Drugs with permanent effects on your brain
nooguyz 08 Oct 2015
Not long ago I have been reading about a lot of different drugs, their effects, and the remnants in your body afterwards. I have read a lot of conflicting information, and this seems like a place full of people who may have experimented or use some on regular basis, and/or know about it from scientific perspective. So here are my findings:
- Weed: It cleans out of your system in about a month, your short-term memory (seemingly the only longer-lasting effect) goes back to normal in up to half a year. Essentially no permanent effects.
- LSD: remains permanently remains in your body, in some cases occasionally (but rarely) causing hallucinations for the rest of your life.
- Mushrooms: No permanent effects nor trace.
- Cocaine: permanently changes your receptors and "reward" mechanism, making you more likely to go back to drug use, even if it's just one line.
- MDMA: permanent neural brain damage.
- DMT: Potential permanent damage to areas related to mood.
- Amphetamines: Potential permanent brain damage - haven't read enough about it - not so curious about this one.
- Opioids: in a quick search, haven't seen anything about permanent damage. Though my search was even shorter than about amphetamines, I'm less curious about this particular drug.
Note that I have not read much about neuroscience, so my knowledge and understanding are limited, this post is for fact-checking and to get more info and understanding.
Londonscouser 12 Oct 2015
I disagree with your findings.
I can only talk about cannabis, but I have been in contact with a few different people who have experienced long-lasting effects. For example, 1 guy, who last smoked 8 years ago believes he still suffers from memory loss and cognitive difficulties.
Another person developed a panic attack disorder, and consequently has to take benzos to function for his job.
That's just 2 examples of people effected by cannabis usage for the long term, but even personally, and i have noticed many negative impacts on my life from my abuse of cannabis, although i quit 11 weeks ago, its difficult to assess what can be reversible.
Essentially cannabis leads to changes within the brain, which can be long-lasting. On the other hand, if smoked in moderation, an individual may not suffer from negative side-effects.
gamesguru 12 Oct 2015
And I disagree that persisting visual disturbances or "trails" are evidence that LSD is "still in your body". It's not known to be fat-soluble. It does affect many serotonin receptors, and may cause autoreceptor downregulation, which could periodically result in surges of serotonin, temporarily simulating a trip, eg) flashback.