This is what happens to your body after you smoke a joint

Doesn't it seem like we're seeing a lot of these 'what happens to your body when' type posts a lot lately?

First there was the Coke article, the drink of course, then we had the copycat Diet Coke piece, so if things are to continue down this path we're sure to know what every single confectionery does to our body directly after ingesting them.

However, because this is the internet, and the generation of no attention span, the law of diminishing returns would mean that readers grow tired of such posts after the initial surge, so how do you freshen it up? With drugs, obviously.

The Metro have put together a list of the things your body experiences when you smoke some marijuana. Taking their info from the NHS, Frank, Yale University, and America's National Institute of Health, the publication has collected all the data and put it into a far more manageable graph, so you don't have to sift through it yourself, which is pretty sound if you ask me.

1. When smoked, marijuana induces a feeling of euphoria (a ‘high’) almost instantly. The drug stimulates brain cells to release the reward chemical dopamine – the same pleasure centres targeted by other drugs such as heroin, alcohol and cocaine.

2. The drug also increases heart rate by between 20% and 100%, an effect which lasts up to three hours after a user has smoked a joint. Many users report feeling relaxed, but others can feel panicky or paranoid.

3. THC – the chemical in cannabis which causes the ‘high’ – attaches to cannabinoid receptors in the brain. These are found throughout the brain, including areas which regulate coordination, movement and memory. This leaves users unable to operate machinery, drive safely, and remember what they’re doing.

4. Cannabis also affects a brain receptor responsible for regulating hunger, C1BR – causing sudden hunger known as ‘the munchies’. In effect, the drug ‘reverses’ the signal in the brain which normally tells you that you’re full and you should stop eating – making smokers feel like they’re hungry.

5. After around two hours, levels of THC in the bloodstream start to drop – leaving users feeling tired, and sometimes depressed. While the drug doesn’t cause withdrawal, it can lead to addictive behaviour, with up to 10% of users consuming the drug in a problematic way.

6. Cannabis is ‘lipophilic’, meaning it dissolves in fat in the body. This means traces of the drug can remain in the body for far longer than other drugs such as cocaine – leading to users failing drug tests up to 10 days after smoking a joint. Heavy users can test positive up to three months after stopping smoking.

You can talk about the ramifications of drug use all day, but people are going to continue to take these substances whether they're legal or not. Carl Hart is probably the best man to talk about the differences between the perceptions and reality of drug use, but again that doesn't mean he's right.

Having said all that, if you need to persuade people against drug use, we can think of at least one far more effective way.