Why Do People Smoke Weed/Marijuana?

Introduction:

Ever since the medical legalisation of marijuana in 2014, there has been a lot of debate as to why do people smoke marijuana? Medical researchers have been keen on discovering health benefits of marijuana and hemp. With ardent research, medical benefits of hemp vs marijuana have been bifurcated successfully. But still there is a large section of the crowd that wonders why do people even smoke weed/marijuana? Well there is a ton of literature that you can read. We have referred to most of them and here is why people smoke weed.

People smoke marijuana/weed because of the way it makes them feel. When they smoke weed/marijuana, THC and CBD molecules instantly dissolve in the bloodstream. From the bloodstream these compounds then react with CB receptors in our entire body. These molecules react with all available receptors that are responsible for how people feel, act and behave. Hence giving them the high that makes them happy.

Disadvantages:

Depending upon the body type and mental health, people also feel other effects such as:

• Altered senses of sight, taste and time.
• Changes in mood.
• Impaired body movement.
• Difficulty in critical thinking and problem solving.
• Weak memory.
• Hallucinations (in extreme cases only)
• Delusions (in extreme cases only)
• Psychosis (in extreme cases only)

Our brain makes neuron connection as we grow and learn. The more we learn greater and stronger these neuron connections are. But people who smoke marijuana in their teens have been suspected to develop brain connections differently. Their brain tends to make slower connections and hence affecting their brain growth trajectory in the longer run. On the other hand people who started smoking marijuana as adults do not show such signs of brain function defects. Although these effects aren’t proved beyond a doubt, but new research is being conducted constantly in this field.

Science behind it:

Cannabis is the parent plant of marijuana, hemp or weed. All of these plants contains more than 100 different types of cannabinoids. The most commonly present being THC and CBD. All of these plant types are different than each other. The most cultivated plants of the cannabis family are marijuana and hemp. If we talk about marijuana vs hemp, hemp produces high concentrations of CBD while marijuana produced high concentration of THC. THC is the psychoactive compound that gives people their high and causes them to use and reuse marijuana regularly. As far CBD is concerned it does not have the addictive psychoactive effect and hence has been widely legalised. There is an internal debate over marijuana vs hemp, which is better. Hemp has clearly won the fight because of its high concentration of CBD and the health benefits of the same. The health benefits of marijuana are almost overshadowed by the psychoactive effect that it has because of high concentration of THC.

Benefits:

Since the state wide legalisation in the US there has been a huge influx of CBD products manufactured from Hemp plants. These products are supposed to benefit people with numerous symptoms of harmful diseases such as Alziehmer’s, Parkinson’s, Epilepsy and Cancer. CBD flowers and vape oil has been an instant hit amongst the smoking mass. People have increasingly shifted to smoking CBD instead of tobacco cigarettes. A few of the reasons reported for the increase in CBD use are:

• Universal Relief: Users have claimed that smoking marijuana or hemp has helped them manage pain. relieve stress, anger, fear and anxiety.
• Mood Upliftment: A major cause for smoking marijuana is the euphoric feeling that it induces by reacting with CB receptors in our body responsible for mood.
• Increased Metabolism: People suffering from chronic indigestion have claimed that smoking marijuana/hemp flowers has helped them increase their appetite and repair their metabolism as well.
• No hangovers: A major reason is attributed to the absence of hangovers the following morning after smoking. You can feel good, have a good time and wake up the next morning ready for another day of hard work.
• Peers: Many youngsters who have recently started smoking marijuana/hemp have been influenced by the heavy endorsement by pop culture. People they idolise are using it so they are using it too.
• Creativity: Artists who love marijuana have claimed that smoking the herb has helped them be creative and produce art. Although this can be explained with science but this portrayal of the benefits has had a major impact on masses smoking it.

Conclusion:

There are numerous other reasons for smoking marijuana but most of them can be categorised in the above mentioned effects. Marijuana smoking has become a part of our culture now and it is important for skeptics to know why their fellow peers are smoking marijuana. When compared with other options available at large like alcohol, tobacco or prescription pills, marijuana or hemp both have competitive benefits over them. In part due to the medicinal values associated with the plant. But mostly due to the real life experiences that marijuana smokers can attest to. Smoking or not smoking marijuana is a personal choice and we should respect it. But we should educate ourselves too.