Alternative Medicine Forum - Effets From Marijuana

For your acupuncture questoin: no, your acupuncturist will not be able to tell that your'e on it unless you're obviously stoned, or perhapse if they question your potentially bloodshot eyes. However, I once tried acupuncture while stoned myself, and it was a very bad, anxious experience. I wouldn't recommend it.

Marijuana works by binding to your body's cannabinoid receptors. Your cannabinoid receptor system is actually the most abundant in your body, and is used in the regulation of appetite, pain, inflammation, emotional state, and sleep.

The cannabis plant (that's marijuana) has 60 different types of cannabindoids. Depending on which areas of the cannabinoid system they bind to, they might reduce inflammation or pain, they might make you hungry or sleepy, they might make you giggly or euphoric. Cannabinoids are one of the least toxic substances in the world, and so far there has not been a single recorded case of overdose in human history. You can, however, take too much and feel overwhelmed from smoking weed, getting "too high" which can be very unpleasant for some.

Inhalation of smoke from anything is bad for your lungs. Marijuana contains many of the same toxins found in cigarettes, but in slightly smaller quantities for the most part. Overal, these toxins are in much too small a quantity to really do much harm; there are in fact similar levels found in certain foods (especially artificial edibles)

Emphazima and bronichitis can both possibly arise from smoking cannabis chronically for a prolonged period of time. There seems to be very low, if any, risk of getting lung (or any other) cancer from smoking marijuana. This is because THC selectively destroys cancer cells, assists in programmed cell death before cell mutation occures, and acts neuro-protectively against oxidants and physical trauma. So far there are no recorded cases of lung cancer arising from marijuana use alone.

Marijuana has shown zero neurotoxicity, which means it does not destroy brain cells. There is one exception to this rule, in which cannabis has been shown to selectively destroy glioma cells which act as fatty packing around the brain, and serve no function in cognition. Glioma cells are the most prone brain cells for turning cancerous, which may indicate that they exhibit certain characteristics consistant with other cancer cells, hence THC"s propensity for selectively destroying them. Otherwise though, brain cells are not destroyed by cannabinoids directly.

The marijuana high is a complicated process, but a large deal of the pleasurable aspect of the high is from a release of dopamine in the brain. While very enjoyable in the short term, excessive release of dopamine can later lead to depression. Some smoke weed their whole lives and never get depressed, some don't; the depression/no depression ratio has yet to be determined... though from personal experience I'd say the incidences are very low.

After the high wears off, cannabinoids become non-psychoactive metabolites that store themselves in your fat cells. At this point they are pretty much "dead" and won't release into your bloodstream later getting you high, as some anti-cannabis propogandists would have you believe.
The reason some people have their motor skills, short-term memory, and general cognition impaired days after smoking cannabis is because the THC saturates the brain cells involved in these areas. Although it is completely non-pyschoactive at this point, the continuous satuation can impair these functions due to them inhibiting neuro-chemical messages between transmitters. The longer you abstain from weed, the more these will flush out of your system. Recent studies show that after 30 days of abstinence, all metabolites are gone and these mental functions are restored 100% without any damage. Many people, upon developing a higher tolerance after a year or two of use, find that these negative effects go away completely now that their system is adjusted. Some don't, of course.

Lastly, be aware that being high on cannabis can result in a opposite of the desired effects. Some people, particularily when exposed to a bad situation, can have severe bouts of anxiety when high. This is why it's good to be in a calm, possitive environment until you're more comfortable with the substance.

And remember an important point; don't get your cannabis information from pro or anti cannabis groups. Try to find independant scientific sources that show no bias or agenda.