Marijuana Addiction: Causes, Risks, and Brain Chemistry

Introduction to Marijuana and Its Effects

Marijuana is a drug derived from the cannabis plant. Also referred to as cannabis, it is a psychoactive drug (Miller, Oberbarnscheidt, and Gold 1). Marijuana is used for both recreational and medical purposes. Across the world, it is the most commonly used illicit drug and is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. It alters a person's mood and affects almost every organ in the body. The cannabis plant is typically dried, ground up, and smoked. The drug comes in many forms and can even be baked — in many instances, it is added as an ingredient in cookies and candies, producing the same effect as smoking it.

Marijuana's psychoactive properties alter perception. It contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical compound responsible for the drug's effects (Uhl, Koob, and Cable 8). People experience different effects depending on how they consume the drug. When smoked, marijuana produces a faster but shorter-lived high than when taken orally. The most common effects include feelings of happiness, mild hallucinations, reduced anxiety, and increased appetite. The risk of overdosing on marijuana is low compared to that of cocaine.

Marijuana is also used to treat chronic pain, anorexia, nausea, muscle spasticity, and sleep disturbances — in these cases it is referred to as medical marijuana. Medical marijuana contains either whole marijuana or active ingredients such as cannabidiol (CBD), which forms the basis of a limited number of approved medications. There is no government standardization for medical marijuana, which means its ingredients and potency are often unknown.

How Marijuana Causes Addiction in the Brain

When a person uses marijuana, cannabinoid receptors in the brain are activated by the neurotransmitter Anandamide. THC blocks and mimics the natural actions of neurotransmitters like Anandamide to the point where the individual's body no longer produces sufficient Anandamide on its own. This causes the user's brain to be reprogrammed to require marijuana in order to feel normal. If the user stops taking marijuana, the body will not receive THC, and the user will experience withdrawal symptoms due to the absence of Anandamide (Hefner, Starr, and Curtin 129). This neurochemical process is what underlies addiction to marijuana.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) have both identified marijuana as an addictive drug. The drug causes physical dependence, meaning the person cannot function properly without it. When individuals have not had their usual intake, they may become irritable, experience trouble sleeping, lose appetite, suffer cravings, and feel restless. This is a clear indication that the drug is addictive. An addictive substance is any substance that prevents the user from functioning normally in its absence. Addiction to marijuana mostly occurs as a result of dependence, which in turn leads to tolerance — with tolerance, a person must consume increasing amounts of marijuana to achieve the desired effect (Wong and Lin 51).

Conclusion

While the risk of becoming addicted to marijuana is lower compared to many other drugs, the risk is still real. The chemical changes that take place in the body at the neurotransmitter level can be serious, and one can end up losing the normal functioning of their neurotransmitters. This chemical change occurs gradually, and a person may not notice it until the day they are unable to obtain their usual dose of the drug. It is therefore advisable to avoid the drug and not to use it even for recreational purposes.

Those who support marijuana use often focus solely on the fact that it does not cause addiction when not abused. However, usage of marijuana is controlled only by the user, which means that a person must exercise considerable self-restraint to avoid overuse. Dependence can occur at any time, and one may not realize it until the damage has been done.

References

Ford, Benjamin M., et al. "Synthetic Pot: Not Your Grandfather's Marijuana." Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 38.3 (2017): 257–76. Print.

Hefner, Kathryn R., Mark J. Starr, and John J. Curtin. "Altered Subjective Reward Valuation among Drug-Deprived Heavy Marijuana Users: Aversion to Uncertainty." Journal of Abnormal Psychology 125.1 (2016): 138. Print.

Miller, NS, T. Oberbarnscheidt, and MS Gold. "Marijuana Addictive Disorders: DSM-5 Substance-Related Disorders." J Addict Res Ther S11 (2017): 2. Print.

Uhl, George R., George F. Koob, and Jennifer Cable. "The Neurobiology of Addiction." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1451.1 (2019): 5. Print.

Wong, Su-Wei, and Hsien-Chang Lin. "Medical Marijuana Legalization and Associated Illicit Drug Use and Prescription Medication Misuse among Adolescents in the US." Addictive Behaviors 90 (2019): 48–54. Print.