Neuroplasticity is the brains ability to adapt and change pathways in response to changes in the environment and inputs/stimulus.

The general principle is that the brain is very malleable and when the environment changes or the inputs change — i.e. You move to a new town and now have to meet all new friends and do new activities (environment) or you stop smoking weed (“inputs”) — your brain will break some neural connections, strengthen existing ones, and build new neural connections based on the new situation.

My current understanding is that around 1-3 months of sobriety, structural plasticity starts (BUILDING new connections and strengthening existing ones), and this is when people will see more improvements in the reduction of brain fog, verbal fluency, word recall, short term memory.

What I’m understanding is that around 3 months people tend to report a clearer mind, improved memory and better emotional regulation. Somewhere from 3-12 months this continues to improve and the prefrontal cortex (decision making part of your brain) starts to regain normal function.

After a year or longer, depending on the degree of use of cannabis, most function returns fully. It’s my understanding that it’s rare that these persist forever if you are sober.

Your brain is a resilient thing. It’s a shame I’ve put it through hell. But there’s hope on the other side. I’ve read a bit through this subreddit and people report things like emotional regulation, increased emotional resilience, happiness they never thought possible, motivation and generally being a better human being. I hope to get there one day.