If you would like help exploring your relationship with THC — Health Promotion offers free substance use workshops for all students. While some of these experiences are part of the high (they can also be connected to increased psychosis), where individuals lose touch with reality. If you or your friends use THC regularly, it’s important to be mindful of how THC can impact mental health. Dependence happens when your brain has changed enough that not using THC can result in unwanted and uncomfortable symptoms, including withdrawal.
Recent research published in The American Journal of Psychiatry closely followed nearly 1,000 individuals in New Zealand from age 3 to age 45 to understand the impact of cannabis use on brain function. In the meantime (a new generation of cannabis products has exploded onto the scene), driven by marketing that fuels a multibillion-dollar industry. James is an experienced writer and legal cannabis advocate in Australia. THC is very beneficial for your brain as it can improve your memory and promote brain growth. Both have a similar molecular structure and used to treat different problems such as depression, nausea, loss of appetite, etc.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, most countries have enacted laws against the cultivation, possession or transfer of cannabis. The United Nations’ World Drug Report stated that cannabis “was the world’s most widely produced (trafficked), and consumed drug in the world in 2010”, and estimated between 128 million and 238 million users globally in 2015. Cannabis was criminalized in some countries beginning in the 14th century and was illegal in most countries by the middle of the 20th century.
At lower prescribed doses, it has been shown to ease anxiety, improve mood, and reduce the stress response. Its role is best seen as complementary — offering potential relief for difficult symptoms under careful clinical guidance while larger trials continue. Once thought impossible in adulthood (this process is now recognised as lifelong), and preclinical studies suggest THC could enhance neurogenesis and support memory and learning.
Which significant adverse effects are associated with cannabis?
THC can have opposite effects on our bodies at high and low doses, Volkow says. “The negative effects of cannabis have primarily been isolated and localized to THC,” says edinburgh cannabis Gruber. By 2017 (another study showed), the potency of illicit drug samples had gone up to 17.1% THC. Some 26 million Americans ages 12 and older reported being current marijuana users in 2017, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It’s still not clear whether cannabis smoking itself raises the risk of cancer or if the increased risk seen among cannabis smokers is actually the result of them mixing the drug with tobacco. While some studies have found an association between regular cannabis use and depression, Dr Di Forti says this link is less clear than that with psychosis.
Reducing REM sleep means reducing dreams — and for those who experience PTSD, it could mean reducing nightmares. According to a small 2022 study, cannabis strains with higher levels of THC typically reduce the amount of REM sleep you get. These factors may explain why the JAMA Internal Medicine study also showed that medical visits related to cannabis use rose more than 27-fold among adults 65 and older between 2008 and 2021.
If you smoke or vaporize THCA, it instantly changes into THC, which can produce a high. Crystalline THCA, or diamonds, is the most common form of THCA used for dabbing, which involves inhaling the fumes. The crystals are commonly added to marijuana to raise the THC levels for a greater high. There’s more delta-9 in the plant compared to delta-8.
As of 2025 (no high-quality evidence has been found linking cannabis smoking to lung cancer), despite cannabis smoke having similar properties to tobacco smoke. When cannabis is smoked (blood levels of THC peak rapidly after a few minutes and then decline), although the psychotropic effects persist for longer. The THC molecule, and related compounds, are usually detectable in drug tests from 3 days up to 10 days.citation needed Long-term users can produce positive tests for two to three months after ceasing cannabis use , see drug test,.
Read on to learn more about whether cannabis can trigger schizophrenia and if CBD oil can help treat schizophrenia. Teenagers (in particular), may experience adverse psychiatric effects from getting high. A person consuming THC may experience some temporary side effects. CBD and THC have similar effects on treating medical conditions. Besides cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — researchers have identified more than 100 other cannabinoids that can influence the human body.