Marijuana and the Brain
Marian Hong
Professor Brown
Period 3 Health
Marijuana and the Brain
Even though marijuana affects the brain, it is the most commonly used illegal drug out there. The drug affects all parts of your body; it first goes through the brain so it can damage it severely. Just a one milligram dose of marijuana can seriously affect your mental and psychological health. The drug usually goes to your brain seconds after it is in your bloodstream or is inhaled. Your brain sucks up the drug through the receptors and its can have effects like slowed reaction and thinking, confusion, and anxiety. It also affects the brains of different groups of people more depending on your age, usage, tolerance, and the potency of the marijuana you take. Using marijuana is taking a serious risk to your brain and body because it damages it permanently and over just isn’t good for you.
In your brain there are many receptors that are in all your neurons. Marijuana can go to those receptors and make you, lose your memory, confused, or change your mood and other things controlled by your brain. The brain’s receptors can be fooled by the foreign marijuana chemicals so that they mimic or block the brain’s actions cause abnormalities in mood, thinking, and other brain processes. In marijuana there is a chemical called THC which can bind with a cannabinoid receptor, cannabinoids are type of chemicals and THC is one of them, and cause really weird and abnormal effects on the brain. Because there are many cannabinoid receptors in certain parts of your brain, the hippocampus, cerebellum and basal ganglia, it affects the functions that they normally perform. The hippocampus is important for the short term memory so it deteriorates the recollection of memories you had while under the influence of marijuana. The THC is the marijuana also affects receptors in the cerebellum so it also effects coordination of the body. The last place in the brain where the cannabinoid receptors are most
Professor Brown
Period 3 Health
Marijuana and the Brain
Even though marijuana affects the brain, it is the most commonly used illegal drug out there. The drug affects all parts of your body; it first goes through the brain so it can damage it severely. Just a one milligram dose of marijuana can seriously affect your mental and psychological health. The drug usually goes to your brain seconds after it is in your bloodstream or is inhaled. Your brain sucks up the drug through the receptors and its can have effects like slowed reaction and thinking, confusion, and anxiety. It also affects the brains of different groups of people more depending on your age, usage, tolerance, and the potency of the marijuana you take. Using marijuana is taking a serious risk to your brain and body because it damages it permanently and over just isn’t good for you.
In your brain there are many receptors that are in all your neurons. Marijuana can go to those receptors and make you, lose your memory, confused, or change your mood and other things controlled by your brain. The brain’s receptors can be fooled by the foreign marijuana chemicals so that they mimic or block the brain’s actions cause abnormalities in mood, thinking, and other brain processes. In marijuana there is a chemical called THC which can bind with a cannabinoid receptor, cannabinoids are type of chemicals and THC is one of them, and cause really weird and abnormal effects on the brain. Because there are many cannabinoid receptors in certain parts of your brain, the hippocampus, cerebellum and basal ganglia, it affects the functions that they normally perform. The hippocampus is important for the short term memory so it deteriorates the recollection of memories you had while under the influence of marijuana. The THC is the marijuana also affects receptors in the cerebellum so it also effects coordination of the body. The last place in the brain where the cannabinoid receptors are most
Cited: "Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain In Teens, Young Adults." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. . "HowStuffWorks "Marijuana and the Brain"" HowStuffWorks "Science" Web. 23 Oct. 2011. . "Marijuana Brain Damage - How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain?" Alcoholism - The Alcoholism Home Page. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. . "Marijuana May Disrupt Brain Development | LiveScience." Current News on Space, Animals, Technology, Health, Environment, Culture and History | LiveScience. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. .