What Happens When Routinely Sucking Marijuana in the Long Term?

Medical Video: What Happens When You're Drunk AND Stoned At The Same Time?
Physical effects
Respiratory problems
Increased heart rate
Changes in brain structure
Impaired fertility
Weakening of the immune system
Inhibiting fetal and infant growth and development
Mental effects
Reducing cognitive intelligence
Risk of the appearance of psychotic symptoms

Medical Video: What Happens When You're Drunk AND Stoned At The Same Time?

Cannabis refers to plant parts Cannabis sativa dried. This part can include leaves, flowers, roots, even seeds. The component called THC in marijuana has an effect "high ” on its users. How to use marijuana varies, can be rolled into cigarettes, use bong, to use vaporizer. Cannabis can also be mixed into foods such as brownies, cookies, sweets, or even brewed like tea.

Compared to other recreational drugs, marijuana is considered the most "benign" and has the least risk. Even the use of marijuana as a medical therapy for health has also begun to be recognized in various countries.

But what will happen if marijuana is used routinely in the long run? See the description below.

Physical effects

Respiratory problems

The use of burned marijuana causes breathing problems similar to smoking. The components in marijuana can cause irritated lungs, causing coughing, excessive phlegm production, and a high risk of suffering from other lung diseases such as pneumonia and lung infections.

Increased heart rate

Three hours after consuming marijuana, the heart rate will increase and in the long run can cause instability in the heart rhythm. This increases the risk of suffering from heart disease later in life. Those who use marijuana and have a history of heart disease have a higher risk of having a heart attack.

Changes in brain structure

The use of marijuana can cause structural changes in the hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and prefrontal cortex in the brain. The more frequent and large amounts of marijuana consumed, the more significant changes will appear. In fact, the part of the brain is important in influencing the way we assess positive and negative things in the environment and how we make decisions about it.

Researchers reveal that brain changes can also occur due to long-term use that usually causes addiction. As quoted from Forbes, Jodi Gilman, a researcher from the Massachusetts General Center for Addiction Medicine, said that marijuana users who are in the process of becoming addicted experience a change in structure and the formation of new connections in the brain associated with addiction.

Impaired fertility

The long-term effects of cannabis use in both men and women can affect fertility. In men it can result in a decrease in testosterone levels which has an effect on reducing sperm count. In addition, the risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction until testicular cancer also becomes higher. In women it can cause the menstrual cycle to become irregular.

Weakening of the immune system

THC levels in marijuana can damage cells and tissues which serve as protection against certain diseases. This causes cannabis users to be more susceptible to diseases such as coughs, colds, to infectious diseases or diseases originating from viruses.

Inhibiting fetal and infant growth and development

The use of marijuana while pregnant has the potential to inhibit brain development in the fetus. The effect is, when a child is born a problem can occur in a child's behavior such as difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering, until weak in terms of problem solving.

Mental effects

Reducing cognitive intelligence

Those who consumed marijuana reported a decline in learning ability, ability to focus, to the ability to remember. This gets worse if someone starts using marijuana since he was a teenager. A study found a decrease in IQ of up to 8 points in those who used marijuana for a long time. Significant decreases in IQ values were found in those who used marijuana since adolescence and continued into adulthood.

Risk of the appearance of psychotic symptoms

The use of marijuana can cause the appearance of psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and thinking disorders. The emergence of thoughts of suicide, depression, excessive nervousness, to schizophrenia dacan occur in those who use marijuana in the long run.

Although the impact of cannabis use on health still needs further research, the THC levels in marijuana which are increasing year by year are noteworthy. THC levels in marijuana leaves used to range from 1% to 4%, currently the levels can reach 7%. Increasing THC levels can cause a person to become more easily dependent on marijuana.