- Right now, 55 million Americans use marijuana,
and in Canada marijuana dispensaries
are popping up everywhere like their Tim Hortons
for weed and I in Toronto can even order
these whittle THC drinks delivered to my front door
from the Canadian government.
Thanks, Justin.
Weed is being pitched to us as kind of amazing, right?
Well, a recent survey found that 4.3%
of Americans have tried to quit marijuana at least six times
and failed.
Plus, now withdrawal symptoms are being fully understood.
So today we are going to explain exactly what happens
to your body when you try to quit weed.
Day one to two of quitting
is when withdrawal symptoms start.
A meta analysis of over 23,000 people
found that 47% had at least three
of the following withdrawal symptoms,
nausea, headaches, depressed mood,
difficulty getting to sleep, sweating, anger, nervousness,
decreased appetite, and strange dreams.
Ding!
(eerie music)
Now, the risk of withdrawal symptoms is proportional
to the amount of marijuana you've been consuming.
For example, someone who consumed marijuana three times
a week would likely have less withdrawal symptoms
than someone who consumed marijuana every day.
Day three of quitting is when irritability and anxiety peak.
Thankfully, they begin to dissipate in the coming days.
But on the other hand the strange dreams
and difficulty getting to sleep only begin
to increase on day three.
This information has led to new research suggesting
that chronic cannabis users
may induce intrinsic sleep problems.
Around day four of quitting
is when the amazing physiological changes
in your brain start to occur.
Marijuana contains molecules
which mimic natural neurotransmitters
that are already in your brain called cannabinoids.
At baseline cannabinoid circulate
at lower quantities in your body.
But when you ingest marijuana
you create an influx of cannabinoids into your system.
Most specifically, an increase
in the psychoactive component,
THC aka delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
which is what I like to call it, THC is for noobs.
When I see someone with an edible
I say how much delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
you got in there, bud?
The THC you've consumed
while getting stoned resembles the natural neurotransmitter,
anandamide and creates increased neuronal activity
in certain parts of your brain, which cause thoughts,
imagination and perception to magnify.
The THC binding to your neurons also affects dopamine
and norepinephrine levels in the body
which can lead to euphoria, pain modulation, and anxiety.
But the thing is, as you continue to consume weed
it becomes harder to quit.
You start to create a desensitization
and downregulation of your endocannabinoid receptors.
Specifically the CB1 receptor.
Since this receptor modulators systems of short-term memory,
increased cannabis use means a decrease
in short-term memory.
THC also affects neurons involved
in the experience of novelty.
When THC binds specific neurons
the influx creates an exciting sense of novelty
even for mundane, repetitive tasks like washing dishes.
It's why you might get stoned and walk down your same street
and feel like everything is heightened.
It's like, wow, is everything in bloom?
It's the middle of winter.
But regular cannabis use leads to the downregulation
of these same neurons making it harder to quit
and making it harder to feel the bliss
of a new experience while sober.
After too much weed you might go to Paris for the first time
and see the Eiffel Tower and be like, that's it?
Is it a lighthouse?
Oh, it's pointless, okay, cool, should we go up it?
No, let's not go up it, we should just go home.
But thankfully on day four of quitting marijuana
the CB1 cannabinoid receptors will likely have returned
to normal functioning.
Essentially, it only takes around four days
of quitting marijuana for the neuronal changes
in your brain to go back to baseline.
Now, this is new research and I think it is important
that we continue to study this,
especially as the popularity of weed skyrockets.
We need lots of long-term evidence
about how this could be affecting our brains.
I am focusing on how the THC affects the systems
in your body.
How you get that THC into you might involve smoking.
And the act of smoking could have lasting effects
on your lungs.
But there is actually a specific way that the THC
in your system can have longer impacts
on your neurology in your brain.
If you consume too much marijuana during development,
such as in adolescence,
you can create longterm neurophysiological effects.
So, yeah, I started smoking weed in grade 10
which by definition is adolescence.
So whoopsies.
As a closeted gay kid in a high school
with no other gay kids.
I was sort of drawn to that stoner, skater crowd
because to be honest, they were the most fashionable.
I also always had this gay voice.
So when people would come up to me and be like,
you're gay, I'd be, actually, no,
I'm sort of like a quirky, cool, like skater bro.
An Avril Lavigne but a boy, get it?
As a queer kid, weirdly weed was an asset for me
but all those reasons aside scientific evidence now suggests
that I could have been doing long-term damage
to my neurophysiology.
So was it worth it because when it comes
to marijuana's lasting neuronal effects
the age of your brain matters.
Okay, but back to day five to seven of quitting weed.
A recent study found most people who tried to quit marijuana
would fail on days five to seven.
And it was hardest for people
who were dependent on marijuana.
Marijuana dependence can be defined
as someone who has consumed weed daily for 10 years
and has attempted to quit numerous times
but not made it past day seven.
It can also be defined by a continued use of marijuana
despite social, psychological, and physical impairments.
It should be noted that although many scientists agree
that marijuana dependence does exist.
They also agree that dependence on marijuana is less severe
than dependence on alcohol, cocaine or opiates.
But for marijuana, days five to seven are important days
to focus on when trying to quit
as statistically they are the biggest hurdle.
I mean, I feel this, I still consume weed.
Yes, it's been decades.
Thankfully, not daily, but I do wonder if I'm dependent.
And it is on day five to seven
where I usually find myself ordering a little edible
from the gov gov and taking my Just Dance skills
to the next level.
It's also honestly, because the weekend comes
and I wanna watch a movie stoned.
To be honest in my adult years, I don't know
if I've ever entered a movie theater not stoned.
For me, movie theaters represent the munchies
and spending about $79,000 on their largest popcorn.
Also getting chocolate to pour into the popcorn
then the gummies to eat,
to take the popcorn out of my teeth
while I'm eating the popcorn.
And also nachos with an extra fake cheese
so I have enough fake cheese to kill a small horse.
(horse shrieking loudly)
But finally if you make it to day 28 of no weed
all withdrawal symptoms disappear.
Your affected endocannabinoid system
and CB1 receptors will return to baseline.
And you might be able to understand a movie.
So I'm not saying that you just have to go out there
and quit weed right now, for example,
that's not what I'm planning to do,
but I think it's really important to understand
what will happen to you if you do decide to quit.
Life is hard and I do think that education
and learning is what allows you
to make the best choices for you.
And I think science shows us
that quitting weed isn't as easy as we might think it is.
You can click a link to our podcast
where we discuss more about the science of quitting weed.
Make sure you're subscribed
and we'll see you next week for a new science video.
Peace.