Although cannabis is not known to be physically addictive in this way, some users have reported physical withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of use (though these may be psychosomatic in nature).Ĭannabis can lead to a huge range of psychological and social problems. If this pattern continues, the individual may reach a stage where they continue to feel the compulsion to engage in the behaviour in question even if they are aware of negative consequences of doing so: this is the phenomenon known as addiction.Īddiction is related to, and often confused with, physical dependence, which develops when someone repeatedly consumes a particular substance over time and their system adjusts to the presence of that substance and becomes reliant upon it for normal functioning when the substance is withdrawn from the system, various potentially distressing and dangerous symptoms may arise which are collectively known as withdrawal syndrome. If they continue to engage in that behaviour, the reward centres will adjust to produce more dopamine when the behaviour is engaged in, and to restrict the availability of dopamine – thereby causing unpleasant sensations and emotions including low mood – when the behaviour is avoided the individual in question is therefore compelled to keep engaging in that behaviour in order to “feel good”.
When someone engages in a rewarding behaviour – such as smoking cannabis – parts of the brain including the amygdala and the ventral tegmental area respond by producing higher quantities of chemicals including dopamine (linked with feelings of well-being and reward) which produce positive sensations and emotions in that person. While many people still view cannabis addiction as being less problematic than an addiction to “harder” drugs, or even to alcohol, for those suffering from it cannabis addiction can be an incredibly debilitating and damaging condition.Īddiction is essentially a disorder of the brain’s reward centres. Long-term cannabis use is associated with numerous physical and mental health problems, including various cancers (typically found in those also smoking tobacco) and a greatly increased risk of psychosis.įor many years a debate raged over whether or not cannabis was an addictive drug however, over the last couple of decades the consensus has been reached that cannabis is indeed potentially psychologically addictive – and it is now thought that millions of people around the world suffer from cannabis addiction. Cannabis use can also lead to disinhibition and engagement in risky behaviour, including dangerous sexual practices. However, many users also report negative sensations (especially after consuming particularly strong strains or brands of cannabis) including anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks, loss of motor control, nausea, heart palpitations, dry mouth, reddening of the eyes and incontinence.Īlthough cannabis consumption is not typically considered especially directly dangerous – there are no reports of anyone ever dying from a cannabis overdose, for example – cannabis intoxication is a factor in countless accidents, including many fatal ones, each year around the world, while the drug’s illegal nature leads many users into involvement in criminal activity, often with very dangerous consequences. The cannabis “high” can differ very significantly from one individual to another typically, the positive feelings engendered by cannabis consumption can include euphoria, altered perception, profound relaxation, a general feeling of well-being, increased sensitivity, enhanced introspection and creativity, and a libido boost. Most commonly, plant matter from certain strains of Cannabis plants is smoked (either in cigarette “joints”, pipes, or via a range of other paraphernalia) it can also be eaten, made into a resin or an oil (for smoking or eating), vaporised, used as a balm or in various other ways (with medical research currently developing cannabis products available in many different forms).Ĭannabis has several psychoactive ingredients, though the most prominent is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and central nervous system (CNS) to produce various psychoactive effects. Cannabis is consumed in numerous different ways.