Signs & Symptoms of Marijuana Use

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The 1998 report Cannabis and Cognitive Functioning noted that the impairments of marijuana can last weeks, months or even years after use stops.

Because of the way marijuana is smoked, with the smoke being drawn deeply into the lungs and held for a period of time, it is estimated that smoking three to four joints a day has the equivalent effect of smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes a day.

Many people mix the use of marijuana with other drugs. They sometimes follow specific formulas, trying to create a particular high that they’ve been told results from that combination. The primary drugs being mixed with marijuana are alcohol, opiates (heroin or prescription painkillers), methamphetamine, and cocaine.

While there is considerable controversy over whether the effects of weed use are beneficial for some physically ill people, it is certain that its effects can be ruinous for people who chronically abuse the drug. A family that suspects weed abuse by one of its members should know what problems can result.

Immediate Signs of Weed Use

The most immediate signs of smoking weed are dilation of the blood vessels in the eyes (making them bloodshot), increased heart rate, increased appetite and memory impairment, along with difficulty paying attention or solving problems. But the real reason people abuse the drug is for the euphoria that may last three to six hours.

When monitoring for symptoms of weed use, there may be reactions of anxiety, fear or panic, especially if they are new to the drug or taking it in an unsettling location. Hallucinations, paranoia and delusional behavior can be symptoms of weed use that is very potent, or consumption of a large amount.

Identifying Marijuana Abuse

Most people know what marijuana looks like. It most often appears as a dry, shredded mix of flowers and leaves from a cannabis plant. The substance may be green or brown, or occasionally gray, have seeds in it, and sometimes appear to be soaked with oil. Hashish IS that oil. Most often, marijuana is smoked in a joint, a hand-rolled cigarette. It is also frequently smoked in a tall glass pipe called a bong, or any pipe. As discussed earlier, it can be added to foods or made into a tea.

A person using marijuana may leave behind rolling papers, small ends of burnt joints that can be smoked in a pipe or reassembled into a new joint, or glass or ceramic pipes coated with resin.

Some people partially hollow out a cigar and fill it with weed. They may feel they can smoke this cigar in public and not be detected. A marijuana-tobacco cigar is called a ’blunt,’ said to be because Phillies Blunt cigars were originally used. Swisher Sweets brand of small cigars is often used to make blunts, along with Garcia y Vega and White Owl cigars. This practice may have started being popular among the rap music crowd but it has spread much farther today.

Detecting marijuana use in an individual

Look for these signs:

• Red, bloodshot eyes
• Laughter and glee when it is not warranted
• Euphoria
• Strongly increased appetite for snack foods or sweets
• Foggy, slow memory
• Artificially increased tendency to chatter or be sociable
• Lowered inhibitions
• Impaired judgment
• Dizziness
• Sedation, slow movement
• Lethargy, lack of activity

Effects on the Body

A marijuana smoker acts lethargic and may suffer lung irritation and bronchitis. The heart rate increases while blood vessels dilate, leading to lowered blood pressure. Continuous use may suppress the immune system, resulting in more frequent illnesses.

Other physical effects include:

• Urinary retention
• Constipation
• Slurred speech
• Drowsiness

Marijuana is generally less physically damaging than some other drugs, but it is very common for a person who starts abusing marijuana to progress on to the use of other drugs. Marijuana, alcohol, tobacco or prescription drugs, particularly pain relievers, are the first drugs used by most young people.

Physical Changes Can Also Include:

• Bloodshot eyes
• Fast heart rate
• Sleepy, lethargic
• Lack of coordination
• Increase cravings for snacks

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Effects on the Mind

Marijuana creates its most damaging and dangerous effects on the mind.

During immediate use, marijuana relaxes inhibitions and causes an artificial sense of well-being that is completely unrelated to one’s surroundings or situation. A person may feel that he has a more vivid sense of taste, sight, smell, and hearing. He will probably be less in control of his own concentration or ability to form complete thoughts or express his ideas. He will be less able to absorb or retain information, which impedes his ability to learn, of course.

Changes in Actions Accompanying This Can Be:

• Confusion and lack of focus
• Unusually talkative
• Dropping studies or usual activities
• Misjudging time
• Secretiveness

Paraphernalia to Look for:

• Pipes
• Shredded leafy debris
• Cigarette rolling papers
• Very small bottles of oil
• Small metal clips
• Eyedroppers

Other signs of weed use are paraphernalia left in a person’s room or vehicle. Small pipes, larger complicated water pipes referred to as “bongs,” and cigarette rolling papers or small ends of smoked hand-rolled cigarettes constitute signs of weed use. In states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana use (or nearby states), there may be “edibles” in the form of:

• Cookies,
• Brownies,
• Drinks,
• Candy bars,
• Hard candies

If the item is still in the original packaging, it must identify the dosage of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary intoxicating ingredient) expected to exist in that edible item.

Effects on One’s Ability to Drive or Operate Machinery

A marijuana user’s perceptions of time and space are distorted, which can make a stoned person a dangerous driver. He will have difficulty solving problems such as those required by changes in traffic. He will lose some of his coordination. A heavy user may suffer a greater loss in his ability to focus his attention or shift his attention when required by changes in the environment, and in registering and using the information he receives such as a change in traffic lights. Reaction and decision times are lengthened and the stoned driver is normally less vigilant. These losses are the greatest in the few hours after marijuana use but residual effects are noted up to 24 hours later.

A stoned driver may be able to pull himself together for a short period but he is unlikely to be able to maintain this greater focus. Monotonous and prolonged driving will be the most greatly impacted by marijuana abuse.

The primary intoxicating ingredient of marijuana is tetra-hydro-cannabinol or THC. In Colorado, the State Senate set a standard of five nanograms (five billionths of a gram) of THC per milliliter of blood to constitute “impairment when driving.” This ruling is controversial and may be modified when more research is done on the subject. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration states that “…THC concentrations generally fall below five ng/mL less than 3 hours after smoking.” This means that someone driving within 3 hours of smoking pot would probably be legally “driving under the influence.”

Notes on Higher Potency Marijuana

Chronic or heavy use of marijuana or use of high potency weed (which much of it is nowadays) is associated with its own more severe set of problems. Over time, the average potency of marijuana has soared. Potency is measured by how much of the plant is composed of THC. This graph shows the average levels of THC found in seized samples of marijuana between 1983 and 2009.

Some varieties of marijuana have a much higher potency than this average. Hydroponic farming (defined as “growing plants in a water and nutrient solution, without soil”) further increases potency. The highest potency on record was from a sample that consisted of 37% THC. The higher the potency, the more serious the physical and mental effects and the higher risk of developing a complete addiction to this complex substance.

Chronic use or consumption of higher potency marijuana can result in more severe harmful effects the user never intended.

These include:

• Panic attacks
• Strongly fluctuating emotional states
• Paranoia
• Fragmented thoughts
• An illusion of insight but with a real-world dulling of attention
• Psychotic episodes
• Increased heart rate—up to 160 beats a minute
• Fainting
• Depersonalization (the state in which one loses the sense of his own identity and his thoughts when one’s feelings seem like they belong to someone else)

Marijuana Health Risks:

It is understandable that marijuana abuse might be hard on the lungs since most people smoke this drug, but the health effects actually reach much farther than the lungs.

Brain

Studies from 2012 and 2013 provide evidence of brain damage from the use of marijuana. In 2013, a scientists exposed young mice to low doses of THC for 20 days. When the mice became adults, they showed abnormal brain functions and impaired cognitive (thinking, problem-solving and understanding) functions. The test was repeated on adult mice and these abnormal test results were not seen, indicating that marijuana abuse may be far more damaging to the brain when young.

In 2012, scientists in Australia performed brain scans on 59 long-term marijuana users and compared them to the brains of people who had never used the drug. The marijuana users showed structural changes that were similar to changes found in people with schizophrenia.

Stomach and Intestines

Heavy marijuana use has recently been identified as the cause of severe stomach pain, vomiting and nausea that no drugs or treatment will alleviate. The only remedy has been to spend hours in a hot bath or shower. Some people will literally spend days in the shower, trying to relieve the pain. When they stop using marijuana, the condition finally ceases.

Birth defects and Risks

The THC consumed by a pregnant woman passes through the placenta and so has an effect on a developing fetus. Research indicates that babies affected by prenatal marijuana use show lower birth weight, poorer eyesight and a higher incidence of a defect in the heart. These babies also have a higher risk of developing asthma, chest infections and breathing problems. Cognitive problems also showed up as lower scores in verbal, memory and reasoning ability tests at ages three and four.

A study from the University of Utah School of Medicine found that marijuana use during pregnancy was associated with a nearly threefold increase in fetal death, even if there was no other substance abuse.

Perhaps the most horrific risk is the connection between high potency marijuana (and synthetic marijuana) and anencephaly, a fatal condition in which a baby is born without some or all of a brain.

Life May Just Pass the Person By

One of the most distinctive effects of weed use is the loss of motivation. Students lose interest in school perhaps in part because of their ability to think clearly becomes impaired. They may struggle to remember things they are trying to learn. Long-term use is associated with a condition that includes apathy, impairment of judgment, lower ability to concentrate and loss of motivation and ambition. This condition may be accompanied by panic attacks and confusion.

The chronic user may feel that life is just passing him or her by.

Withdrawal Effects of Marijuana

There is a distinct pattern to withdrawal from weed after use has become chronic. The recovering person will be irritable, may be depressed, may have sleeping problems. He or she is sure to crave the drug.

But once weed abuse becomes chronic or addictive, it can and does ruin some people’s lives. The family who loves and wants to help this person needs to have a reliable, effective way to deal with the problem.

We're here. We're ready to help you.
Call us at 1-800-737-5250 to get help now. or learn more about the Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program

Narconon Can Help a Person Recover their Interest in Life

Once the effects of weed use have appeared, it is possible to find recovery. It is possible to bring back the freshness and enjoyment of life after addiction to weed. The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program helps restore productive and enjoyable lives to thousands of people each year around the world. For a person who needs to recover from the effects of weed, Narconon offers a comprehensive program that helps a person rebuild a sober life. The Narconon New Life Detoxification is an essential part of this recovery in that it flushes out toxins left behind after weed use, resulting in a sharper ability to think.

Helping Someone Overcome Addiction to Weed

Feeling that one’s life is just passing one by is a typical symptom of weed use. One person who spent a decade smoking dope said that it was like ten years of his life was just missing. At Narconon recovery centers, the brightness and joy of really living can be recovered after symptoms of weed use have demonstrated abuse or addiction to the drug.

For students in particular, being addicted to weed can be destructive. Weed impairs one’s ability to think, learn and solve problems. To accomplish a good education, one must be bright and perceptive. With a thorough sauna-based detoxification action that restores the brightness and quickness of thinking, plus boosted communication skills and life skills, a person can again create a productive, enjoyable life.