How marijuana affects our health

Marijuana targets the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brains that make us “human”--where our ability to feel empathy resides.

Over time and with heavy use of marijuana, the brain’s architecture will change. A normal, healthy brain will show an intricate web of neurons, with larger clusters, all throughout--looking something like wool roving that has been pulled and stretched.

The brain of a heavy user will look more like an old spider web, a few clumps of neurons with vast empty gaps in between.

Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, the effects on the brain’s architecture are mirrored by the effects on the user’s social, work, and academic lives.

Marijuana use has been shown to increase depression and other neuropsychiatric diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, all of which lead to further isolation, more use, and higher risk for further physical health problems.

Marijuana use reduces short-term memory and reduces the brain’s ability to learn. “THC and cannabis decrease working memory, apparently by actions in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. The memory decrements induced by THC or cannabis resemble hippocampal lesions. These impairments may result from suppression of glutamate release in the hippocampus, which is responsible for the establishment of synaptic plasticity” [bolded text mine] (Madras 2015).

One out of six teens who try marijuana will become addicted. However, a commonly-believed myth is that marijuana is “less addictive” than alcohol. In fact, a greater percentage of people who use marijuana than who use alcohol will become dependent, and with dependence comes a host of other impacts some of which we have mentioned above.

In conclusion, when we look at the consequences to our health from using marijuana, we are not looking at our bodies in a vacuum. As we know, but often forget, the state of our health affects our ability to take care of ourselves, to engage with others in positive ways, and to strive for better lives for ourselves and our communities. 

Any use of this substance, especially in youth, triggers the brain’s pleasure centers and sets up a positive feedback loop similar to what happens when we eat food. Our brains then are falsely led to believe that using more, and more frequently, is a good thing, meanwhile, damage occurs to our motivation to do other things, to be able to retain information, and connect with people around us.

A solid understanding of these and other facts will help us make informed decisions both about our own adult use and how we talk about marijuana with youth. To learn more, check out these resources below:

Resources and Sources:
To learn more about ways to talk to your kids about marijuana
Updates on the medical use of Cannabis - Dr. Bertha Madras
The Real Dangers of Marijuana - Jonathan P. Caulkins