As mentioned in the book, cannabinoids have been medically used to ease pain and nausea, help with glaucoma and also increase appetite. Marijuana can intensify a persons sensory experience and was also proven to slow down ones perception of time As of now, purified THC has been approved for medical use in the United States, however marijuana itself is still illegal.
The way marijuana works is that cannabinoid receptors are known to be located on the presynaptic neuron. When certain neurons are depolarized, they release anandamide or 2-AG as retrograde transmitters, which travel back to incoming axons which allow further transmitter release. Cannabinoids release dopamine indirectly.
As we all know there are negative effects of the drug. For example, a study found that a heavy user of the drug could impair ones memory. However, users recover their normal memory back within four weeks of sustaining from the drug.
In my personal opinion, marijuana seems to be the drug that least affects a persons mind. If you think about it how many accidents are actually on record because someone was "high?" Now, if you compare whatever number comes to mind to those accidents that have occurred due to someone drinking and driving...you can see what I'm trying to get at.
Here is a video I found that explains how marijuana works on the brain and how it affects the body...
I found your blog post and video really informative in how exactly tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) affects the brain. However, I believe that the most commonly used (and abused) drug is alcohol. The most commonly used (and abused) illegal drug would probably be marijuana. I agree with how you say that marijuana is safer when compared to alcohol in some cases, however both of those are drugs -- and any drug that enters your brain has its effects. Whenever drugs affect the chemicals in your brain, it undergoes compensatory processes in an attempt to counteract the drug. Drug dependence varies from person to person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that marijuana is probably the safest drug to use when it comes to the illegal ones. There are still many benefits that have not been discovered because of the stigma behind this drug. Very informative post.
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