Effects of Hashish on Brain: Long-Term Consequences

[EIRE2003]

What are the effects on the brain from hashish could anybody tell me?
From the stage that one is stoned to the stage that the stoned feeling has decayed.
And are there any long term effects from this substance? Does it really kill off brain cells for good?
And why do you become so creative under the influence? I have smoked this substance & when I am reading my physics books or astronomy books under the influence it becomes amazing what you can imagine in your head!
I wish I was always like that.

 

[GOD__AM]

I only know about the effects of marajuana on the brain, but hash contains THC also so it's probabally the same. The notion of THC killing off brain cells has been found to be false. Something happens to the fluid around the brain cells where THC is present. The brain cell is not dead, but it can not function properly as the THC blocks transmissions to and from the cell. The effect is reversable if you stop using, and you can regain use of those cells again.

If you want to know something that kills braincells, it's something some of us do every day. Pumping gas.

 

[mee]

What are the effects on the brain from hashish could anybody tell me?
From the stage that one is stoned to the stage that the stoned feeling has decayed.
And are there any long term effects from this substance? Does it really kill off brain cells for good?
And why do you become so creative under the influence? I have smoked this substance & when I am reading my physics books or astronomy books under the influence it becomes amazing what you can imagine in your head!
I wish I was always like that.

Through meditation, perhaps as such one would receive in a sensory deprivation tank, one should be able to gain the good effect, as from hashish without the side effects. (without the rush of instantaneous weirdness, sorry if you like that part That is, I would more highly recommend playing with mood altering meditation. Hashish is often psychologically addicting and due to its often illegal nature, is dangerous to use. It can make one paranoid, due to wondering if "outsiders" such as the police know one is using it, is on it, is carrying it, or is buying it. It can make one feel that nothing is as good as it is when you are on hashish and thus one will seek it a lot. And if used a lot it is no longer inexpensive to use. Cannabis often makes one feel good, that is why many people smoke it! But it can leave one bedraggled afterwards and this "hangover" can last a week or so. During this week, one can often want more of it because it made one feel at least competent while on it. What one often doesn't realize is that one often gets slower and slower mentally the more one smokes it. The creativity I believe comes from the calmness one feels and the fact that ones brain has all these new signals to play with when one is under its effects. Creativity can also come from reading new experiences one would not normally read, similarly:n Or going places one would not normally go. Hashish can be fun for a while, and I know some people who have smoked cannabinoids for years with a relatively normal life. My advice is to remember ones experience and learn from it but for the most part stop seeking enlightenment through it to any great degree. Remember, how many geniuses have been hashish heads? It can limit one greatly if abused. And it can be so much fun it is easy to abuse. Good luck and be careful!

 

[Moonbear]

I don't know if this has been examined for cannabinoids (hashish and marijuana) yet, but for other drugs of abuse, a different deleterious effect has been identified in recent years. In some parts of the brain, we regularly produce new brain cells, considered to be important for learning and memory processes. The hippocampus is one of the main places this happens. With chronic drug abuse, growth of these new cells stops. So, you don't kill existing cells, but the new ones you're supposed to grow stop. This is a hot new area of study in the drug abuse field, so we may have more answers in just a few years.
From:
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Vol. 299, Issue 2, 401-407, November 2001
Regulation of Adult Neurogenesis by Psychotropic Drugs and Stress
Ronald S. Duman, Jessica Malberg and Shin Nakagawa

Regulation of Neurogenesis by Drugs of Abuse. Drugs of abuse, including opiates and psychostimulants, are known to have long-term effects that are mediated by alteration of synaptic plasticity. In addition to their addictive properties, repeated use of these drugs can influence cognition, learning, and memory. Given the potential role of neurogenesis in learning and memory, the influence of opiates on hippocampal neurogenesis has been studied (Eisch et al., 2000). This study demonstrates that repeated administration of morphine decreases the proliferation of granule cells in adult rat hippocampus. A similar effect was also seen after self-administration of heroin. This unforced or volitional self-administration of the opiate is a more accurate model of drug use by opiate addicts. Repeated administration of opiates as well as other drugs of abuse is known to activate the HPA axis, raising the possibility that increased levels of adrenal-glucocorticoids could account for decreased granule cell proliferation. This point was addressed by demonstrating that opiate administration decreased hippocampal cell proliferation even in the absence of a glucocorticoid surge (i.e., adrenalectomy plus glucocorticoid replacement). Studies are currently being conducted to examine the influence of psychostimulants and determine whether decreased neurogenesis is observed with other classes of drugs of abuse (E.*J.*Nestler, unpublished observations).

There are other very long-lasting/permanent changes that occur in the brain with drug use that are involved in the addiction process. That's thought to be one of the reasons why addicts have such a hard time kicking the habit and relapse even years later. Again, I'm not sure if these relate to cannabinoids. I'm more familiar with studies with opioids and amphetamines.

 

[EIRE2003]

Through meditation, perhaps as such one would receive in a sensory deprivation tank, one should be able to gain the good effect, as from hashish without the side effects. (without the rush of instantaneous weirdness, sorry if you like that part That is, I would more highly recommend playing with mood altering meditation.

No I hate the weirdness I only like creativity.

How do you do this or go about doing this? Are there any negative effects on the body from doing this?

Can you offer any sites which have various ways of doing this meditation?

Does this creativity last long?

 

[mee]

No I hate the weirdness I only like creativity.

How do you do this or go about doing this? Are there any negative effects on the body from doing this?

Can you offer any sites which have various ways of doing this meditation?

Does this creativity last long?

Well it depends exactly which effect you are trying to mimic. My guess is try to make yourself calm and relaxed. Then try to envision in your mind what you are trying to visualise. I think this may improve with practice. Oftentimes it seems that drugs are able to make us do things by cutting out part of the world and and enhancing other parts. This is a new science to me as well but it seems theoretically possible. A recent study I read said that the brain produces chemicals very similar to cannabinoids and that these chemicals play the role of helping us feel calm. This calmness, mixed with the feeling of enjoying ones environment, probably releases the brins natural creativity. You just have to try and enhance these natural chemicals in ones brain by honing in on ones natural similar propensities and reinforcing these neural pathways by excercising them. I think these natural pathways may be atrophied, like steroids atrophying ones natural testosterone producing cells, by the use of drugs which mimic and thus short circuit them. There are many forms and books on meditation and probably quite a bit on the net. As to negative effects of this sort of meditation, just try not to get too spacey and stay a bit grounded in reality while keeping an open mind. Just experiment on your own or find an established method which works for you. As to creativity, just think a lot and experience a lot of different sorts of things, such as new books and such. Hope this helps!