Researchers smoking marijuana specifically affects the type of exercise

Why are marijuana users different??
Certainly, the use of marijuana causes a variety of effects, from so-called feeding attacks to increased fatigue. Some users, for example, swear that consumption makes them more creative. Researchers now found that marijuana use affects the way we walk.

The researchers from the University of South Australia found in their study that the use of marijuana leads to a change in walking. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Drug and Alcohol Dependence".

In more and more countries, the laws on the consumption of marijuana are relaxed. Researchers have now found that using marijuana causes changes in our style of movement. (Image: nokturnal / fotolia.com)

Does the use of marijuana really affect our movement??
When people consume marijuana, it causes various psychological effects. Of course, there are also physical changes, such as the typical red eyes. But does consumption also affect our walking? The results of the current study show that the use of marijuana affects not only the eyelids, but also the movement of those affected. Most studies on drug use are focused on long-term changes in cognition and mental well-being, says author Verity Pearson-Dennett of the University of South Australia.

Drugs affect the concentration of neurotransmitters
Illegal drugs exert their effect by altering the delivery of neurotransmitters in the so-called entertainment centers of the brain. These neurotransmitters are also very important for the human movement, the scientists explain. Therefore, it is quite possible that the consumption of marijuana influences the way we humans move. It is important to fully understand the long-term effects of cannabis use, especially at a time when most countries are changing their drug policies and increasing tolerance for the use of cannabis, say the medical community.

Effects of marijuana use on human movement
In their study, the experts compared the movement styles of 22 cannabis-consuming people and 22 participants who did not take the drug. The researchers found that drug users swung their knees faster while moving forward, and they kept their shoulders very still, compared to the test group. Scientifically speaking, this state would probably be described as follows: Cannabis consumers show an increased angular velocity of the knee during walking and also a reduced shoulder flexion during the walk.

Balance and pace of drug users remained unchanged
The changes in the movement, however, were very small. The balance and pace of drug users remained unchanged, say the experts. The key finding of the study was that the use of cannabis resulted in a subtle change in the way we move.

Further research is needed
The observed changes were so minor that a neurologist specialized in movement disorders was unable to detect the changes that were occurring in all users of cannabis, the researchers explain. However, many of the drug users in the drug users group were low to moderate users of cannabis, so heavy users of cannabis could experience more severe impairments. The observed changes show that further scientific research on the effects of cannabis is urgently needed. (As)