Bad news for the half-baked: Marijuana can cause changes in brain chemistry that sap your energy, according to a British study.
Researchers used a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner to compare the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved with reward and motivation, in people who smoked weed at least three times a week along with people who had puffed no more than 10 times in their life. The scans revealed that habitual pot users produced less dopamine compared with non-smokers. The more they smoked—measured in how many days they said it took to burn through a standard one-eighth ounce—the lower their dopamine levels.
Dopamine is the brain chemical that makes you feel good when you do something right, whether it’s winning your boss’s approval at work or leveling up on World of Warcraft. But with less of it being produced as a result of frequent toking, your achievements make you less happy, and therefore you don’t bother to make the extra effort, suggest the researchers.
Previous studies have shown that THC, the chemical that gives cannabis its kick, is a potent stimulator of dopamine. “But regular marijuana likely causes your brain to reduce the amount of dopamine it produces, in order to compensate for the extra dopamine released by cannabis,” says study author Oliver Howes, Ph.D., of Hammersmith Hospital in London.
So how much weed can you smoke before you get to that point? The occasional puff at a party is likely harmless, but even once a week is “not so far off from the levels we were studying,” Howes says, and might put the pinch on your dopamine. Since this is the first study to look at how dopamine was affected by heavy marijuana use, it’s not yet clear if these changes are permanent, or if quitting returns your motivation to normal.
For more pros and cons of pot, check out our recent report, The Truth About Medical Marijuana.
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