9 Things Smoking Weed Does To You

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Weed aka. Marijuana, Igbo, pot, hash and a dozen other names people call it, is made from the shredded and dried parts of seeds, leaves, and stem of the cannabis plant. While many people smoke or vape it, you can also consume marijuana as an ingredient in food, brewed tea, or oils.

Different methods of taking the drug may affect your body differently. Here are some of them;

1. It Damages Blood Vessels

Secondhand smoke may not seem all that bad. But it can have a major impact on your blood vessels, when exposed to the smoke the arteries carry blood less efficiently for 90 minutes. Although its temporary, continuous exposure can lead to long term problems

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2. It Makes You Feel Lazy

While it may not seem so in the immediate, continuous use of the drug makes the user feel lazy, research has shown that stoned individuals will always pick easy options with lesser rewards.

3.. It Makes You Tired

After around two hours, levels of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in the bloodstream start to drop – leaving users feeling tired and sometimes depressed. While the drug doesn’t cause withdrawal, it can lead to addictive behavior, with up to 10% of users consuming the drug in a problematic way. 

4. It Makes You Hungry

Cannabis also affects a brain receptor responsible for regulating hunger, C1BR – causing sudden hunger known as ‘the munchies’. In effect, the drug ‘reverses’ the signal in the brain which normally tells you that you’re full and you should stop eating – making smokers feel like they’re hungry every time.

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5. It Reduces Fat

Cannabis is ‘lipophilic’, meaning it dissolves in fat in the body. This means traces of the drug can remain in the body for far longer than other drugs such as cocaine – leading to users failing drug tests up to 10 days after smoking a joint. Heavy users can test positive up to three months after stopping smoking.

6. It Causes Short-Term Memory

Stoner has a bad reputation for being forgetful, and weed has also been linked to being a cause of schizophrenia. The low blood flow to different parts of the brain caused by the weed, the hippocampus in particular, could put pot smokers at higher risk for cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s, according to studies.

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7. It Helps Broken Bone Heal

Its not all totally bad news for pot smokers as weed has been discovered to help bones heal faster and stronger due to a substance called Cannabinoid cannabidiol which is found in the leaves and stem of cannabis, hence why doctors recommend it for those with bone problems.

8. It Increases The Risk Of Hypertension

People who smoke weed are typically given the stereotype of being relaxed and chill. But that calm facade may not reflect what’s going on when it comes to blood pressure. According to the research, marijuana use was found to triple a person’s risk of death from hypertension (high blood pressure) compared to those who didn’t smoke weed.

Photo Credit: Big Think

9. It Hinders Creativity

We know most artists, musician, and other creative types sometimes credit weed as the source of their inspiration. However, studies have shown that people on weed and those with a high THC content in their blood were unable to come up with simple solutions to problems. This is because weed kills brain cells thereby decreasing cognitive functions.   

Now you know what it does to your body. Comment in the section below, like and also share.