So, you are in your room smoking a joint and wondering if it is going to help you with your studies. Well, if you do not have the answer yet, this article is going to help you through it.
As per a study report from ClinicalKey, marijuana craving and use are somewhat related. But anyhow, this is an old study from 2016 and students are micro dosing nowadays. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health concludes the benefits of weed are more than the risks. THC reduces inflammation, pain, and also controls seizures. So, the question is: what are the pros and cons when you study while high?
Can You Focus & Study While High?
You might be wondering, is it effective studying high on weed? Colorado State University researcher, Sarah Crystal gives an account of her life when she used to smoke weed to focus. She states that it helped her think of new ideas. However, she doesn’t encourage anyone to spend their entire day being high. Your brain and body require a break.
Cannabis is known to cause positive mood changes. This is typically known as Euphoria. The feeling of a positive mood varies from a sense of ease to being elated. Where you fall on this, depends on your baseline mood, the product you are using, and the composition of the endocannabinoid system.
Apart from being a mood booster, it is also known to have stress-reducing properties. It tends to dull your reaction to stress. So, it might make you think that getting high will make you feel unproductive and lazy. Research in this area is lacking, and a few dated research claims that weed can have a negative effect on cognition.
So, it isn’t still clear if weed really helps you to study better.
Does Smoking Weed Help You Study?
As per a report, individuals with treatment-resistant pediatric epilepsy might benefit from cannabis in different ways. Nevertheless, CBD is the primary cannabinoid used in this scenario, and not THC. In some cases, individuals with different forms of epilepsy who took CBD-enriched marijuana experiences certain decrease in seizure frequency. It was also seen to improved mood and alertness. So, based on an individual’s circumstances and upon consultation with a medical professional, individuals with certain neuro-divergent conditions might benefit from a better ability to study with cannabis use.
But, if one doesn’t have such conditions, can they still benefit from cannabis? Well, Indica strains can be good for relaxation and will help you to get sleep. These factors are generally neglected as a health issue. However, it is important for students to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Usually, adults require 6-8 hours of sleep. Hence, you should find out what works for you and then stick to it. A relaxed mind set induced by Indica high might help in focusing on reading task before you go to sleep. Again, a sativa strain might provide you the energetic uplift you need.
The Pros & Cons of Studying While High
Let’s start with the positive effects that marijuana has. However, before you move on to the benefits of studying while high, you should know that drugs can affect people differently.
The Pros
- Brainstorming may feel easier: Irrespective of your personal views on weed consumption, you can’t deny that it boosts creativity. Legends like Steve Jobs, Louis Armstrong, George Carlin, Lady Gaga have credited cannabis for bringing out their creativity. As per a study, over half of the respondents reported that they had enhanced creativity after using marijuana. Studying while you are high might not be beneficial. However, brainstorming while you are high can be quite cool. Every person is different and so is the effect of marijuana on them. So, the effect of creativity or brainstorming will have different levels too. This personality attribute is known as “openness to experience”.
- Marijuana curbs stress and anxiety: Social aversions, fear of failure, and heavy workplace place a burden on the psyches of students. Fortunately, the plants help in relieving feelings of stress and anxiety. Cannabis is known to calm social anxiety and has a calming effect. Moreover, its stress-relieving properties help students sleep better at night.
- Helps to treat depression in students: Lingering depression is something that most students are not even aware of. They go through the feeling of sadness, loss of interest in life, or anger issues. The endocannabinoid compounds present in cannabis can help students stabilize their mood and ease depression.
The Cons
- It’s another expense: We all know students have limited money to spend while they are still in college. They get pocket money from parents for their lodging and food expenses. A student can save only a small amount after spending on books, lodging, and food. Thus, spending money on weed can cost you a lot, particularly when you are a college student. So, at times, it might be difficult for college students to buy weed. It can certainly help in studies, but for sure it is not a necessary thing. If you spend the same money to hire a tutor, you will probably have higher chances of getting better results. Thus, it is up to you to decide what suits you best.
- Only Helps Studying When Consumed in Small Amounts: This should be obvious, but if you are going to the university library to make some notes while being absolutely red-eyed, you will not be able to retain anything you study. Having very high amount of weed will do no good. Therefore, it is suggested to consume it in small amounts only.
This Is How College Students Are Using Cannabis to Study
In reality, cannabis when used properly at lower doses can help college students to overcome fear, stress, and anxiety. This, in turn, can improve academic performance. So, how is cannabis used on a college campus?
In case you have been to a university, think, how many of your friends who crammed the night before the exam performed really well? Not many, right? This is because taking and digesting a large number of details takes more than a one-step approach to learn for a majority of people.
Studying can cause stress, demand focus, and needs the efficient use of time. When you go to a university, quizzes and tests happen every week. At times, they might also have to face multiple exams within a day or two. So, the amount of organization and focus required would be enormous.
People have started realizing that marijuana isn’t a dangerous drug like people once thought. The negative impacts of smoking marijuana refute the positive benefits for students who consider cannabis as a study drug.
What Is The State Dependency Effect & How Does It Relate To Studying High?
State-dependent memory or learning is a phenomenon where people tend to remember more information if their mental or physical states are the same at the time of recall and encoding. State-dependent effects on subjective classification and memory were found in 2 out of 4 tasks performed by marijuana smokers.
It has been predicted by the state-dependent model, people tend to reproduce material best when they are in the drug state that they first been when they first came across the material to be recalled. Marijuana does produce some impairment in performance.
According to Overton, potential abuse of marijuana might produce state-dependent effects.
So, study has shown that when you are studying while you are high, you are more likely to be able to recall information better when you are high again.
The Results of a Medical Marijuana Study
In the 70s, research was performed on this. The subjects of the research were either high or sober while studying or high or sober while recalling. They were divided into 4 different groups, and the results have been quite interesting.
The sober studying and sober recalling groups have about 23% recall rate. While high studying and high recalling group had a recall rate of 21%. The high and the sober group had a recall rate of 17%, and sober and high had a recall rate of 15%. So, as you can see, there is a significant drop in the percentage when someone studies sober but recalls high to someone studying high and recalling high.
One thing to be really excited about is the legalization of cannabis in Canada. So, now, you can smoke up legally.
So What is The General Consensus on Studying While High?
In case you are thinking about using cannabis as your study drug, you need to do it with a prudent approach. Try out a little and find out how it works for you. Find out if you would study better when you smoke, vape, or eat it.
Rather, you should try micro-dosing with a hit or two. It might be just enough to focus your mind and relieve your stress. This is enough for keeping up with your study. You will find strains in the market that will keep you focused on your study without zoning you out. However, don’t forget that each person is different. So, the effects might not be the same. But the worse that will happen is you will fall asleep on your books.
Looking To Get A Medical Marijuana Card?
The Benefits Include:
- Priority Patient Access
- Higher Quality Standards
- Stronger Potency Products
- Medical Access For Minors
- Higher Possession Limits
- Additional Legal Protection
- Select States Allow Growing
- Pay Less Sales Tax
These benefits also apply in States where recreational marijuana is legalized or decriminalized.
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