Marijuana is a plant with flowers and leaves used as drugs, with its main psychoactive compound being Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When you smoke marijuana, THC enters your bloodstream through specific receptors in various parts of your brain where it acts like natural THC produced by your body – altering its functions and making you feel different than before. THC causes changes to how your mind works and alters how it operates, ultimately altering how you experience reality.
THC can have immediate and short-term impacts, including altering mood and perception, diminishing hunger levels and slowing your thinking processes. But its long-term ramifications include memory problems, difficulty learning new material and impaired coordination. Teens who start heavily using pot as teens may incur lasting damage to the brain; imaging studies reveal less connectivity in areas vital to normal thinking, alertness and memory functions.
Use of marijuana increases your risk for heart attack and stroke, particularly if you already have a cardiovascular condition or take other drugs that alter how blood vessels work or clot. Smoking marijuana also raises lung disease risks including bronchitis and pneumonia – people who start smoking marijuana before the age of adolescence are twice as likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Cannabis users may become dependent on it, causing withdrawal symptoms when they discontinue use – including irritability, restlessness, difficulty sleeping and/or eatinglessness when they stop. These withdrawal symptoms typically worsen for several days after discontinuing but then gradually resolve themselves over time.
People living with medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or AIDS may find marijuana helpful in managing their pain. Cannabis may help alleviate nausea caused by chemotherapy or other cancer treatments as well as reduce muscle spasms in AIDS patients for better restful sleep. Cannabis may even help those experiencing neuropathic pain (nerve pain often experienced as burning or prickling sensations or “barrage of pins and needles”) though its effectiveness may not work for everyone with this form of pain relief.
Docs who prescribe medical marijuana must abide by strict regulations. They must obtain a federal license and adhere to specific security and record-keeping requirements; additionally they must purchase from growers approved by the federal government. Scientists argue more research needs to be conducted into marijuana’s benefits and risks for individuals as well as its wider public health impact of wide availability; moreover they seek answers as to its safety and effectiveness for treating specific diseases, the best form of administration (liquid extract or edible products) for patients as well as how use hinders healing processes.