How does marijuana work on the brain and what causes people to feign for it?

Question

How does marijuana work on the brain and what causes people to feign for it?

Answer 1

It slows down the mechanics of your brain causing to process events slower, its not addicting at all

Answer 2

It screws up your cognitive functions! Makes you hallucinate and feel high!

Answer 3

THC raises dopamine levels in your brain and makes you feel "high." This effects different people in different ways, depending on each person's unique chemical profile.  

Answer 4

Ok first off, marijauana is not a hallucinogen as met by the difinition set forth by Congress's controlled substances act.  Halluconogens affect the serotonin 5-HT3-1A receptor, marijuana does not.

Like cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and opiates, THC displays the classic definition of a potentially addictive drug: increases dopamine in the ventral tegemental & limic areas of the brain.

Now here's some of the differences.  Unlike alcohol, nicotine, opiates, and cocaine, THC increases production of neural projections in the hippocampus, a phenomenon associated with Prozac's antidepressant activity.

Now we will talk of down-regulation.  Our bodies have chemicals and receptors on cells that are activated by chemicals to exert specific effects.  In some systems, including dopaminergic pathways, increasing the chemicals that bind to a receptor can cause the body to produce less of the receptor.  In the case of opiate addiction, chronic use accompanies a decrease in our bodies ability to produce endorphins, naturally produced opiates.  Eventaully, such long term use can cause an almost complete depletion of natural opiates, whereby the person becomes physically addicted.

The cannabinoid receptors do not display significant down-regulation.  in fact, numerous studies suggest that cannabinoid receptors are constitutivel active, meaning they are operating continuously.  Typically, such receptors do not display down regulation by means of excessive agonist concentration.

Now lets talk about psychological addiction.  Anything can be addictive.  Studies show huge dopamine spikes in gambling addicts while playing cards.  Cards are not using chemicals.  Bottom line on this is that predispositions in behavior will likely dictate psychological addictive potential in the individual.  thus, the addict may become addicted to marijuana, but marijuana is not addictive, at least in this context.

A little more on dopamine.  Just because marijuana increases dopamine levels in specific brain regions similar to other highly addictive, illegal drugs, does not support the role of marijuana as an addictive drug.  Here's a good example:

Your heart rate jumps to dangerous tachycardia, blood vessels swelling from hypothalamic electrical firng causing excessive production of nitric oxide.  Testosterone and adrenaline is released thoughout the body causing huge increases in metabolism and causing blood to travel from the vein system to the gut.  Your senses are heightened to acute levels.  All this heigtehend stimulation of the body causes severe exhaustion, yet people enjoy it because of the large stimulation of dopamine relase in the pleasure centers of the brain.

So what drug am I talking about here?  Meth, cocaine, speed?  Nope, just your average sexual experience.  All biochemical and environemental considerations must be taken into account as a whole, not just 1 cause = 1 effect.

Finally worth mentioning is that most studies claiming marijuana is addictive becuase of biochemical pathways focus on rodent models.  Rodents are quite useful for marijuana related research in clinical effects pertaining to non-emotional responses.  The reason for this is because a rats endocannabinoid system most closely resembles the human's in chemical composition, concentration, and expression.  However, there are important differences.  Most important is the wiring of reward circuitry in the rodent and human brains.  Rodents are wired for more direct reward pathways related to eating than humans.  Humans are more wired for pleasure stimulation for s*x than rodents, as we have s*x for pleasure and not just reproduction.  When a study claims marijuana is so addictive because a rat chooses marijauan over s*x, this is not valid to claim addiction in humans.  Food is a more immediate need for life than s*x, since marijuana stimulates hunger, the pleasure of eating surpasses the pleasure of s*x, at least in rodents.  

Don't take my word for it, listen to the World Health Organization.

"Therefore,

smoking can not only be seen as a self-inflicted habit,

but smoking tobacco often leads to, or at least is

associated with, the use of other drugs. It, and not

cannabis, can be regarded as a gateway drug. Cigarettes

are often smoked at the same time as other drugs are

taken, or other drugs are mixed with tobacco. The wellknown

Shafer Commission (US Commission on Marijuana

and Drug Abuse) reported this relationship in

1972 (Shafer, 1972)."

and

"Strong moralistic views and emotions determine drug

policy. Facts and results of research are only remotely

relevant. Knowledge of the pure physical (health) effects

of drug use is almost unavailable. In our efforts to

reduce the supply of drugs because of their harmful

(primary) effects, we confront both drug users and

society with numerous additional physical and social

problems, induced by the illegal set and setting in which

drug use takes place. It is overlooked that problems