High on marijuana? All you need to know about your feelings

Marijuana is the most unpredictable of all drugs that may cause a ‘high’. Many people are curious about knowing what it feels like smoking pot or joint or marijuana, whatever you call it. Some people are newbies and want to know about the feelings and emotions it generates. Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced marijuana user, knowing the full impact of marijuana on the mind will help you understand the medicinal drug better. Marijuana or cannabis can be consumed in a variety of ways — you can have it via vape, you can smoke it, eat it, have cannabis coffee, the options are endless. However, everyone gets a different experience, primarily not because of the drug but due to your body’s interaction with it.

Your state of mind, surroundings, and the company or the people you are with, also affects the outcome of the so-called ‘marijuana hit’. This article explains in detail how marijuana alters our feelings and emotions to give us a different kind of ‘happiness’. Also, sometimes even, ‘sadness’. 

Introduction to marijuana, the most used drug in the world

As per various studies, around 4 percent of the world’s population uses marijuana in one form or the other. Around 10 percent of those users develop daily consumption habits, meaning they become habitual. Marijuana is a plant that’s growing on earth for thousands of years. Humans have also used it in varied forms. All its body parts, including stems, seeds, leaves, and flowers, have a plethora of uses. These are medical as well as recreational. Some people smoke it, while others like to drink it in the form of hash tea or pot cake. Some people use the more nuanced approach and like to use separate cannabis extracts — like CBD or THC — to get special effects. Marijuana comprises around 500 chemical compounds or cannabinoids that come into play when you try it out in a complete form.

The widespread use of cannabis has led to a growing acceptance or legalization of the herbal plant. According to a ‘Monitoring the Future’ survey, conducted by the US National Institute of Drug Abuse in 2014, of the US states that have already legalized marijuana for recreational and medical use, 40 percent of high school seniors used it as compared to 26 percent in the states that didn’t legalize it.

How does marijuana affect you?

Marijuana can affect you in both positive and negative ways. When you are high on weed, it’s totally a different experience than having other hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and cocaine, which are typically highly addictive and destructive to human health. Marijuana as compared to them does not produce real hallucination. Having said that, you’ll experience the world in a whole new way after getting stoned. Faces and places will look strange, more often funnily. You may also perceive colours in a different or rather appreciative way. Your taste for aesthetics will improve and you will tend to find enjoyment in everything you do.

Most people enjoy music better when they are stoned. Your overall hearing and taste sensories are automatically improved when you consume marijuana. You may also consume more food than usual. All these effects may seem attractive, but marijuana can also have a negative effect. Depending upon your interaction with weed and your company, things may look grim and bad or perfect. Your mood and mental state are exaggerated similarly to alcohol. It may also make you less empathetic towards others’ feelings as you may find them amusing. Most people, when high on marijuana, try to hide emotions by controlling them.

Sometimes, you may even feel paranoid, as real or imaginary thoughts collide in your mind. Sometimes, it may make you confused or laid back. Depending upon the intake or dosage quantity, your sleeping routine may also get altered. When it comes to creativity, marijuana can improve your creativity level. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that many of the regular marijuana users have come up with ground-breaking ideas when they are high, though no study has been conducted to prove these claims.

Marijuana is not a ‘dangerous’ drug anymore

Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I substance in the US, which means it has high chances of abuse and presents no “medicinal” properties. Despite the federal laws stating so, the use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes has been made legal across 35 states of the US. However, this status may change soon, and more states may adopt it. In a historic vote on December 2, 2020, a member United Nations commission, representing representatives from 53 nations, voted to remove marijuana or cannabis from the category of the world’s most dangerous drugs to encourage its usage for medical purposes. This will lead to more countries accepting marijuana and expand its research and medical use.

The vote was cast after a series of recommendations from the World Health Organisation, which was first made in 2019. The removal of cannabis from the ‘dangerous drugs’ category will encourage more countries to frame their drug policies to allow cannabis use. The reclassification passed 27-25. While the US, EU nations supported removing the tag, countries like China, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, and Russia opposed it.

The Bottom Line

Marijuana is a complex plant. But it has both benefits and drawbacks. Though marijuana faces stiff resistance in several countries today, liberal nations like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are moving in the direction of exploring the plant to its maximum potential. With regards to its impact on the mind, it alters human emotions and does affect them differently. Unfortunately, there’s a dearth of authentic research studies on cannabis‘ capabilities to affect cognitive functions like mood, depression, and anxiety. Nonetheless, personal experiences seem to suggest that marijuana, if regulated properly, can catapult the medical industry by presenting solutions to some of the deadliest diseases in the world. The need is to adopt it in lifestyle and gain maximum benefits from its medicinal properties.