Dope and Dopamine
By Elana Dussé

Did you ever wonder where the term ‘dope’ came from (with regard to drug/marijuana use)? Well, there is a correlation: Many drugs and psychoactive plants play a part in the intricate relationships of neurotransmitters and the receptors that they fit into in order for the brain and body to communicate with each other. Dopamine ranks way up there in terms of MVP in the league of neurotransmitters. Dopamine is the team favorite - it conveys a feeling of euphoria and well-being that we often get from natural activities like eating delicious food, having good sex, or getting a good night’s sleep. The dopamine-reward system is connected to learning and memory. When you experience a pleasant sensation over and over again, the brain learns to associate the context and cues with impending pleasure.

So, for example, when you smell food before you eat it, your brain starts to release dopamine in anticipation of the pleasure of eating it. This ultimately conditions you to keep doing the things that lead you to pleasure.

Certain substances (including THC found in cannabis), can enhance dopamine production by nesting into the receptors that precipitate dopamine production in the brain. These are considered ‘exogenous’ rather than ‘endogenous’ because they are external forces being introduced into the body to bring about this reaction, rather than the brain’s own chemical messages creating it.

It’s interesting to note that the brain has a sophisticated endocannabinoid system - known as the ECS - yes, that’s right! The brain makes its own cannabinoids! This system is a crucial anchor for the endocrine system in regulating a range of processes and functions such as sleep, mood, appetite/metabolism, memory, and reproduction/fertility. In short, it is a big player in keeping our system in a state of homeostasis and balance. There are only two endocannabinoids made by our own brains - anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglyerol (2-AG).

The receptors for these endocannabinoids are found all throughout the body - mostly in the central nervous system (CB1 receptors) and also in the immune cells (CB2 receptors). Endocannabinoids can bind to either receptor. The effects that result depend on where the receptor is located and which endocannabinoid it binds to. For example, endocannabinoids might target CB1 receptors in a spinal nerve to relieve pain. Others might bind to a CB2 receptor in your immune cells to signal that your body’s experiencing inflammation, a common sign of autoimmune disorders.

THC and Dopamine: A Complex Relationship
You might start to be getting a picture of the myriad ways that exogenous cannabinoids - those found in cannabis - might contribute to many healing processes for the human system and we will be touching on that in future articles that take into consideration how cannabinoids interact with our endocrine and neurotransmission systems but for now we are going to stick with THC in particular as well as its complex relationship with dopamine.

The action of natural cannabinoids, known as endocannabinoids, is believed to play an essential role in the release of dopamine in day-to-day functions. A study published in 2013 showed that mice born without cannabinoid receptors ran on their exercise wheels 20 to 30% less often than healthy mice. The researchers concluded that the cannabinoid system may help facilitate dopamine release during exercise, and probably other reward-related functions as well. Many people are drawn to THC because of the dopamine release, and so it is easy to see how it can be habit-forming but it’s a bit of a slippery slope. If you continually tax your dopamine receptors, they become dulled and overwhelmed and your brain will end up producing less dopamine in the long run which could have the opposite effect and leave people feeling lethargic, depressed, or unmotivated. In the world of marijuana and motivation research, there is a lot of speculation and very few studies. And the studies that do exist are almost exclusively observational, meaning they can’t prove whether marijuana is the cause. Some people seem to have systems that keep the dopamine consistent - they are often referred to as ‘high-functioning stoners’, but on the other side you have people who end up with a compromised short-term memory, low energy levels, over-indulgent eating patterns, and brain fog. Also, it is typical to build tolerance so you need increasing levels of THC to get the same levels of dopamine and at some point one can overwhelm their receptors so it doesn’t matter how much you do. Every individual is unique and thus has their own unique tolerance and brain chemistry so there is no formula for how excessive THC use will play out for each person. One thing to note, however, is that you can reset your tolerance by taking a hiatus - how long a hiatus is up for debate and might vary based on history and intensity of use; in my research for this article, I have seen 48 hours on up to 4 weeks without THC to deregulate the dopaminergic (dopamine-releasing) system. This gives your receptors a chance to clean their slate and get dopamine levels back to a baseline. By contrast, regular users of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and amphetamine show abnormalities in these measures even after periods of abstinence - another reason that marijuana addiction is considered a ‘soft’ addiction in comparison with other substances.

Some people are naturally low in endogenous cannabinoids and introducing cannabinoids through exogenous means - i.e. smoking dope - could actually be a boon to their dopaminergic system and give them more dopamine than they would naturally experience. But the old adage comes back to rear its sage head - everything in moderation. Titillating your receptors with THC can yield very positive effects, but oversaturating them with an unending onslaught of it can leave something to be desired. Experiment with what works for you - which might just be micro-dosing (see Dan’s article about micro-dosing in this newsletter). In any case, I find if you respect the medicine, it will respect you back!