Hey there guys, I'm Jesse Crowe, The Travelling Scientist
and today I'm going to be looking at Marijuana, answering 4 key questions
How does it act in the body? how do different types of marijuana affect you differently?
Is marijuana bad for you? And what to do if you've had too much?
Marijuana is a plant that contains a chemical called THC, Tetra-Hydro-Cannabinol
and there is Cannabinoid receptors all over your body which respond to a chemical called Anandamide
Now THC is structurally similar to Anandamide, so it binds to these cannabinoid receptors
causing a whole range of effects!
Now there's a lot of Cannabinoid receptors in your brain
When THC acts on your Hypothalamus, it messes with your appetite control and your sex drive...
making you hungry AND horny
When THC acts on your Amygdala, it can trigger certain emotions like anxiety or fear
When THC acts on your Cerebellum, it affects things like your motor control
and your balance, making you really clumsy
and when THC acts on your Hippocampus, it makes it really difficult to remember and learn things
Basically, when you use Marijuana, you can't function as efficiently as normal
...but you feel GOOOOD...
FUN FACT!
Marijuana has a lot of names!
Weed, Pot, Grass, Bud, Ganja, Mary Jane
4-20, Chronic, Skunk, Reefer, Nuggets, Stinkweed
Charge, Cannabis, Dope, Colombo, Maui Wowy,
Hudini, Spliff, Alfalfa, Green, Dank
And my personal favourite... Devil's Lettuce
When you use Marijuana, it can make you feel happy, relaxed, maybe even a little bit hungry
But it can also make you feel forgetful, anxious and really uncoordinated
And that depends on how sensitive you are to THC, as well as how much THC you actually consume
For example, let's talk about Indica and Sativa
These are 2 types of Marijuana that cause 2 very different effects
Sativa is supposed to make you very excited or "High"
While indica is supposed to make you feel very relaxed or "Stoned"
A good way to remember this is that; Indica will have you "In Da Couch"
The reason that they act differently is because different strains of Marijuana are going to have different amounts of THC
as well as several other compounds that are going to have varying effects in your body
In terms of chronic usage of Marijuana, like everyday for several years
it is claimed to have certain adverse effects including; reduced memory and learning abilities
Sexual dysfunction and infertility, a weaker immune system
increased blood pressure and it is even believed to cause certain cancers
...but everything causes cancer nowadays
and none of these adverse effects have been proven through documented research anyway
They are just theoretical effects, what MIGHT happen
More studies are currently underway to determine if chronic Marijuana usage is bad for you...or good for you
Studies have shown that chronic users of Marijuana DO have less grey matter in their brain
...but that doesn't actually cause any problems
However if you are smoking Marijuana, that will cause lung damage
AND THAT IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT!
If you use Marijuana regularly, you become more tolerant of it
This is because your brain reduces the amount of Cannabinoid receptors, making the drug less effective
but if you stop using Marijuana for a couple of weeks
your tolerance will go away, your receptors will come back and you'll be a lightweight again
THC also activates the brain's reward system causing a release of Dopamine to make you feel good
But is Marijuana addictive?
Well there is no evidence that Marijuana is physically addictive
but it is known to cause a psychological addiction and a sort of "social dependence"
So you might feel like you need it...but you actually don't!
Studies have also shown that Marijuana can be used as an effective medical treatment for a number of diseases
including Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis, Glaucoma, Chronic Pain, Cancer, Epilepsy, Arthritis
Asthma, heaps of diseases!
And people with these diseases should have access to medical Marijuana as a treatment option
So hopefully Marijuana becomes a more accepted medical treatment in the near future
Greening out, it's easy to have too much Marijuana...
Especially if someone's cooked it into these tasty brownies that are SOO good that you just FORGET
that they actually contains THC, you just eat them all up, you just go you go to town
You eat those bad boys, Om Nom Nom... then you have a second, you're like "HELL YEAH, this is good"...
...and then it happens...and it's bad
and if someone you know is greening out, here are some of the symptoms that they might suffer from
You feel funny, a bit of a tingling sensation
You might start to feel a bit dazed and confused
and then you start to feel anxious
...and then you start to get paranoid and start to freak out!
Maybe you feel really nauseous and maybe start vomiting...it's not fun
But it's okay, just remain calm!
Even though you might feel like you're dying, You CANNOT die from having too much Marijuana
It is IMPOSSIBLE, it has never happened before
You just need to wait for your body to metabolise the THC in your system
In the meantime, just drink some water, and just try to relax and remain calm
If you're with someone who's greening out, try to reassure them and make them feel safe
Don't leave them alone and don't freak them out
If they've had a REALLY high dosage of THC, get an ambulance to take them to the hospital
But otherwise, just take care of them
Anyway, that is all for today guys, thanks so much for watching!
If you learned something or you liked this video, click the "LIKE" button down below
And if you have any questions or comments about Marijuana
Let us know in the "Comments" section down below
Next week's video is going to be all about the science behind Magic Mushrooms
So make sure you Subscribe for more Travelling Science every single week
And I'm gonna see you guys next Science Sunday
Cheers!
and you just like can't help yourself and you just go to, you go to TOWN
you EAT those bad boys, OMM NOMM NOMM, OM NOM NOM NOM....
...OH...