THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS: MARIJUANA AND THE BODY’S OPPOSING MODES OF BEING

The wonder of marijuana is that it works in the body as an antidote to extreme swings. It does not stimulate. It does not depress. It does both at the same time, which is why it is unique, and so misunderstood by our scientific community educated from a narrow dualistic perspective.

The most extensive study of marijuana, written nearly 100 years ago understood the complicated workings of marihuana, when it stated: “it is both sedative and stimulant” (Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1969:491).

The simultaneous opposing action of marijuana is akin to balancing our entire system. Such balance in the ANS can be understood as a charged equilibrium, which is defined as “well-being,” experienced as physiological expansion and psychological contentment, and responsible for health.

Many physiological changes occur with marijuana use, yet none of the changes are extreme in any one direction. The action of marijuana in the body causes slower and more expansive breathing (a direct result of Parasympathetic relaxation, and which happens to us whenever we become relaxed). At the very same time, the alveoli (sacs in the lungs) expand, so that stale air is better eliminated, allowing for greater oxygen intake (a direct result of more Sympathetic participation, and which happens to us when we become excited), while both slower and deeper breathing occur, the depth of breath is even further aided by relaxing the “oppositional” muscles of the rib cage.

The rationale for health, underlying yogic postures, specifically addresses the benefits attained by increasing the size of the rib cage so as to accommodate an increased oxygen intake. Marijuana relaxes skeletal muscles (including the muscles that constrain the ribs). This efficient breathing has other far- reaching effects. Specifically, the brain receives more richly oxygenated blood, and simultaneously receives a greater supply of that blood because of the dilation in all brain capillaries (increased Parasympathetic action). At the same time, because of an increase in Sympathetic energizing, the heart rate rises slightly to speed up further the distribution of more richly oxygenated blood. Heart rate increase is usually associated with an increased pulse rate because arteries and veins constrict with Sympathetic activity, but with marijuana no blood pressure rise occurs, since the capillaries have likewise expanded. In essence, the pump exerts a greater force and the enlarged pipes allow for greater flow. The net effect is both a highly functioning, yet relaxed, system with better fuel. This is why, with marijuana, the feeling is both relaxed and alert, which explains, in part, the experience of being “stoned.” Normally the body vacillates between the two opposing modes of being. The effects of the complicated marijuana molecule somehow actually integrate these two modes, simultaneously, which absolutely nothing else does, except perhaps Anand Amide -- which also activates the Cannabinoid Receptors. When we examine the effects of marijuana within the framework of the body’s healthy functioning, which is a dynamic interplay between either excitation or relaxation, we find that both the Relaxation Response and the Fight or Flight mode are elicited. The extremes of these two modes are commonly referred to as bi-polarity where one is either depressed or manic. Since marijuana creates no pendulum action, there is no possibility of its causing physical addiction. It is actually anti-addictive. This explains the mystery of so many regular marijuana users who claim that to stop using marijuana poses no problem: and it confirms all the scientific studies that report no addiction with marijuana. (The question of addiction to marijuana is further addressed in the Commentary: Questions and Answer section of the book.)

Marijuana has even been successful in treating alcoholics and morphine addicts, but the studies that demonstrated these results could not be replicated because of the government ban on all marijuana testing, by private agencies or medical scientists not employed by pharmaceutical companies:

The practice of smoking marijuana does not lead to addiction.

From a limited observation addicts undergoing morphine withdrawal...the impression was gained that marihuana had beneficial effects” (George B. Wallace, MD, Chairman in the Summary of Mayor LaGuaridia’s Committee (1944:218J); and Tod H. Mikuriya, MD (1970) reports on successfully treating alcoholics with cannabis...the absence of any compelling urge to use the drug, the absence of any compelling urge to use the drug, the absence of any distressing abstinence symptoms, the statements that no increase in dosage is required to repeat the desired effect in users - justifies the conclusion that neither true addiction nor tolerance is found in marijuana users. (Mayor LaGuardia’s Committee on Marijuana 1944).

Although specific effects of marijuana in the body are well known, each has been taken in isolation without noting that both sides of the Autonomic Nervous System are conjoined. Instead of a perspective that sees the whole person and the simple holistic effect of marijuana, a myopic and reductionistic method of measurement has been employed, and marijuana’s profound meaning for health has been lost. Marijuana’s action on the balancing mechanism of the human organism is extraordinary; perhaps because of the extreme complexity of the molecule, and the uncanny perfect fit with specific receptor sites in the Hypothalamus (Howlett 1989). It assures that by impacting on the ANS at its point of origin - above its local of bifurcation in the body, marijuana resolves the “relaxation response” and the “fight or flight reaction into one, thereby producing the subjective experience of unity. The literature concerning the experience of marijuana, from ancient to modern, is full of descriptions of “wholeness” or “oneness” - the paradox of the resolution of opposites.

MARIJUANA AND THE BRAIN

Just as our Autonomic Nervous System is a two-fold process, so is our brain designed for dual action, with its left hemisphere and right hemisphere. Not surprisingly, these two sides are related to similar differences of action as in the autonomic system. The right side of the brain serves the receptive, creative, and nurturing experiences. We use this side during feelings connected to aesthetics, such as art and music; compassion; and global or spatial reasoning. In the area of cognition, this side adds to our understanding of meaning. The left hemisphere is geared toward linear, analytical, mechanical situations, such as mathematical problems; practical planning; and logical thought. Of course, both sides are always connected in constant communication with each other, and in dynamic complex cooperation. Yet different set and setting cause for greater emphasis in either one side or the other. There is called hemisphericity. It is...the idea that a given individual relies more on one mode or hemisphere than on the other. This differential utilization is presumed to be reflected in the individual’s cognitive style - the person’s preference - approach to problem solving. A tendency to use verbal or analytical approaches to problems, is seen as evidence of left-sided hemisphericity, while those who favor holistic or spatial ways of dealing with information are seen as right hemisphere people. (Springer & Deutsch 1981:239)

Where mechanical activities are constantly fostered, and where attention is geared to competition and acquisition, the workings of the left hemisphere predominate:

Because we operate in such a sequential-seeming world and because the logical thought of the left hemisphere is so honored in our culture, we gradually damp out, devalue and disregard the input of our right hemispheres. It’s not that we stop using it altogether, it just becomes less and less available to us because of established patterns. (Prince 1978:58)

According to Deikman (1971:481-489), our most common mode of behavior is “attempting to manipulate the world around us...through talking, pushing, grasping.” He calls this the “hyperaroused state of mind.’ The left side of the brain must overwork for most of us, most of the time, while the right brain is under-used, and therefore its special talents are neither appreciated or cultivated.

STUDIES DESCRIBE RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTION AS:

...silent, dark, intuitive, feeling, spatial, (and) holistic...does not require linear, structured analysis for its knowledge. (And we should note: The right hemisphere is also considered the feminine element, which emphasizes cooperation and nondenomination). (Sarswati 1984:363)

In the materialistic world, such knowledge is basically devalued and denied, except perhaps in the arts. Appropriately, the right hemisphere also includes the creative flashes so often reported by geniuses: “The real thing is intuition. A though comes and I may try to express it in words afterwards” (Einstein). But most people perceive an unreality and even irrationality about the intuitive faculty, and feel a great skepticism of it.

Marijuana by its effect on the ANS enhances both sides of the brain. Through increased Sympathetic action, left brain perception is heightened while, at the same time, right brain reception is enhanced. This is a physiological fact. More blood, and cleaner blood, is sent to the brain as in the “fight or flight” reaction; and because of Parasympathetic dilation of all capillaries, which signifies relaxation, the blood supply of the entire brain is increased. More blood mean more oxygen, and consequently clearer and broader thinking. Since marijuana works on both sides of our brain, the most noticeable effect, in our fast-paced mind set, is one of slowing down, which blends the thrusting competitive attitude with the contrasting viewpoint of nurturance to arrive at a more cooperative balance. This experience is, however, not innate to marijuana, but to the mental set of the subject. When we are mellow, tired, and relaxed, marijuana is energizing, and affords alertness, determination, and even strength. This variation in the phyiological effects has caused great confusion and an either\or framework. And the balancing nature of marijuana (both\and) has not been understood. It both stimulates and relaxes, simultaneously, which equates to an unpredictable variation in effect that is solely dependent on the state of its subject. When the system is sluggish, as with natives in warm climates (Africa, India, South America), marijuana has been used extensively and for centuries to energize it.

A common practice among laborers...have a few puffs at a ganga (marihuana) pipe to produce well-being, relieve fatigue, stimulate appetite. (Chopra and Chopra 1939:3)

When the system is hyper-aroused, as in today’s lifestyle, marijuana calms. The significance of this fact cannot be ignored. It explains the increased creativity reported, as a part of the marijuana experience, because when both sides of brain processes are heightened, both types of brain activity are greater. The left brain can notice more, while the right brain receives more. This is the unification of logic and intuition. The term “expansion of consciousness” is explained physiologically as a “shifting of brain emphasis from one-sidedness to balance” (Sugerman and Tarter 1978), which fits precisely with the feeling called “high”.

BRAIN SYNCHRONICITY AND MARIJUANA

Stress, as a chronic imbalance in the ANS, shows up as beta waves on an EEG machine and is experienced as worry. Marijuana ingestion has been shown to change the worried state by producing alpha waves, experienced as well being. This is a significiant indication of balanced brain functioning because alpha waves occur when at least two waves from different brain loci are rising and falling in phase (in synchrony), as opposed to out-of-phase activity (when waves are nonsynchronous). “The EEG begins to report a higher percentage of alpha brain waves as soon as marijuana takes effect.” (Ferguson 1973:114)

The brain waves calm down, and this signifies what scientists have termed “movement from an active to a receptive style” of being. (Sugerman and Tarter 1978:84). This shift correlates with enhacement of all perceptual experiences, because mental clarity proceeds from a relaxed brain wave pattern by allowing thought processes to slow down. As the mind’s busyness diminishes, the energy that is usually needed for rapid mental shifts is freed up, and becomes available for more int4ense focusing in attention. Halikas etal. (1971) did a study with marijuana and concluded that enhancement of sense experience occurs”...as a direct consequence of slower rates of attentional shifts, and an increase of total energy - available to consciousness - manifested as intensification of (the contents of) consciousness.”

Of course, an evening’s marijuana use is not understood with any such analytical recognition. Instead, the felt sensation is of “moreness.’ In the fast lanes of modern life, where superifical and competitive relationships are all too common, the essence of humanness feels less. Marijuana by its balancing effect enriches this dimension of humanness.

HEART, STOMACH, AND LUNG ALTERATION

The Heart: When we ingest marijuana, the heart swells through capillary enhancement, is fueled more by more fully oxygenated blood, while, at the same time, its contractions and expansions are greater, allowing for stronger pumping action to the rest of the body,. In most cultures (ancient and modern), the heart center is designated as the “emotive vortex,” which stands for the inner experience and outer expression of human love and affection. Generous and sympathetic people are said to have big hearts. During the marijuana experience this is literally the case and allows for the more fullbodied emotions that are in line with the claims of heightened feelings of love and compassion. Once the high is over, the heart is reduced to its usual size. But a prolonged period, the heart muscle is known to become stronger for having been taxed for short periods. Jogging twenty minutes a day increases the strength of the heart, and to the extent that a jogger’s heart is stronger, it displays a slower resting heart beat.

Although no studies have been done on the hearts of marijuana smokers, the odds are that they have stronger hearts too. It would be an easy study to accomplish, if the government would just allow tests to be conducted on a cross section of long term marijuana users and compare them to the already well-documented statistics of this same age\class disease profile, in this case, the incidence of heart disease. Psychiatric medicine has long realized that tension in the heart area indicates a defensive personality. The suppression of emotions, both tender and angry, is an attempt to ward off pain, and puts the individual at risk of heart failure. Marijuana balances this chronic tension by its physiological action on the heart and by its calming effects on the entire body.

The Stomach and Lungs: A tense stomach is the physical counterpart of mental tension, and results in digestive problems (ulcers, colitis, stomach cancer, obesity, constipation, etc.). The mental tension is displayed through obsessing (or ruminating) over threats to one’s welfare, resulting in excessive and continuous digestive messages (excessive Parasympathetic). As a cow chews its cud, or ruminates (always digesting in one of its four stomachs), its cud, or ruminates (always digesting in one of its four stomachs), so is one who worries “eating” away at his or her innards. Psychologically, this implies an inability to let go of fear for oneself. Physiologically, the insecurity can be observed in the pattern and depth of the breath: “Shallow breathing can act as a personal defense against the experience of feeling” (Dychtwalk 1977:146).

It is noticed at the level of the stomach, because the diaphragm is the muscle of breath. If one does not breathe with the movement of the diaphragm, suppression of the breath takes place. likewise, the stomach is stagnant. Over time, with continued “holding” or breathing contraction, the stomach loses its motility. This occurs as a response to feared situations, and to a greater or lesser degree becomes chronic in early years, in all populations where perfect balance is not encouraged:

Very young children breathe with little inhibition or disturbance of natural breathing rhythms. But as one grows up, he (she) experiences traumas, imitates others, follows erroneous advice, and thereby develops incorrect breathing habits. These lead to chronic distortions in the breathing pattern and consequently to disequilibrium in other functions. Most adults breath irregularly or they chronically tense some of the muscles involved in the breathing process. (Ajaya, Psychotherapy, East & West, p. 196) Breathing deeply and fully amplifies awareness of feelings. Many of the feelings that emerge with the deep breathing are uncomfortable, so most people avoid awareness by restricting their breathing. (Rosenberg and Rand 1985:107)

When the ANS becomes habituated to imbalance, as a direct result of chronic breathing distortion, the problem usually results from restricted exhalation. An organism that does not empty itself, cannot refill. The term “anal retentive,” describes the syndrome of being unable to “let go,” or relax, as a habitual attitude toward life. Because of the complex interactions that occur throughout the body, once the breath is disturbed, various dysfunction’s follow,. In the digestive system, restriction of peristalsis results from both a subdues breath and skeletal muscular tension. Restriction in the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen, which attends with a shallow breath pattern, likewise adds to digestive disease as ANS functioning is skewed toward Sympathetic imbalance. The net result is nervousness (Sympathetic overload), or depression (Parasympathetic overload); stomach problems correspond to ANS imbalance at either extreme. With Sympathetic overload, breathing imbalance results in diminished messages to the digestive system; whereas with Parasympathetic overload, breathing imbalance results in excessive messages to the digestive system; either one of these overloads eventually results in an overload at the other extreme. Marijuana is an agent that can mitigate these extreme swings in the ANS. And therein is the reason that marijuana was, not so long ago, commonly prescribed for all sorts of digestive disturbances.

Patterns of shallow breathing have been studied to show that the less the body is supplies with superior oxygen, the less it is able to cope with threatening situations, physical or mental (Canon 1932). Such shallow breathing is affected by chronically not breathing out sufficiently, and is a direct result of restricted diaphragmatic movement. Inhalation, on the other hand, is secondary to exhalation, so that we breathe in, in direct correlation to the capacity exhaled. With asthma patients, who have trouble exhaling, marijuana facilitates exhalation: “The fact that marijuana increases the diameter of bronchi in a manner unlike that of standard antiasthmatic agents makes its further investigation desirable.” (Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1980:139; 1974:139) Once the toxins in the lungs are more efficiently released, obtaining sufficient oxygen by deep and full breathing follows automatically. As rigidity in the body is released, or reduced by the action of marijuana, there is a corresponding reduction of mental tension that translates into a feeling of expansion and well-being, and explains the reverential attitude commonly expressed by marijuana lovers.