- Right now, 55 million
Americans use marijuana, and in Canada marijuana dispensaries are popping up everywhere
like their Tim Hortons for weed and I in Toronto can even order these whittle THC drinks
delivered to my front door from the Canadian government. Thanks, Justin. Weed is being pitched to us
as kind of amazing, right? Well, a recent survey found that 4.3% of Americans have tried to quit
marijuana at least six times and failed. Plus, now withdrawal symptoms
are being fully understood. So today we are going to
explain exactly what happens to your body when you try to quit weed. Day one to two of quitting is when withdrawal symptoms start. A meta analysis of over 23,000 people found that 47% had at least three of the following withdrawal symptoms, nausea, headaches, depressed mood, difficulty getting to sleep,
sweating, anger, nervousness, decreased appetite, and strange dreams. Ding! (eerie music) Now, the risk of withdrawal
symptoms is proportional to the amount of marijuana
you've been consuming. For example, someone who
consumed marijuana three times a week would likely have
less withdrawal symptoms than someone who consumed
marijuana every day. Day three of quitting is when
irritability and anxiety peak. Thankfully, they begin to
dissipate in the coming days. But on the other hand the strange dreams and difficulty getting to sleep only begin to increase on day three. This information has led
to new research suggesting that chronic cannabis users may induce intrinsic sleep problems. Around day four of quitting is when the amazing physiological changes in your brain start to occur. Marijuana contains molecules which mimic natural neurotransmitters that are already in your
brain called cannabinoids. At baseline cannabinoid circulate at lower quantities in your body. But when you ingest marijuana you create an influx of
cannabinoids into your system. Most specifically, an increase in the psychoactive component, THC aka delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol which is what I like to
call it, THC is for noobs. When I see someone with an edible I say how much
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol you got in there, bud? The THC you've consumed while getting stoned resembles
the natural neurotransmitter, anandamide and creates
increased neuronal activity in certain parts of your
brain, which cause thoughts, imagination and perception to magnify. The THC binding to your
neurons also affects dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the body which can lead to euphoria,
pain modulation, and anxiety. But the thing is, as you
continue to consume weed it becomes harder to quit. You start to create a desensitization and downregulation of your
endocannabinoid receptors. Specifically the CB1 receptor. Since this receptor modulators
systems of short-term memory, increased cannabis use means a decrease in short-term memory. THC also affects neurons involved in the experience of novelty. When THC binds specific neurons the influx creates an
exciting sense of novelty even for mundane, repetitive
tasks like washing dishes. It's why you might get stoned
and walk down your same street and feel like everything is heightened. It's like, wow, is everything in bloom? It's the middle of winter. But regular cannabis use
leads to the downregulation of these same neurons
making it harder to quit and making it harder to feel the bliss of a new experience while sober. After too much weed you might
go to Paris for the first time and see the Eiffel Tower
and be like, that's it? Is it a lighthouse? Oh, it's pointless, okay,
cool, should we go up it? No, let's not go up it,
we should just go home. But thankfully on day
four of quitting marijuana the CB1 cannabinoid receptors
will likely have returned to normal functioning. Essentially, it only
takes around four days of quitting marijuana
for the neuronal changes in your brain to go back to baseline. Now, this is new research
and I think it is important that we continue to study this, especially as the popularity
of weed skyrockets. We need lots of long-term evidence about how this could be
affecting our brains. I am focusing on how the
THC affects the systems in your body. How you get that THC into
you might involve smoking. And the act of smoking
could have lasting effects on your lungs. But there is actually a
specific way that the THC in your system can have longer impacts on your neurology in your brain. If you consume too much
marijuana during development, such as in adolescence, you can create longterm
neurophysiological effects. So, yeah, I started
smoking weed in grade 10 which by definition is adolescence. So whoopsies. As a closeted gay kid in a high school with no other gay kids. I was sort of drawn to
that stoner, skater crowd because to be honest, they
were the most fashionable. I also always had this gay voice. So when people would come
up to me and be like, you're gay, I'd be, actually, no, I'm sort of like a quirky,
cool, like skater bro. An Avril Lavigne but a boy, get it? As a queer kid, weirdly
weed was an asset for me but all those reasons aside
scientific evidence now suggests that I could have been
doing long-term damage to my neurophysiology. So was it worth it because when it comes to marijuana's lasting neuronal effects the age of your brain matters. Okay, but back to day five
to seven of quitting weed. A recent study found most people
who tried to quit marijuana would fail on days five to seven. And it was hardest for people who were dependent on marijuana. Marijuana dependence can be defined as someone who has consumed
weed daily for 10 years and has attempted to quit numerous times but not made it past day seven. It can also be defined by a
continued use of marijuana despite social, psychological,
and physical impairments. It should be noted that
although many scientists agree that marijuana dependence does exist. They also agree that dependence
on marijuana is less severe than dependence on alcohol,
cocaine or opiates. But for marijuana, days five
to seven are important days to focus on when trying to quit as statistically they
are the biggest hurdle. I mean, I feel this, I still consume weed. Yes, it's been decades. Thankfully, not daily, but I
do wonder if I'm dependent. And it is on day five to seven where I usually find myself
ordering a little edible from the gov gov and
taking my Just Dance skills to the next level. It's also honestly,
because the weekend comes and I wanna watch a movie stoned. To be honest in my adult
years, I don't know if I've ever entered a
movie theater not stoned. For me, movie theaters
represent the munchies and spending about $79,000
on their largest popcorn. Also getting chocolate
to pour into the popcorn then the gummies to eat, to take the popcorn out of my teeth while I'm eating the popcorn. And also nachos with an extra fake cheese so I have enough fake cheese
to kill a small horse. (horse shrieking loudly) But finally if you make
it to day 28 of no weed all withdrawal symptoms disappear. Your affected endocannabinoid system and CB1 receptors will return to baseline. And you might be able
to understand a movie. So I'm not saying that you
just have to go out there and quit weed right now, for example, that's not what I'm planning to do, but I think it's really
important to understand what will happen to you
if you do decide to quit. Life is hard and I do think that education and learning is what allows you to make the best choices for you. And I think science shows us that quitting weed isn't as
easy as we might think it is. You can click a link to our podcast where we discuss more about
the science of quitting weed. Make sure you're subscribed and we'll see you next week
for a new science video. Peace.
