Marijuana and Schizophrenia

As far as drugs go, we usually think of marijuana as the tamer of the group. It has a low addiction potential and there is less of a chance of overdosing. However, in the long run, marijuana can be very harmful to one of our most important organs. The brain. Now, affects on the brain happen after long periods of time, with large amounts of marijuana in a persons body, so this does not affect the casual user of marijuana. The affect on the brain is more of an issue with habitual users of marijuana.

Taken in large quantities, marijuana can have an affect on certain mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. In most cases, it will only enhance a preexisting condition, however, sometimes marijuana can actually cause a person to develop these conditions. This is because large amounts of marijuana cause an excess release of dopamine in the brains hippocampus, which affects mainly sensory perception. This can lead to short term affects, such as hallucinations, as well as the long term affect of schizophrenia. 

The bottom line is that your brain is not something to mess with. Using marijuana occasionally will most likely not have a huge affect on your body and brain. It is the long term affects you need to worry about. Before you make the decision to smoke, think about how much it will affect your brain afterwards.