How Does Marijuana Affect The Brain

How Does Marijuana Really Affect Your Brain

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), over 45 percent of adults ages 26 or older have used marijuana at least once in their life. Even more disturbing, almost 14 percent of youth ages 12 to 17 have used marijuana within the past year. Although certain states have now legalized marijuana, it is still a dangerous psychoactive drug that can cause serious health and wellbeing problems. http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/marijuana How Marijuana Affects the Brain

Marijuana comes from the leaves and flowers of hemp plants. Marijuana, or cannabis sativa, is consumed through smoking, vaporizing and eating foods loaded with cannabis. While many recreational users enjoy the mind altering effects of marijuana, it can cause a variety of different problems. Marijuana

Research shows that teenagers that use marijuana experience various developmental problems. For example, teens that use marijuana can have brain abnormalities, such as reduced brain volume and quality of white matter. This means marijuana causes smaller hippocampal and prefrontal cortex sizes. In fact, marijuana also causes reduced cognitive functioning, such as poor performance in school and memory and concentration

It can increase irritability and restlessness. Marijuana affects the brain’s amygdala, which results in increased panic or paranoia, and the neocortex, which can cause strange sensations and altered thinking. As a result, people who use marijuana may experience hallucinations and temporary paranoia. In fact, schizophrenics that use marijuana will experience worse symptoms, such as extreme delusions or disorganized thinking. In addition to this, people who use marijuana are at higher risk for developing depression, panic attacks, anxiety and bipolar