Although many marijuana doctors and users believe smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different medical problems.
Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the U.S. When you smoke it, it begins to affect users within 30-60 seconds and can last for 1–2 hours. When it is administered orally, such as capsules, edibles or tincture the effects take longer to begin, but usually last longer. Click here for more information on the necessary steps to get your medical marijuana card in Florida.
The active ingredient in cannabis is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. There are many different marijuana plant strains you can use to treat a variety of medical conditions using medical cannabis. We recommend you check with a licensed medical marijuana doctor who can assist you.
Marijuana can be administered in a variety of way as discussed earlier. This can again be done with CBD and or THC and applied orally, using inhalation, creams, patches, suppository form and more. It can also be added to liquids such as a drink or apply directly to your hot bath water. Get your medical marijuana card today!
SHORT-TERM EFFECTS
- Short-term memory problems
- Severe anxiety, including fear that one is being watched or followed (paranoia)
- Very strange behavior, seeing, hearing or smelling things that aren’t there, not being able to tell imagination from reality (psychosis)
- Panic
- Hallucinations
- Loss of sense of personal identity
- Lowered reaction time
- Increased heart rate (risk of heart attack)
- Increased risk of stroke
- Problems with coordination (impairing safe driving or playing sports)
- Sexual problems (for males)
- Up to seven times more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections
than non-users (for females)
LONG-TERM EFFECTS
- Decline in IQ (up to 8 points if prolonged use started in adolescent age)
- Poor school performance and higher chance of dropping out
- Impaired thinking and ability to learn and perform complex tasks
- Lower life satisfaction
- Addiction (about 9% of adults and 17% of people who started smoking as teens)
- Potential development of opiate abuse
- Relationship problems, intimate partner violence
- Antisocial behavior including stealing money or lying
- Financial difficulties
- Increased welfare dependence
- Greater chances of being unemployed or not getting good jobs.
Depending on the quality and amount consumed as well as route of administration, marijuana can produce a feeling of euphoria by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine. When smoked or vaped, the feeling of euphoria can happen within 30 seconds or so. When ingested orally, it takes much longer, even hours, for the drug to signal the brain to release the dopamine according to recent study and research.