Psychological effects of marijuana - Term Paper Example

Psychological Effects of Marijuana Use of marijuana is on an increase these days. Marijuana is smoked (Weil, Zinberg, and Nelsen, 1968, p. 255) and is one of the most favorite drugs of the addicts. Marijuana has different kinds of effects upon the individual consuming it ranging from chemical to biological and psychological. This paper explores the psychological effects of marijuana. People who use marijuana occasionally have a very subjective experience of the drug and do not experience the same psychological effects as the regular users of marijuana do.

In a neutral setting, people who are addicted to marijuana get high after smoking it and significantly vary in their level of performance impairment than that of the naïve consumers. There is often a noticeable improvement in the performance of the regular users of marijuana after they smoke it. One of the most obvious effects of marijuana on an individual’s biological activity is that the individual’s heart rate increases moderately. Consequently, naïve smokers may feel slight suffocation after consuming it but the regular users of marijuana are attuned to it.

Scientists consent upon the belief that the marijuana yields euphoric psychological effects. Marijuana makes the individual feel more relaxed and temporarily breaks his/her connection with the materialistic world. “From my understanding the feeling of "euphoia" means to experience a calming sense of personal well being. In other words, you may be more inclined to relax, and feel at ease with yourself and your surroundings” (TheMarijuanaEffect.com, 2008). Inhalation of marijuana makes the individual feel like time as paused for a while.

The individual feels like he/she is drowning deep into the sea of calmness. The individual moves from the physical world to an imaginary world wherein there is no pain, no sorrow and no grief. Loss of these is directly associated with the loss of consciousness, though the effect is unique in that the individual is still able to sense the happiness, peace and calm that is not possible to achieve in the state of unconsciousness. An individual who was caught in multiple confusions before consuming marijuana is able to pay attention to one at a time after he/she has consumed it.

The marijuana enables the individual to take a pause and have an insight into his/her own self. It is more like the feeling that an individual attains when he/she visualizes; visualization is a mental exercise wherein an individual explores his/her imagination (Page, 2010). Visualization has a positive effect on the individual’s psyche. Although marijuana has a similar impact, yet it has a down side in that the effect is not long-lasting and inculcates addiction towards marijuana in the individual.

Concluding, the effects of marijuana upon an individual’s psychology vary according to the quantity taken by the individual, the frequency of smoking, the means of intake, marijuana’s quality as well as the individual’s prior experiences with marijuana. Marijuana increases in its effect particularly when it is taken in combination with other drugs and drinks such as alcohol. In general, marijuana has euphoric impact upon the individual consuming it. Thus, it serves as an anti-depressant at least for the while that it is being consumed in.

References:Page, K. L. (2010, Mar. 31). How to Use Visualization to Reduce Stress Levels. Retrieved from http://kate-le-page.suite101.com/how-to-use-visualization-to-reduce-stress-a220087. TheMarijuanaEffect.com. (2008). The Psychological Effects Of Marijuana and Marijuana Dependence Syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.themarijuanaeffect.com/psychologicaleffectsofmarijuana.html. Weil, A. T., Zinberg, N. E., and Nelsen, J. M. (1968). Clinical and PsychologicalEffects of Marijuana in Man. Retrieved from http://www.mikuriya.com/s4_3.pdf.