“It has been my personal experience with this drug that such changes do occur with pot use, and that they revert within a few weeks of cessation. They aren’t permanent.”
There is a kind of sliding scale for how long lasting various effects are - how long and how heavy someone has has been using is a big factor.
After many years of heavy use, dopamine regulation in the brain will be less efficient - it won’t spring back as quickly or completely. The risk of depression and psychosis increases.
Additionally, long term heavy users show physical changes to the brain (shrinking the hippocampus, which is associated with short and long term memory), as well as chemical changes. Such physical changes have not been shown to reverse after stopping use.
Some cognitive abilities beyond memory, like decision making and planning, also seem to be permanently impaired after long term heavy use.
There are distinct short term cognitive impairments (like memory), that improve noticeably after stopping use, but they are not the only ones that can result from heavy/long term use.
“Some cognitive abilities beyond memory, like decision making and planning, also seem to be permanently impaired after long term heavy use.”
Yes. That’s all I can say. Yes.
However, I may not be the best study on this, because I think my problems with xanax screwed up my memory well more than pot use did. I could be wrong about that, but xanax is a powerful, powerful drug.
Dopamine production is affected by a number of drugs, including meth, cocaine and anti-depressant medications. And it also seems fairly clear that once a person starts altering this system, it does not return to its original state ever again.
Based on my experience with CNS drug alprazolam (xanax), I would advise anyone not to mess with these biological systems at all unless there is no other medical option for whatever problem would cause such a need.
Some things are best left alone.