New research regarding dopamine and marijuana gives scientific backing to the stoner stereotype of lackadaisical or slacker pot smokers. A recent study found that people who smoke marijuana regularly over a long period of time are more likely to produce less of the brain chemical that is linked to motivation: dopamine.
Using PET scans, U.K. researchers compared the brains of regular pot smokers to non-smokers of the same age and sex. The regular pot smokers in the study reported using marijuana quite heavily, began using the drug between the ages of 12 and 18, and had experienced symptoms of psychosis (bizarre thoughts or strange sensations) while using marijuana. What the researchers found was that the regular pot smokers, and those who began smoking pot at an early age, had lower levels of dopamine in a part of the brain known as the striatum.
