Psychedelics Vs Cannabis- Best Choice
It is not surprising that people associate psychedelics and cannabis with euphoric, mind-altering experiences. Cannabis and hallucinogenic drugs are commonly associated with “getting high,” a term reserved for rituals and traditions throughout cultures and civilizations worldwide, like the ayahuasca ritual in Peru.
The United States has banned outright the possession and use of psychedelics and cannabis because of their association with deviant behavior. As a result, modern-day research and development of new medicinal treatments less likely to cause side effects and offer more promising results are now hindered.
Many medical and mental health conditions are treated with marijuana and psychedelics today, such as depression, anxiety, nausea, inflammation, and pain.
Gateway Drugs to Medication Therapies of the Future: Psychedelics and Marijuana
Psychedelics and cannabis are increasingly used by people suffering from the adverse effects of antidepressants and other medications. In addition, many people with mood disorders avoid conventional treatment in favor of cannabis, psychedelics, or both.
In the current era of enormous pharma treatment alternatives for pain, depression, and other health symptoms, psychedelics may be a better choice than cannabis. Adults may benefit from understanding how psychedelics, marijuana, or both can help them medicate.
What Is Neuroplasticity?
Historically, most brain developments occurred before adulthood, and most neuronal connections were fixed and unchangeable. In 1948, a polish neuroscientist named Jerry Konorski proposed the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity in the brain and nervous system refers to how neural networks respond to stimuli.
Certain parts of the brain and nervous system can’t be changed. Nevertheless, some areas can change and modulate specific functions, restructure themselves, and do new things. Cannabis or certain psychedelics are supposed to enhance these features.
Adaptation to homologous areas, cross-modal reassignment, and compensatory masquerade are the four types of neural plasticity.
Homologous area adaptation: Similar regions in opposite brain hemispheres regulate specific cognitive processes.
Cross-modal: Sensory structures in the brain that regulate sensory responses to specific stimuli (feedback from nerve receptors) adapt to process new sensory input.
Compensatory masquerade: Performs specific functions through a collection of cognitive processes.
Map expansion: The process of developing specific brain regions in response to specific experiences, stimuli, or performances.
Psychotherapeutics and cannabis, among other drugs and chemical substances, interact with the mind and body through neural plasticity. In addition to understanding positive, healthy behaviors, researchers believe these substances can help understand negative, unhealthy ones, such as addiction and substance abuse.
How Hallucinogens Impact the Brain’s Reward System
Mushrooms (also known as shrooms), ketamine, and cannabis interfere with normal neurotransmitter function when introduced to the brain. To maintain proper body and brain function, neurotransmitter activity requires specific pathways and stimuli.
It is believed that cannabis contains molecules known as cannabinoids that have properties or properties that are similar to some of the neurons and receptors in the human brain and body in terms of their chemical properties. These ligands attach to these receptors to activate, stimulate, and modulate the activity of natural neurons.
A brain’s addiction center consists of the prefrontal cortex, the basal ganglia, and the extended amygdala. Chemical substances like psychedelics and marijuana have the most significant influence on these areas of the brain. For example, when marijuana and LSD are present in the body, these regions are most stimulated.
Drugs and alcohol also trigger reward-addiction centers, which are responsible for different kinds of intoxication or highs. Using drugs repeatedly or chronically can also cause serious changes to the body’s essential functions.
According to research, prolonged use and misuse of these substances alter critical areas of the brain and cause permanent changes in body functions and mental processes, increasing the likelihood of compulsive behavior and addiction.
How Does Cannabis Affect Brain Neuroplasticity?
The effects of cannabis on the brain’s neural plasticity are currently limited, but it appears to stimulate neurogenesis. The brain generates new neurons and chemical pathways when stimulated by it. Marijuana’s neurogenesis capacity is reportedly short-lived.
Cannabis is not a psychedelic, despite its intoxicating effect on the mind. Currently, studies are being conducted to determine if marijuana has been misclassified due to its euphoric properties and effectiveness in alleviating depression, mood disorders, and dark moods. Psychedelics have similar effects.
PTSD clinical studies suggest that marijuana may be a potent therapeutic for mental health. Treatment with different concentrations of THC and CBD and placebo with negligible CBD and THC amounts significantly improved PTSD symptoms after three weeks.
In marijuana, THC is a cannabinoid that causes intense hallucinogenic effects. There are also fewer psychoactive cannabinoids in cannabis, such as CBD, CBG, and CBN.
It is possible to control the high by micro-dosing with psychoactive cannabis strains or CBD if the user feels uncomfortable or experiences adverse effects. Cannabis cannabinoid CBD reduces the unpleasant sensations associated with smoking weed by counteracting much of THC’s psychoactive effects.
Besides its neuroprotective properties, marijuana helps shield the brain from toxins and harmful stimuli. Though beneficial to brain health and function, it does not seem to benefit learning in some areas. The use of cannabis for a short period slows brain activity and reduces memory retention and learning abilities. Long-term or chronic marijuana use may cause a permanent decline in neuropsychological function.
In some individuals, THC, cannabis’s main psychoactive compound, disrupts neuroplasticity in the hippocampal region and other brain parts. Cannabis users who are adolescents are likely to experience these effects for the rest of their lives since their brains are still developing at this age.
The Effects of Psychedelics on Brain Neuroplasticity
Several psychedelic drugs are therapeutic for mood disorders and behavioral issues, such as DMT, mushrooms, ketamine, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), etc. The moderate use of these drugs can increase cognitive function, alleviate depression, and promote brain neuroplasticity. These substances are also less addictive when used in moderation and in low doses.
The following psychedelics are currently being studied for medicinal purposes:
- LSD
- Psilocybin mushrooms
- Ketamine
- DMT
- Ololiuqui
- Peyote
- PCP
- MDMA
- Ecstasy
- 5-MeO-DMT (Toad Venom)
In addition to restoring the brain, psychedelic drugs have therapeutic properties, and they regulate cellular communication and processing by enhancing neuron activity and creating new pathways. Psychedelics and marijuana no longer pose a deterrent to mental and physical health due to these effects and emerging scientific evidence.
As well as influencing moods, psychedelic drugs can relieve pain and other adverse health conditions. As a result of limited clinical research studies, it is unknown what their long-term or permanent effects will be on the mind and body.
There is extensive research to determine if these substances can live up to their promising antidepressant, anti-addictive, and anxiolytic properties and lead to a safer therapeutic approach for mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and addiction.
The Pleasure and Addiction of Psychedelics and Cannabis
Ingestion of cannabis or psychedelic drugs disrupts the brain’s reward system. Psychedelics, euphoric drugs, and narcotics are reported to overload the pleasure center with feel-good neurotransmitters. The brain also produces more dopamine, strengthening the link between substance abuse and positive or euphoric responses. As a result, drug use and potentially unhealthy behavior are associated more positively.
Among the neurotransmitters responsible for action reinforcement is dopamine. Despite the lack of evidence, the scientific community believes that dopamine spikes drive addictions and behavioral patterns and enforce memory and recollection.
The brain reportedly prefers drug-based chemical interactions instead of healthy or positive stimuli after large dopamine influx are triggered by psychedelics or marijuana. In addition, it affects how the user perceives the world around them. After prolonged and improper use of these substances, the brain becomes accustomed to triggering cravings long after they have been stopped.
According to this theory, addiction begins in the brain and should be treated with professional help to learn appropriate coping skills to overcome addiction urges. They rewire their brains chronically when they use weed or psychedelics due to the false-positive connections they make with their memories.
Cannabis or psychedelics may lead to addiction for some people. Despite this, most people use these substances to enhance their moods, perceptions, and overall health. It is common for people not to develop addictive behaviors or associations.
A Deeper Look Into How Marijuana and Psychedelics Alter Brain Chemistry
Psychedelics and cannabis both affect the body through their stimulation of specific neurotransmitters. To alter perceptions and brain function, psychedelics primarily act on 5-HT2A receptors, while cannabis acts on CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. These pathways affect physiological and behavioral processes such as movement, cognition, reward, motivation, neuroendocrine control, executive function, and others.
Dopamine receptors in different brain regions stabilize or enhance dopaminergic activity. It is possible to classify psychedelic drugs and marijuana as hallucinogens because they influence brain chemistry and activity.
The term serotonergic refers to substances that stimulate the brain’s serotonin receptors. The neurotransmitter serotonin promotes happiness, well-being, and feelings of well-being. Sleep issues, mood disorders, and appetite disorders are associated with serotonin imbalances.
In a nutshell, empathogens are substances that increase serotonin levels. Aside from influencing emotions, perception, cognitive responses, visual responses, and auditory reactions, they also play a role in certain associations.
The term dissociative describes substances or interactions that cause feelings of detachment from reality or oneself. In addition to triggering misperceptions and cognitive dysfunction, psychedelic and marijuana use may also cause dissociation.
The prefrontal cortex is the site of most of these changes. In certain areas of the brain, the structure and function can change. The effects of marijuana or psychedelics on some people tend to be trippy and mind-altering, but not all. Additionally, these interactions may provide insight into why some people develop or are more susceptible to mental health conditions than others.
Mixing Psychedelics With Weed
To enhance their experience, some individuals self-medicate with cannabis and psychedelics simultaneously. Cannabis affects cannabinoid receptors in the body and brain, altering how the user perceives time, reality, space, and thinking. A hallucinogenic drug such as LSD or mushrooms also triggers the same feelings. The THC levels or the strain of cannabis often determine how much of these effects are amplified or reduced.
Mixing high THC strains with psychedelics reportedly increases the risk of negative experiences, sensations, and bad trips. However, low THC strains may have the opposite effect. The effects of medical weed and psychedelics are similar in that they both alter perception and cognitive function by increasing brain neurotransmitter activity (primarily dopamine and serotonin).
Are Hallucinogens the Key to Overcoming Mood Disorders?
Most Americans live with chronic or persistent symptoms despite receiving standard pharmacological treatment for their medical conditions. A primary cause of disability worldwide is mental health conditions and neuropsychiatric diseases that cause severe or debilitating symptoms.
Even though conventional meds, like Zoloft, Wellbutrin, and other antidepressants, can be effective for some individuals, their effects are not immediate and are often delayed for several weeks.
While waiting for their symptoms to subside, patients often suffer physically harmful side effects.
Like psychedelics, cannabis reorganizes the brain and nervous system’s structure, functions, and connections, responding differently to essential and unnecessary stimuli. By affecting neural plasticity and developing neurogenetic properties, they may be capable of curing depression and other conditions and developing more effective treatments.
The future of medicine looks bright for both marijuana and psychedelics. Some people may experience undesirable effects from both substances. Many medical patients prefer psychedelic medicinal therapy and cannabis due to their low side effects risk. In contrast to conventional medications and standard treatment options, most of those side effects are widely considered more manageable and tolerable by patients.
What’s Right for You: Psychedelics or Weed?
Without personal experience or experimentation, it’s impossible to determine how marijuana or psychedelics will affect you. Neither substance affects everyone in the same way. However, the patient is the most critical factor influencing treatment efficacy or hallucinogenic effects.
Each person’s genetics, physical profile, and response to pain and illness are unique. Symptoms and conditions of many medical conditions and mental health disorders share similar characteristics. Some things may work for some but not for others.
Although the war on drugs failed, certain substances, such as cannabis and psychedelics, remain extremely popular. New scientific evidence and positive claims from medical patients reveal that both substances may benefit the mind and body when used moderately. Marijuana has been decriminalized in some states, and doctors can study the effects of hallucinogenic.
Be open to alternative treatments and drugs with psychoactive properties if you intend to self-medicate to alleviate depression, anxiety, nausea, pain, fatigue, appetite, etc.
When taking antidepressants, you should be aware of the risks of taking cannabis and psilocybin. At NY Marijuana Card, we have the best doctors who can provide you with the best assistance on the proper dosage.