Marijuana emotional effects

Marijuana s effects are not limited to the hippocampus, however. Besides making a person high and interfering with memory, marijuana can cause some people to experience uncontrollable laughter one minute and paranoia the next. These effects are due to cannabinoid receptors in another part of the brain, the limbic system, where emotions are produced. 

Cocaine acts similarly to amphetamine with regard to its ability to enhance the effects of the catecholamines and serotonin at the synapse. The actions of cocaine on the brain lead to increased alertness, reduced hunger, increased physical and mental endurance, increased motor activity, and an intensification of most normal pleasures. This last feature may explain why so many claim that cocaine enhances emotional and sexual feelings. Cocaine abusers usually co-administer other drugs that are brain depressants (e.g., alcohol, heroin, or marijuana) to decrease the unpleasant hyperstimulant aspects of cocaine. 

Although the major effects of marijuana smoking last only about four to six hours, residual amounts can disrupt some physiological, mental, and emotional functions for a longer period. Urine tests may be positive for as long as ten to fifteen days in daily users and as long as a year in heavy users. Even casual use may result in positive tests for about five to seven days..—... 

While many things about marijuana remain controversial, even the most liberal supporters consider its use by adolescents harmful. It is possible that the increased popularity of marijuana is cyclical, and that this drug will become less popular as new information about its effects on the body is discovered. More is known about marijuana today than was known when many parents smoked it as teens. Some of the most important effects are noted by Joseph Califano, president of the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University Marijuana can savage short-term memory and adversely affect motor skills. It inhibits social and emotional development at the time when such skills and development are most critical for teens. There are very real dangers attached to marijuana s frequent use. 

Although cannabis can produce the varied effects previously noted, most marijuana users use the drug to experience its psychological effects, some of which arc reported consistently and others more idiosyncratically. The psychological effects generally experienced by marijuana users can be divided into three domains behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. 

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