But quite a bit has stayed the same. Nothing new about that. More than 71 million Americans have tried it, according to national surveys, and about 11 million smoke it regularly. What they keep coming back to is a swirl of sensation and fog of intoxication that the drug sets in motion. Effects usually peak within an hour or two and fade altogether in 3-4 hours.
Aftereffects can include a slight hangover and impaired concentration.
Because the simple fact is that pot is a complicated drug. For one thing, marijuana isn't a single drug molecule, like alcohol or cocaine, but a mix of more than 420 different chemical components. It's the chemical that trigger marijuana's main drug actions and effects in the body and brain. And that can take a while. Once it checks into the brain, THC takes its own sweet time in checking out.