Scientists have found that marijuana makes people nicer and more empathetic.

A study by researchers at the University of New Mexico found that people who had recently used marijuana had higher levels of empathy than those who had not, and made decisions based on a sense of justice and a desire not to harm others. Marijuana can move people from a mindset that they themselves always come first to a sense of selflessness and responsibility towards other people.

Men who smoke marijuana have also been found to have more pleasant personalities. Researchers say that those who had used cannabis products recently were significantly nicer than people who had used them longer ago.

So are people who don’t consume cannabis doomed to a life of crankiness? The study shows that people who did not use the drug were not found to be any angrier, more hostile or less trusting of others than cannabis users. They also did not score differently on measurements of extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, openness or moral decision-making based on respecting authority and they did not respond differently to facial threats.

“The short-term nature of the effects found supports the theory that cannabis triggers behavioral and perceptual changes rather than that cannabis users and non-users differ fundamentally in their basic approaches to social interactions,” explains co-author Sarah Stith, an associate professor in the UNM department.

In the aforementioned study, researchers examined the personalities of healthy college students. They measured their marijuana intake by examining the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their urine.

The study is one of the first to show that marijuana use among healthy young adults makes them nicer. Previous research has tended to focus on the negative effects of marijuana and its effect on the physical health of users.

“Almost no scientific attention has been paid to understanding the other psychological and behavioral effects of marijuana use, even though it has been so widely used throughout human history,” notes lead researcher Jacob Miguel Vigil, an assistant professor in UNM’s Department of Psychology.

“I often refer to the cannabis plant as a super drug and compare it to most other conventional pharmaceutical products. Not only is it effective in treating symptoms of a wide range of medical conditions, but we now have concrete evidence that it can also help improve the psychosocial health of the average person. This is an essential condition for the overall cohesion and vitality of society. Therefore, the effects of cannabis on interpersonal relationships may ultimately prove to be even more important for the well-being of society than its medicinal effects,” he adds.

In the experience of cannabis users, cannabis can inhibit sociopathic behaviour. However, long-term use may lead to asocial behaviour in some, manifested in particular by a lack of social interaction, which could paradoxically help in cases of necessary medium- and long-term isolation.

Based on source: softsecrets.com