What Does Marijuana Do To Your Brain And Body?

            Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, and by numerous other names, is a preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine. Pharmacologically, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); it is one of 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 84 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV),[8][9] and cannabigerol (CBG).

Cannabinoid Receptors

            When you smoke marijuana, THC passes from the lungs to the bloodstream, where it is eventually picked up by two types of receptors — cannabinoid receptor (CB) 1 and 2. These long, rope-like proteins weave themselves onto the surfaces of cells all over the body, which helps explain increased heart rate, red eyes, pain relief and other effects that are not purely psychological.

That said, most of the action takes place in the central nervous system, where THC is carried by CB1. Here, the compound typically has about two to four hours to toy with a range of neurological functions — including, but not limited to, memory formation, appetite, and time perception.

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