The Long-Term Effects of Marijuana on Thought Patterns
Marijuana users sometimes get deep insights and other times, grandiose and unfounded ideas. After smoking marijuana, thoughts become abstract, free-flowing, and even creative. In the long run, the cognitive impact of marijuana may significantly affect your sense of personhood and how you relate with others.
Marijuana can be beneficial for psychological problems. Click the button below to get your medical marijuana card.
Probability for Addiction
Long time use of marijuana may reduce the propensity for addiction. Existing evidence suggests that prolonged use of marijuana shrinks the part of the brain associated with reward/pleasure processing and seeking.
In this study, heavy cannabis smokers, those that smoke marijuana about three times every day were found to have a smaller grey matter in their orbitofrontal cortex. That explains the increased scientific charter on exploring the use of medical marijuana to treat drug and alcohol addiction.
So far, research supports that cannabis may minimize drug cravings and help to remove withdrawal symptoms in those trying to stop addictive habits. These results are, however, purely attributed to CBD, the non-psychoactive component of marijuana. Prolonged use of high THC marijuana may lead to addiction for the same.
Smoking marijuana can be dangerous to health.
Creativity and Divergent Thoughts
Reports suggest that Steve Jobs smoked marijuana every week for five years. The Apple founder, at one point, described that marijuana made him relaxed and creative. This assertion is in line with the widespread belief that long-term use of marijuana is good for creativity. Other people suggest that it is the other way round, that creative people are more drawn to marijuana than others.
Scientific data suggests that smoking marijuana leads to divergent thinking, or simply put ‘out of the box thinking.’ Prolonged cannabis consumption reportedly improves cerebral blood flow to the frontal lobe. This is the area of the brain associated with creative and flexible thinking, and more blood flow to the region leads to increased activity.
Regular pot smokers may therefore show signs of divergent and non-conformist thinking and behaviors. Even so, the impacts of cannabis on creative thinking and fluency is based on dosage. Experts believe that while low dosages of cannabis improve frontal lobe activities, high dosages block it.
Indica strains can make you physically relax. Click the button below to get your medical marijuana card.
IQ and Cognitive Ability
Research findings on the effect of marijuana on cognitive skills have largely been conflicting. The effect of long-term marijuana use on IQ and cognitive abilities depends on many factors, including genetics, age, and family environment.
The effects can be negative or positive based on the dosage and the factors listed above. In one study among 1000 teenagers in New Zealand, participants that smoked weed for a long time had a lower IQ than those who didn’t.
Another study found that teens that had used marijuana for a long time performed satisfactorily well in thinking speed and executive function. The study concluded that subjects who had used medical marijuana for three months had:
- Faster completion times in tests
- Had a higher task accuracy
- Increased energy and reduced fatigue
Free Non-Linear Thinking
The THC component of marijuana can increase neural activity in the brains of the user. The change may lead to loose thought patterns and behavior. A study published in Biological Psychiatry confirms that long time users of marijuana have increased spontaneous brain activity.
Prolonged use of marijuana may lead to a high propensity for a user to relate distant and irrelative concepts. Under normal circumstances, when a person sees the word ‘airplane,’ what they are likely to think next is ‘fly’ or ‘sky.’
In persons with prolonged use of medical marijuana, a word like ‘aero plane’ may be preceded by entirely unrelated thoughts of ‘apples’ and ‘football.’ Experts suggest that because marijuana breaks the boundaries of normal thought patterns, it can increase the risk for psychosis in the long run.
Psychosis affects the brain process.
Mental Chatter
The average person gets up to 60,000 thoughts in a day. You have a constant monologue in your brain that jumps from work to heavy traffic, the weather and everything in between the past, present and future. In patients predisposed to depression and anxiety, increased mental chatter may lead to excess irrational fears and worries.
Existing scientific evidence shows that cannabis can help to calm the mind and reduce anxiety. According to a 2017 survey among 9000 people, 81 said that they believed marijuana helps with stress and anxiety. The benefits include improved relaxation and a lower risk for social anxiety and phobias.
This scientific study showed that people with anxiety and depression displayed reduced symptoms after treatment with medical marijuana. The anti-depressant medical effects of marijuana result when the cannabinoid compounds influence the workings of serotonin, a hormone responsible for mood and behavior.
Another exciting study shows that marijuana slows the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. This condition is associated with memory loss and irritability. Marijuana not only helps to reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s condition, but it also helps in neurogenesis, which is a process of renewing and replicating neural tissues.
The right dosage of marijuana at the right time can have many positive impacts on the brain. Get your medical marijuana card today to experience the benefits of medical marijuana. At MD Berry, we can help you get medical marijuana at a fraction of the cost from the comfort of your home.
Viral diseases can be treated with cannabis. Click the button below to get your medical marijuana card.
Conclusion
Long term use of marijuana can positively impact creativity and cognitive performance, but it also poses risks including declined speech and a distorted perception of reality.
Talk to expert physicians at MD Berry to get help for various thought related issues.
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