5 ms·

What are the side effects of this system developing incorrectly?

by jbob2000 7y ago

rriepe 7y ago
If you smoke heavily and quit, your endocannabinoid system underperforms by about 20% for two or three weeks. It basically dulls pleasure in everything, producing anhedonia, depressed appetite and irritability. It impacts sleep negatively too.
- omarchowdhury 7y ago
  How long does it take for full recovery?
  - eikenberry 7y ago
    As he said, a couple weeks.
  - MS90 7y ago
    Each time I've quit for an extended period of time it's taken me about three weeks to feel normal. During those weeks I definitely feel more grumpy and irritable. I'm also curious as to whether THC or other chemicals in the smoke have any effect on the body's thermoregulation, because each time I've quit I've also woken up drenched in sweat every night for about the first week or so. Crazy dreams as well. These have all been me going cold turkey after heavy daily use for extended periods of time.
    - dzhiurgis 7y ago
      I find sleep changes really noticeable, so so everyone else. Dreams become very vivid for couple of days to a point of discomfort. When you smoke i never dream. When you stop body overcompensates.
      - rconti 7y ago
        I wonder if it's suppressing REM sleep like alcohol does
        MS90 7y ago
        It does. My understanding is that THC inhibits REM sleep, and as a result the chemicals that are usually released during the REM phase that cause you to dream do not get released. Once you quit and start having REM sleep again, there's a "backlog" so to speak of the chemicals and more than usual are released, thus causing the extremely vivid dreams.
JimboOmega 7y ago
Those who use heavily in Adolescence can lose something like 6 or 8 IQ points, among other negative effects. Those who start as adults and stop don't seem to have the same effects[1], but it is unclear how much that reflects lower baseline IQ of users vs. the impact of marijuana itself. [1] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/mari...
- drdeadringer 7y ago
  I would like some perspective on what a 6-8 IQ point difference actually means in real life. I know IQ is on a curve so if I'm on the lower end and dope up I might not qualify for the military against had I not doped up by such a margin window. For an average person, what can the person sitting next to me do +8 IQ that I can't? What can the person sitting in front of me not do at -8 IQ that I can? Granted I've encountered "slow" and "fast" people in my life, but I have little idea how to relate that to an IQ number besides "higher" and "lower" like a water faucet for temperature. This is a genuine, honest question.
  - natalyarostova 7y ago
    Based on my own reading of IQ and general heuristics I've developed from observing people (i.e. this is my folk wisdom, I am not sharing links), on a team of SDEs, the one SDE who is really really sharp, not just due to tenure, but generally just grasps things faster and earns the intellectual respect of his peers, is probably about 8-15 points higher than the average IQ of the SDEs around. Again, this is super heuristic, as IQ is non-linear.
  - mike_hock 7y ago
    A population average loss doesn't even mean that I'll deterministically lose 6 to 8 IQ points. But it's strong enough evidence that it severely fucks with the brain for me to stay the hell away. The direct effect of the loss of a few IQ points is not the issue.
  - Solvitieg 7y ago

What are the side effects of this system developing incorrectly?

If you smoke heavily and quit, your endocannabinoid system underperforms by about 20% for two or three weeks. It basically dulls pleasure in everything, producing anhedonia, depressed appetite and irritability. It impacts sleep negatively too.

omarchowdhury 7y ago
How long does it take for full recovery?
- eikenberry 7y ago
  As he said, a couple weeks.
- MS90 7y ago
  Each time I've quit for an extended period of time it's taken me about three weeks to feel normal. During those weeks I definitely feel more grumpy and irritable. I'm also curious as to whether THC or other chemicals in the smoke have any effect on the body's thermoregulation, because each time I've quit I've also woken up drenched in sweat every night for about the first week or so. Crazy dreams as well. These have all been me going cold turkey after heavy daily use for extended periods of time.
  - dzhiurgis 7y ago
    I find sleep changes really noticeable, so so everyone else. Dreams become very vivid for couple of days to a point of discomfort. When you smoke i never dream. When you stop body overcompensates.
    - rconti 7y ago
      I wonder if it's suppressing REM sleep like alcohol does
      - MS90 7y ago
        It does. My understanding is that THC inhibits REM sleep, and as a result the chemicals that are usually released during the REM phase that cause you to dream do not get released. Once you quit and start having REM sleep again, there's a "backlog" so to speak of the chemicals and more than usual are released, thus causing the extremely vivid dreams.

JimboOmega 7y ago

Those who use heavily in Adolescence can lose something like 6 or 8 IQ points, among other negative effects. Those who start as adults and stop don't seem to have the same effects[1], but it is unclear how much that reflects lower baseline IQ of users vs. the impact of marijuana itself. [1] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/mari...

drdeadringer 7y ago
I would like some perspective on what a 6-8 IQ point difference actually means in real life. I know IQ is on a curve so if I'm on the lower end and dope up I might not qualify for the military against had I not doped up by such a margin window. For an average person, what can the person sitting next to me do +8 IQ that I can't? What can the person sitting in front of me not do at -8 IQ that I can? Granted I've encountered "slow" and "fast" people in my life, but I have little idea how to relate that to an IQ number besides "higher" and "lower" like a water faucet for temperature. This is a genuine, honest question.
- natalyarostova 7y ago
  Based on my own reading of IQ and general heuristics I've developed from observing people (i.e. this is my folk wisdom, I am not sharing links), on a team of SDEs, the one SDE who is really really sharp, not just due to tenure, but generally just grasps things faster and earns the intellectual respect of his peers, is probably about 8-15 points higher than the average IQ of the SDEs around. Again, this is super heuristic, as IQ is non-linear.
- mike_hock 7y ago
  A population average loss doesn't even mean that I'll deterministically lose 6 to 8 IQ points. But it's strong enough evidence that it severely fucks with the brain for me to stay the hell away. The direct effect of the loss of a few IQ points is not the issue.
- Solvitieg 7y ago