Marijuana use dampens brain's response to reward over time

[Hopper15]

Thought you all might be interested in this. 

 

Seems like something very similar to the effects of adderall long term:

 

"In that moment of anticipating a reward, the cells of the nucleus accumbens usually swing into action, pumping out a 'pleasure chemical' called dopamine. The bigger the response, the more pleasure or thrill a person feels -- and the more likely they'll be to repeat the behavior later.

But the more marijuana use a volunteer reported, the smaller the response in their nucleus accumbens over time, the researchers found."

 

My question is, if you've been smoking (or taking Adderall long-term) how long does it take before your reward center response returns to pre-marijuana/pre-adderall levels?

 

I'm sure that individual results vary (as individuals' dosage strength/length of time using also vary), but I was curious if there have there been any individual user experience surveys on this site about recovery time?

[LILTEX41]

Wow, this is a tough question.  I don't think there is probably a one size fits all answer to the question.  I think it's probably very individualized like you said.

 

For me personally, it took me at least a few years before I stopped craving adderall.  Maybe even up to 3 years.  It's hard now looking back to really say.  I don't crave adderall anymore though.  I also smoked a lot of pot.  For me exercise has helped a ton.  I do marathon and triathlon training.  I think all the cardio has been extraordinary at helping me to overcome these poisons.  That's my best recommendation to cure it.  Quit these things and do a lot of cardio and eat healthy!   

 

Best of luck!

[Frank B]

Pot just puts me to sleep probbably why I always preferred uppers.