

Why these symptoms emerge is even less clear. The brain connectivity differences between someone who smoked marijuana and someone who does not. But how long these symptoms last after quitting varies across studies: Some have found that they are only pronounced in the first ten days after quitting, while others have found that they peak two to six days after quitting then cease after two weeks. It’s well documented that people who stop smoking weed soon after experience withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, vivid dreams, irritability, physical tension, poor sleep, and a decrease in appetite. This is largely because the studies on long-term pot users who quit are inconsistent or nonexistent.

Whether the negative consequences of pot consumption will continue after Harrelson quits, however, is something that scientists are still trying to understand. Blunting the dopamine system hinders the brain from experiencing pleasure normally and may very well be what led actor Woody Harrelson to feel so “ emotionally unavailable” that he quit smoking weed. But chronic smoking has negative repercussions as well, such as a decrease in dopamine levels in the brain. Most scientists agree that there are certain benefits to smoking marijuana, like easing pain, anxiety, and PTSD.
