4/20 annually brings a smoker’s high heaven
By Sarah Winter
April 19, 2007 9:57 p.m.
Some people become paranoid, and others lethargic, while still others find everything hilarious and experience a case of the munchies.
Marijuana draws various reactions from people, but it is celebrated by smokers far and wide on this day every year. April 20 is commonly celebrated as a day to smoke marijuana. While the reason behind that date is uncertain, “four-twenty,” refers to both the date and the time as a chance for people to come together and smoke marijuana.
The reactions people experience from marijuana are caused by the effect of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the main psychoactive compound in the drug, on parts of the brain.
When the drug ““ which is commonly referred to as “weed” and can be consumed through smoking, eating or drinking ““ enters the body, it reaches the bloodstream and then enters the brain, said Dr. Richard De La Garza, a neuroscientist at UCLA who focuses on drug abuse and addiction research.
Once it reaches the brain, the THC binds to receptors in the brain that are specific to the drug.
This can result in an increased release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of pleasure, “which is why some users experience pleasure or euphoria,” De La Garza said.
The other effects that are reported from consuming marijuana, such as anxiety, hunger or hypersensitivity, can be attributed to the activation or deactivation of other neurotransmitters in the brain, De La Garza said.
The effects the drug produces vary from person to person, and users said their reaction to the drug often changes with each use.
Brian, a UCLA student who requested to be referred to by his first name only, said he believes a person’s high experience depends on their mental attitude.
“What will determine (the high) is your emotional or mental state going into and during the experience,” he said.
The reason behind the distinct reactions experienced by different people is still largely a mystery, but can probably be attributed to each individual’s unique genetic makeup, De La Garza said.
“Variants of specific genes gives rise to distinct reactions to drugs,” he said. “Experiences can range from very pleasurable to really aversive.”
Marijuana can be either smoked or eaten in a variety of ways, each of which will produce a unique high sensation.
A person can choose to smoke out of a small glass pipe, roll marijuana in a joint much like a cigarette, or smoke it out of a bong ““ a glass instrument with water that cools the smoke as it is drawn out, before it enters the lungs.
Patricia, a fourth-year world arts and cultures student who preferred to be called by her middle name, said she prefers to smoke weed from a blunt ““ similar to a joint but larger and rolled with paper from a cigar.
“When I grew up everyone I knew smoked blunts, and now that’s what I prefer. You get more weed over a longer period of time because it burns slowly,” she said.
Smoking from a bong will cause a much more intense high than smoking from a blunt or pipe because a greater amount of smoke is inhaled at one time, she said.
Though different methods of smoking marijuana often have varying effects, some users said they have noticed a drastic difference between the high achieved from smoking marijuana and the high from eating the drug.
In order to cook marijuana, it must be sauteed in butter and then baked into goodies ““ called “edibles” ““ such as muffins or cookies, said Leo, a third-year economics student who requested his last name not be disclosed.
While the high effect experienced from smoking marijuana is felt almost immediately, it takes 30 to 40 minutes for the high to set in from an edible because it must first be digested, Patricia said.
“You can’t have the same kind of direct control over how high you get; you just eat (the edible) and hope it works out for you,” she said.
Because of the slow effect edibles have, it is easier for people to eat too much and experience a more intense high than they anticipated, said Bradley Voytek, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley who previously studied the effects of polydrug use on the brain at UCLA.
Marijuana is a plant that comes in two main strains, called sativa and indica, Patricia said. Under these two strains is a wide variety of types that range in appearance, taste and potency.
Sativa will produce more of an “upper” feeling, while the “indica is more of a sedative, making you slower and tired,” she said.
The plant can be grown either indoors or outdoors using different methods which produce different potencies.
Patricia said a marijuana plant grown indoors under a lamp or in water will produce a stronger form of the drug than from plants grown outdoors.
Marijuana is much stronger than it used to be due to genetic engineering and new methods of growing the plant.
In the 1970s, when marijuana was a popular component of hippie culture, most marijuana was grown outdoors and was more mild.
“What our generation smokes, our parents’ generation probably couldn’t handle,” she said.
