.

he release of dopamine in the brain causes several physical effects, similar to

those of other stimulants like cocaine. These include:

 feeling very awake and active

 fast heart rate and irregular heartbeat
 higher blood pressure
 higher body temperature
 increased risk for HIV/AIDS or hepatitis (a liver disease) from unsafe sex
and shared needles
Long Term Effects

Continued methamphetamine use may cause effects that last for a long time,
even after a person quits using the drug. These effects include:

 anxiety and confusion

 problems sleeping
 mood swings
 violent behavior
 psychosis (hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there)
 skin sores caused by scratching
 severe weight loss
 severe dental problems, known as “meth mouth”
 problems with thinking, emotion, and memory

Can you overdose or die if you use methamphetamine?

Yes, it is possible. Methamphetamine can raise your body temperature so much
that you pass out. If not treated right away, this can cause death. Death can also
occur from heart attack or stroke caused by the drug’s effects on the
neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which raises heart beat and blood pressure and
constricts blood vessels. The number of deaths caused by methamphetamine is
not known, because those statistics are not tracked at the national level.

Is methamphetamine addictive?
Yes. Methamphetamine use can quickly lead to addiction. That’s when a person
seeks out the drug over and over, even after they want to stop and even after it
has caused damage to their health and other parts of their life.

Methamphetamine causes tolerance—when a person needs to take more of it to

get the same high. People who usually eat or snort meth might start to smoke or
inject it to get a stronger, quicker high.

People who try to quit using methamphetamine might experience very

uncomfortable feelings of withdrawal, including:

 get really tired but have trouble sleeping

 feel angry or nervous
 feel depressed
 feel a very strong craving to use methamphetamine
 How do drug overdoses happen?
When a person dies due to a drug overdose the medical examiner or coroner
records on the death certificate if the overdose was intentional – purposely self-
inflicted (as in cases of suicide) – or unintentional (accidental).

Unintentional drug poisoning deaths can happen when a drug or drugs are taken
on purpose (or mixed together). They can also happen when a drug or drugs are
accidently taken or given to a person in the course of a medical procedure. Total
overdose death numbers also include cases where drugs are given to a person
in a criminal act (a homicide, if a death occurs.) With most drugs, there are
more accidental deaths than suicides or homicides.

Some overdoses happen when people leave drug treatment. During treatment, a
person goes through a detoxification (“detox”) process---getting the drug out of
the body. If a person has gone through detox, and then takes the same amount
of drugs they took before, they can overdose because the body is no longer used
to the same dose.

Drug Overdoses, Ages

Number of Deaths, 2015
15-24

Total Overdose Deaths 5,376

Female 1,483

Male 3,893

Alcohol 1
102

Cocaine 757

Heroin and other illicit 3,151

opioids2
Marijuana There are no reports of teens or young adults dying from an overdose of
marijuana alone. But there are many reports of marijuana users seeking
treatment in emergency rooms, reporting uncomfortable side effects from
consuming high THC levels in smoked marijuana or marijuana edibles.

Prescription Drugs:
Benzodiazepines (e.g. 1,046
sedatives)
Common Prescription 1,146
Opioids (pain relievers)3

Synthetic Cannabinoids Deaths have been reported. However, while some state and local
(K2/Spice) governments (and other groups) collect this information, total nationwide
numbers are not currently available.