The Effects of Marijuana on the Brain, Essay Example

Introduction

Supported or passionately opposed, used medicinally or for recreational purposes, and shrugged off as a harmless indulgence or viewed as an inevitable road to other substances, the fact remains that marijuana use has identified effects on the human brain. Years of misunderstandings and opinions formed primarily through its cultural associations have imbued marijuana with a variety of extraordinary characteristics in the public mind, both grounded in fact and nearly superstitious in nature. Research, however, has occurred underneath these years of varied public perceptions.

This research is, in fact, why legal use of marijuana exists today. The substance most definitely alters the brain’s chemistry and, as there is no true dichotomy between the mind and the body, it has physical repercussions as well. Given the body of knowledge now available, the stance that marijuana is an utterly harmless drug remains an arguable one, in the truest sense of the word, and entirely dependent upon how “harmful” is interpreted. Quite simply, not enough is yet known.

What is definitively known is that marijuana produces a range of temporary effects; its use may or may not cause long-lasting changes in the brain; and smoking marijuana consistently will most likely impair the lungs. In these regards, then, marijuana joins the ranks of alcohol and tobacco, as a control substance with limited, and typically mild, effects.

Repute, and the Drug Itself

There is no escaping the reality that marijuana is inextricably linked in the American consciousness with counterculture ideologies and general rebellion against authority. What is less familiar is that both marijuana use and its negative reputation predates the turbulent 1960’s by decades. It was very much a fashionable substance in the 1930’s, and as much as a core for controversy as it would be in later years. In 1938, no less distinguished a publication than Scientific American validated increasing concerns, and claimed that, among other effects, marijuana caused “…the weakening of power to direct thoughts, emotional disturbance, and ‘irresistible impulses’ which may result in suicide” (Mosher, Akins, 2007, p. 8).

Reputation and misconceptions aside, however, marijuana indisputably effects brain function. Most commonly ingested in cigarette form, marijuana is more properly known as the Cannabis plant, and the leaves of this plant contain psychoactive properties, the principle one being tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Documented effects on the brain from marijuana use do in fact correspond to popular notions: aggressive impulses are relaxed, appetite is increased and nausea diminished, and a state of euphoria is usually achieved.

There are, in fact, three stages to the psychoactive effects of THC. The primary phase induces the relaxation and euphoria elements, the secondary goes more to introspective thinking and introverted behavior, and the tertiary stage is that manifested by the more physical signs of appetite and an increased heart rate. THC produces such an array of effects, and gains so open an access to brain function, through chemical camouflage: “Once in the brain, THC mimics the actions of two naturally occurring neurotransmitters, now classified as endocannabinoids… Receptor sites for endocannabinoids have been found…in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum” (Doweiko, 2009,  p. 149).

It is the effect of marijuana on memory which tends to cause the most anxiety, and the  concern is scientifically validated. The hippocampus is the region of the brain identified with memory, and a consistently noted result of taking marijuana is memory lapse. “One of the primary effects of marijuana in humans is the disruption of short-term memory…The effects of THC resemble a temporary hippocampal lesion” (Joy, 1999, p. 53). The image of the smoker of marijuana forgetting what they have just been told is not, in reality, unfounded.

Long-Term Brain Effects

Despite no lack of investigative work done in the medical community, the reality is that no definitive, long-term effects to the brain from smoking marijuana may be asserted. Studies of all kinds reveal contrasting data, and no actual evidence to support lasting brain damage, or merely changes, has been found.

Recent research has focused on the manner in which THC alters brain chemistry in a way that reduces t-cell production and weakens the immune system, but even these findings do not indicate permanent alteration. What is generally more adopted is a middle-road of study, one less authentically scientific and more based upon how potentially addictive properties in marijuana are of themselves a “long-term” effect.

Addiction is, not unexpectedly, a complex and problematic affair for researchers. It exemplifies the scientific dilemma of there being no actual dichotomy between mind and body, or what the brain suggests or demands as held to what the body requires. In regard to marijuana as a distinct control substance, there is no evidence whatsoever that it creates a genuine physical addiction, as compared to alcohol or tobacco. Nonetheless, when psychological factors are introduced, the scenario changes. A craving will typically take the form of addiction, or be identified as such, when it is a chronic situation and when it is of an urgent nature. With alcohol or tobacco, the removed party is safe in determining that specific physical impulses are at play, usually in concert with messages from the brain reinforcing the addictive need.

With marijuana, however, there is nothing to go on save the user’s inclination to continue using it. This may, of course, be viewed in a variety of lights; the desire is proof of an addiction, or the desire is merely an expression of a liking the user sees no need not to satisfy. It is virtually impossible, and quite possibly not scientifically valid, to assess just how and when choice, in this case, becomes something other than choice. As, however, there is no conclusive proof that marijuana contains properties which trigger addictive needs within the brain, even the most conservative scientific opinion must concede that the greater likelihood within long-term use of marijuana is nothing more than a continued predilection of the user.

Conclusion

In regarding the effects of marijuana on the brain, medical research has substantiated much of popular belief. It eases apprehensions and relaxes the user’s state of mind; it induces reflective thought; it lessens both the user’s motor skills and the motivation to apply them; and it typically creates an increased appetite level.

Again, however, mind and body demand a single examination, when the effects of a drug are the object. Marijuana has one, definite, long-term effect, when smoked: “Although there may be some conflicting evidence on long-term brain damage from smoking marijuana, there is no difference of opinion on damage to the lungs. These effects are…in many cases worse than in the case of cigarette smoking” (Milkman, Wanberg, 2005, p. 102). In a very real sense, this effect impacts the brain, as the over-all health of the user suffers.

This factor notwithstanding, all that is absolutely known of the effects of marijuana reflect the soothing, pacific, recreational aspects of it. Moreover, legalization is in place in an increasing number of states, as it provides valuable medicinal properties. Such benefits aside, marijuana belongs in the ranks of alcohol and tobacco, as a control substance with limited, and typically mild, effects on the brain.

References

Doweiko, H. E. (2009.) Concepts of Chemical Dependency. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Joy, J. E. (1999.) Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Milkman, H. B., and Wanberg, K. W. (2005.) Criminal Conduct and Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Mosher, C. J., and Akins, S. (2007.) Drugs and Drug Policy: The Control of Consciousness Alteration. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.