Cannabis is a complex plant. With more than a hundred cannabinoids actively reacting with the chemicals in your body, it can be extremely difficult to understand. But if you are thinking of applying for a 420 evaluation in Bakersfield, it’s important to know how weed really works with your system.
There are many different ways in which marijuana reacts with our bodies. But one thing is clear, cannabis is not psychologically addictive. And therefore, it doesn’t have any bad withdrawal symptoms, as in the case of tobacco, alcohol, or any other illegal drug. But you should keep this in mind that even if cannabis won’t make you an addict, it may still lead to you forming some type of dependence on it. This may be due to a complex link between cannabis and dopamine, a chemical substance present in our brain which makes it very difficult for us to give up smoking once we have started rolling on a daily basis.
But what’s the relation between cannabis and dopamine? Let’s find out.
What is Dopamine?
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is a part of our brain’s reward system. It is released during the things which feel good to our mind, such as eating, sleeping, sex, etc. Dopamine also helps the person boost their mood and regulate emotions. Many drugs try to increase the dopamine level in your brain, making you feel happy without any reason. You feel like you did something really nice for yourself.
Lack of dopamine in our system can be dangerous, especially for those who like taking risks. They are more prone to involve themselves in some dangerous activities. Another downside to the low dopamine level is that it may lead to Parkinson’s disease. And Parkinson’s further lowers the dopamine level in our system.
The relation between Cannabis and Dopamine
Marijuana, like many other drugs, leads to a short-term increase in the dopamine level in our brain. But it isn’t intentional. When we consume cannabis, the THC present in it binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in our brain. The interesting thing here is that the dopamine neurons themselves don’t have any cannabinoid (CB) receptors. And therefore, cannabis cannot have any direct impact on them. But there is another thing in our brain called GABA Neurons. These are used to put a limit to the dopamine neurons whenever there is an increase in the dopamine level without any reason. And these GABA neurons do have CB receptors which can easily react with THC. Therefore, by controlling what controls the dopamine level, cannabis indirectly affects the dopamine level itself.
Short-term and Long-term Effects
A study conducted in 2016 concluded that THC consumption for a short time led to an increase in the dopamine level of the brain. While on the other hand, it’s long-term use led to a problematic dopamine system. The concept here is easily understandable. Until our body and brain get used to cannabis intake, our dopamine level tends to increase. But as our body gets used to the external supply of cannabinoids, it stops its own production.
But the interesting thing here is that, unlike most other substances, when we stop using cannabis, even after using it for a very long time, with time, the dopamine system returns to its normal behavior. This differentiates cannabis from most other drugs.
Unfortunately, we don’t have much solid research until now to come to a firm conclusion. But with the legalization of cannabis, soon we’ll be able to define the relationship between cannabis and dopamine level with much greater certainty
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