Science Cannabis

The Effects of Cannabis on the Central Nervous System 85While there is no evidence that cannabis is an aphrodisiac it mayenhance the pleasure of sex for some people because of their heightenedsensitivity and loss of inhibitions. But if the user is not in the mood forsex, getting high by itself will not alter that:Hash increases desire when desire is already there, but doesn't create desireout of nothing.The increased sensitivity to visual inputs tends to make marijuana usersfavor dimly lit rooms or dark sunshades, as they find bright light unpleasant.The mechanisms in the brain that modulate and filter sensory inputsand set the level of sensitivity clearly become disinhibited. The analysisof sensory inputs by the cerebral cortex also changes in some ways becomingfreer ranging — in other ways becoming less efficient. For example,as intoxication becomes more intense, sensory modalities may overlap,so that, for example, sounds are seen as colors, and colors containmusic, a phenomenon psychologists refer to as synesthesia.I have experienced synesthesia — I "saw" the music from an Indian sitar LP.It came in the form of whirling mosaic patterns. I could change the coloursat will. At one time a usual facet of a high was that musical soundwould take on a transparent crystal, cathedral, spatial quality.(Berke and Hernton, 1974)The peak of intoxication may be associated with hallucinations; i.e.,seeing and hearing things that are not there. Cannabis does not inducethe powerful visual hallucinations that characterize the drug lysergic aciddiethylamide (LSD), but fleeting hallucinations can occur, usually in thevisual domain.. . . occasionally hallucinations. I will see someone who is not there, themuch described "insects" which flutter around at the edge of vision, patternsmove and swirl.(Berke and Hernton, 1974)At the most intense period of the intoxication the user finds difficultyin interacting with others, and tends to withdraw into an introspectivestate. Thoughts tend to dwell on metaphysical or philosophicaltopics and the user may experience apparently transcendental insights: