One thing to consider that I haven't seen directly mentioned in this thread yet (a few nods to the idea but not the psychology behind it) is something I heard a while back about constant chronic use and its effect on the brain. No sources to back this up, sorry, so you'll have to take the second-hand knowledge here.
If you've taken an introductory course in Psychology, you are likely familiar with the various stages of sleep -- five stages, with the fifth one being REM sleep. Anyway, stage one is the first one you enter right as you go to bed and is associated with alpha brain waves, lasting somewhere around 7-10 minutes. In this time you are about half-asleep and can still be easily woken up, but you're groggy. Further, deeper sleep states are associated with lower-Hertz levels of brain waves (going down to beta, theta, delta etc) which correspond to lower overall brain activity.
If the information I heard is correct, there was a study that measured the normal "waking" brain wave levels of both nonsmokers and those who have smoked on a constant basis for a period of years. They found that the chronic smokers had high levels of alpha brain waves when compared to the nonsmokers. In other words, the chronic smokers were constantly in a half-asleep state even during their normal waking lives.
There was also another study I vaguely remember showing that weed is actually physically addictive, not just mentally, which is contrary to every stoner testimonial I've ever heard. They gave lab mice some THC and measured how it "wore off" over a period of hours/days. They found that the reason the mice didn't normally feel any withdrawal symptoms was because the brain actually stored enough THC from the initial application that even after a period of time, it was still releasing it into their bodies so they didn't notice. After blocking a hormone that prevented the THC from sticking in the brain for so long, the mice showed signs of withdrawal symptoms (twitchiness, irritability, etc).
Again, I don't have sources for these studies, and I don't remember if this information came from my Psych book or from DUI school or counseling (long story, don't ask) so I don't know how biased the information is, but I found it fascinating nonetheless.
If you've taken an introductory course in Psychology, you are likely familiar with the various stages of sleep -- five stages, with the fifth one being REM sleep. Anyway, stage one is the first one you enter right as you go to bed and is associated with alpha brain waves, lasting somewhere around 7-10 minutes. In this time you are about half-asleep and can still be easily woken up, but you're groggy. Further, deeper sleep states are associated with lower-Hertz levels of brain waves (going down to beta, theta, delta etc) which correspond to lower overall brain activity.
If the information I heard is correct, there was a study that measured the normal "waking" brain wave levels of both nonsmokers and those who have smoked on a constant basis for a period of years. They found that the chronic smokers had high levels of alpha brain waves when compared to the nonsmokers. In other words, the chronic smokers were constantly in a half-asleep state even during their normal waking lives.
There was also another study I vaguely remember showing that weed is actually physically addictive, not just mentally, which is contrary to every stoner testimonial I've ever heard. They gave lab mice some THC and measured how it "wore off" over a period of hours/days. They found that the reason the mice didn't normally feel any withdrawal symptoms was because the brain actually stored enough THC from the initial application that even after a period of time, it was still releasing it into their bodies so they didn't notice. After blocking a hormone that prevented the THC from sticking in the brain for so long, the mice showed signs of withdrawal symptoms (twitchiness, irritability, etc).
Again, I don't have sources for these studies, and I don't remember if this information came from my Psych book or from DUI school or counseling (long story, don't ask) so I don't know how biased the information is, but I found it fascinating nonetheless.