The side effects of marijuana usage can vary and are dependent on a variety of factors. Tolerance to THC, the main psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, will usually determine what effects are felt and for how long. The mindset of the user, as with all psychoactive drugs, also plays an important part in deciding how the user will feel after consuming marijuana.
Short-Term Effects
People who use marijuana do so chiefly to experience a change in their perception, increase their relaxation, and to feel good in general. While consuming marijuana is usually reported to be a pleasureful activity by most users, harsh experiences known as “bad trips” can occur. While under the influence, a user’s mind may seem more active, resulting in creative thoughts. Time distortion while high on marijuana may take place, leaving users feeling as though hours take place in the course of a few minutes. Dramatically increased enjoyment of everyday activities often takes place, making boring pastimes much more tolerable to the marijuana user. Short term memory is inhibited rather noticeably. Feelings of paranoia or of being in danger can occur with low doses, and at higher doses, particularly those consumed orally, users of the drug may go into panic attacks.
Short term physical effects are sometimes present as well, chiefly a sense of relaxation. In some cases, the extent of a marijuana user’s relaxation can border on laziness or outright lethargy. Appetite is increased, resulting in “the munchies”. In some special cases medical marijuana has been prescribed to chemotherapy patients who find themselves too nauseous to eat. Marijuana can also be considered a mild analgesic and certain varieties of the cannabis indica species are used medicinally for pain relief for anything from pains associated with cancer to menstrual cramping.
Some types of marijuana are even prescribed to people who have trouble eating as a result of chemotherapy. Marijuana can also be used as a painkiller, and many of the stronger strains of cannabis indica are prescribed for that exact same reason. Other physical side effects caused by use of marijuana are bloodshot eyes, lightheadedness, and a decrease in overall coordination.
Long-Term Effects
When a person has been using marijuana regularly over an extended period of time, many changes in mood and in some cases, mental health, may take place. Short and long-term memory are both decreased with repeated usage of the drug. As tolerance to the psychoactive chemical THC is increased, as is the amount of marijuana needed to afford the marijuana user an acceptable high. A user’s mood may be affected negatively by this need to use more drugs to get high.
Withdrawal symptoms from frequent use of the drug may include indifference to events in life, difficulty sleeping, and a desire to use marijuana. While marijuana is not considered to provoke mental instability after usage has stopped, some studies have shown that marijuana users are slightly more likely to develop psychosis or another related mental illness than non-users. Although not many side effects from using marijuana can be viewed as life threatening, it is profoundly unwise to use marijuana unless you have been instructed by a licensed professional in a state where medicinal marijuana can be prescribed legally.
