Marijuana use has become a social habit and activity within our current generation. You can find marijuana nearly anywhere and many people are addicted to its positive effects. Even though there are benefits to using marijuana, the fact that it’s a highly addictive substance makes people highly dependent on it to perform daily acts and sustain a good emotional well-being overall.

Side effects of marijuana use

Weed or marijuana can cause temporary higher levels of serotonin, depending on the individual. Serotonin, a chemical neurotransmitter, acts as a natural mood stabilizer (among other bodily functions). While this is true, the long-term effects are often not so great. Most people desire to quit after years of using, some after five years, while some after twenty years for several different reasons. It’s commonly noticed that people who have been using marijuana for a long time (years), experience negative side effects such as; irregular sleeping patterns (f.e: sleeping too much or too less), severe weight gain or weight loss, poor self-care, paranoia, apathy, anger problems, fatigue, brain-fog, purposeless attitude towards life, detachment from family members, surrounded by negative/wrong environment and financial issues.

Positive effects of marijuana use

Now let’s look at the benefits of marijuana use. It’s reported that use of the cannabis plant can help with; mood stabilization and regulation, relaxation, stress relief, help falling asleep and extend sleeping time, expand awareness and increase insight (enhanced senses) and improve the desire to eat.

Conclusion

The list of negative effects of cannabis use is far more extended than the list of positive effects. Note that the symptoms listed as negative side effects are all long-term based, while the positive effects are all more related to short-term use. This concludes that even though there are positive effects to the use of marijuana, the long list of negative side effects should raise an alarm bell. The problem with cannabis is that because it’s highly addictive and most commonly socially accepted, most people who use don't give up after one try. This makes marijuana a dangerous drug long-term based. Just like with all other drugs and substances, with habitual use,  the individual risks becoming dependent and experiencing high tolerance. Now the person starts using more while experiencing less positive and more negative effects.

Benefits of quitting marijuana addiction

Some benefits of giving up marijuana use are; higher alertness, higher energy levels, more productivity, better sleeping patterns, regular eating patterns, regular weight pattern, more excitement towards everyday activities, more interest and investment in work/studies, healthier social and/or living environment, better self-care, more confidence, calmer emotional state, more empathy and better financial situations or management.

Marijuana and awareness

Marijuana can alter one’s awareness to one of a higher consciousness. This is especially true for people already have established to reach a certain level of higher awareness. In this aspect, marijuana can be very helpful and beneficial. However, this does not necessarily involve addiction and living with any addiction should carefully be looked after and treated. Marijuana can raise and alter awareness but this more so happens during single use and its effects are generally not permanent, since people often develop tolerance when using more often and therefore the short-term effects of marijuana become limiting.