All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. That is, they change how the brain works. Marijuana’s effects on the user depend on its strength or potency, which is related to the amount of THC it contains.
Marijuana affects the central nervous system as a hallucinogen and as a depressant. THC is rapidly absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. You then feel “high” which can range from feelings of calm and happiness to feeling silly and giddy or paranoid and anxious. When taking high doses, it’s possible to experience hallucinations. The “high” usually lasts for 2-4 hours, but your perceptions can be affected for many hours afterwards, even when you no longer feel “high”.
Generally traces of TCH can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. However, in chronic heavy users, traces can sometimes be detected for weeks after they have stopped using marijuana.
Our understanding of marijuana's long-term brain effects is limited. Research findings on how chronic cannabis use affects brain structure, for example, have been inconsistent. It may be that the effects are too subtle for reliable detection by current techniques. A similar challenge arises in studies of the effects of chronic marijuana use on brainfunction. Although imaging studies (functional MRI; fMRI) in chronic users do show some consistent alterations, the relation of these changes to cognitive functioning is less clear. This uncertainty may stem from confounding factors such as other drug use, residual drug effects (which can occur for at least 24 hours in chronic users), or withdrawal symptoms in long-term chronic users.
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