Marijuana: The Effects

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. It is currently a Schedule I drug which means that it is illegal to possess, manufacture and supply. The effects of marijuana can vary greatly depending on the individual, the strength of the marijuana and how long the user has smoked marijuana for. The effects of marijuana might be wildly different depending on the dosage the user takes, his or her weight, how much he or she has eaten that day and whether or not the user has taken or is mixing marijuana with other drugs.

Marijuana is usually smoked in plant form, although there are several different ways to consume marijuana. For instance, it can be baked with sweets and taken orally in what users call "edibles" or it can be smoked as hash, which is a solid block that needs to be burned down before it can be smoked, and kief, which is a powdery substance that comes off the plant and is much more high in THC content.

What Are The Effects of Marijuana?

The effects of marijuana can last up to four hours. Generally, depending on how the marijuana is taken, the user will start to feel its effects almost immediately and be in a plateau for up to thirty minutes. However, if marijuana is taking orally, this intense feeling can last a lot longer although it will take longer for the effect to come over the body.

The effects of marijuana are euphoria and happiness, the user might start to giggle uncontrollably and find things that he or she doesn't normally find entertaining very funny, increased appetite for certain things and an enhanced sense of taste which can cause "the munchies", an ability to think of things in a more analytical way and an increased awareness of senses like touch, hearing and vision. The user might also feel pleasant and tingling sensation all over their body, pain relief from headaches and an increase in body and mind connection.

The user might also have bloodshot eyes and enlarged pupils. This is much more common in inexperienced users. The user might also experience dry mouth, cheek and facial tension (the jaw becomes heavy, for instance), mild anxiety and difficulty with short term memory. On a higher dosage, the user is likely to experience a racing heart and coughing. Marijuana use may cause respiratory problems, especially when mixed with tobacco. Marijuana causes users to feel drowsy and sleepy. After smoking marijuana, users often report feeling a different perception of time in which things can pass by very quickly or very slowly. Time perception is totally disturbed after smoking marijuana. In the case of inexperienced users, there could be panic attacks.

These are the immediate effects of marijuana, but after the user is done smoking he or she will be left with lingering effects. The user might feel tired and fatigued, continue to have dry mouth and experience a possible ache in his or her extremities. The user might also experience irritability and anxiety.