The Impact of Drugs on the Brain

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The Impact of Drugs on the Brain Impact of Marijuana on the Brain Introduction All non-medicinal drugs are known to affect how the brain functions. They can raise/ speed up or lower/ slow down automatic functions necessary for life, like heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. They also affect how neurons send, receive, and process signals through neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, Norepinephrine, and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). According to World Health Organization (n.d), when drugs interact with the brain, they alter moods, emotions, behavior, perception, and how people interact with the world around them. This paper will explore both short-term and long-term impacts of marijuana on the brain and central nervous system. Even though marijuana is not as addictive as other drugs like alcohol and cocaine, it is still possible to get hooked on it, and the impacts of its use are just as detrimental as more addictive options, and it remains one of the most abused drugs.

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Drug Description Marijuana is a drug obtained from Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica plants. For centuries, the drug has been used as a recreational and entheogenic drug. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug, which means that when it interacts with the brain, it causes changes in moods, thoughts, awareness, behavior, and feelings. The primary psychoactive element in marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Alves et al. (2020). The drug has at least 483 other compounds, including Cannabidiol (CBD). According to the NIDA report (2023), marijuana is the most abused drug in the US. Effects on the Brain.

When marijuana gets to the brain, THC stimulates neurons in the reward system to produce abnormally higher dopamine levels. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for feeling pleasure, which is why marijuana abusers find its use quite rewarding (Alves et al., 2020). Higher dopamine level is typically associated with aggressiveness, poor impulse control, and behavioral disorders.

Effects on Sensation, Perception, and Consciousness THC alters the functioning of the brain by binding cannabinoid receptors. The areas of the brain with a higher concentration of cannabinoid receptors, and thus affected by THC, include the hippocampus, which is responsible for short-term memory, cerebellum, which controls coordination; and basal ganglia, which controls involuntary muscle movement (NIDA, n.d). For this reason, marijuana can impede the ability to recount recent events and cause mood

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alteration, impaired motor skills, distorted sensory and time perception, difficulty in thinking clearly, and decreased memory.

Marijuana is known to cause increased appetite. This is because THC also affects the hypothalamus, which controls appetite. Its short-term use is also associated with increased clarity of perception and intensification of sensation. According to Odgen and Faulkner (2022), individuals under the drug's influence may also feel that time is slowing down.

Marijuana use has several long-term effects, especially among those who start using it before the brain fully develops. According to NIDA, marijuana use from adolescence into adulthood may cause irreversible loss of IQ. A study by Madeline Meier also showed that the use of cannabis at least once a week led to a reduction in IQ at the age of 38 among those who started using it before turning 18. The study found that long-term marijuana use causes a reduction in processing speed and impaired executive function (Meier et al., (2022). This happens due to the drug’s effect on the frontal component and cerebello-parietal, which are associated with intelligence. According to Meier et al. (2022), persistent marijuana use can reduce natural cannabinoid receptors (CB1R) in the frontal lobes by 20%.

Aspects of Addiction Meier’s study also found that those who start using marijuana in their adolescence are 4-7 times more likely to become addicted than those who start in their adulthood. Addiction may lead to marijuana use disorder, which is marked by an inability to quit using the drug even when one is experiencing some of its negative effects. According to NIDA, three out of ten marijuana users are addicted. Addiction occurs when the brain adapts to the drug by reducing its sensitivity

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to and production of endocannabinoid neurotransmitters which are produced in the body. At this point, the brain becomes too much dependent on cannabis, and the user will need to use the drug for the body to function normally.

Conclusion The use of marijuana is linked to other effects like psychosis and psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. Long-term marijuana smoking is associated with breathing problems, bronchitis, and chronic cough. Even though marijuana has some medical value, its side effects outweigh the medical benefits. Those who use it for recreational purposes are unlikely to feel its medical benefits since they always overuse it and do not always go for a prescription, which is a requirement for medical use of cannabis. Even though it is not as dangerous as cocaine and heroin, it is still dangerous, whether taken through smoking, within food, vaporization, or as an extract. According to CDC (2023), there is no scholarly consensus as of 2023 on whether marijuana is a 'gateway' drug that may lead to the abuse of more dangerous drugs.

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References Alves, P., Amaral, C., Teixeira, N., & Correia-da-Silva, G. (2020). Cannabis sativa: Much more beyond Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Pharmacological Research, 157, 104822. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104822 CDC. (2023). Marijuana and Public Health. Risk of Using Other Drugs. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/risk-of-other-drugs.html Meier, M. H., Caspi, A., Ambler, A., Hariri, A. R., Harrington, H., Hogan, S., ... & Moffitt, T. E. (2022). Preparedness for healthy aging and polysubstance use in long-term cannabis users: a population-representative longitudinal study. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 3(10), e703-e714. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00201-X NIDA. (2023, February 19). Most Commonly Used Addictive Drugs. Retrieved from https://archives.nida.nih.gov/publications/media-guide/most-commonly-used-addictivedrugs on 2023, March 6

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NIDA (n.d). Most Commonly Used Addictive Drugs. Retrieved from: https://archives.nida.nih.gov/publications/media-guide/most-commonly-used-addictivedrugs Ogden, R. S., & Faulkner, J. (2022). The influence of recreational drug use on experiences of the passage of time. Open Science in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1024/0939-5911/a000761 World Health Organization. (n.d). Drugs (psychoactive). https://www.who.int/health-topics/drugs-psychoactive#tab=tab_1