Drug Paper

East West                                                                                                           Julia Posner

Health/Sherman                                                                                              May 31, 2015

MARIJUANA

        Marijuana also known as “weed, pot, bud, grass, herb, Mary Jane, MJ, reefer, skunk, boom, gangster, kif, chronic, and ganja” is the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant that are smoked as a drug.  The use, distribution, or carrying of marijuana is illegal in most states.  Many people use marijuana for health concerns. For example, cancer, it is believed that the use of medical marijuana helps cancer patients and can even cure them.  However, marijuana is a gateway drug that is very addictive and can cause serious health issues.

        Marijuana has many negative effects on the human body. For example, it causes a lot of damage to the brain.  It can cause memory loss and disrupt learning.  The problem with marijuana is that it is easily accessible. Teens and adolescents all over the United States can get it easily.  This makes teens more likely to do it since they’re constantly surrounded by it.  The main chemical in marijuana that affects the brain is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.  When it’s smoked it goes into your bloodstream and travels through all your organs, this includes the brain.

        Marijuana effects more than just your learning and memory, it can also affect your coordination and judgment.  This means that marijuana affects the part of the brain that controls movement.  This means that activities such as sports, driving, or having a conversation will be more difficult for someone while intoxicated.  It can also affect your judgment.  When one is “high” their mind set isn’t necessarily focused. This means that you aren’t really thinking straight.  This may cause you to agree to things one wouldn’t normally agree to like reckless behavior or other things of the same sort.

        According to Drug Facts Marijuana, “Most of the cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory, and time perception, and coordinated movement.” This explains that when one is “high” they are not themselves. This means that you can say, do, and feel things that aren’t necessarily accurate. You are not yourself and you’re not in your own mind when you are intoxicated.

        Also said in the article, “Long-term, regular use of marijuana- starting in the teen years- may impair brain development and lower IQ, meaning the brain may not reach its full potential.” This means that smoking marijuana can cause permanent damage to the brain. Marijuana kills brain cells and causes for memory loss. It also causes stupidity.

        The effects of marijuana can last anywhere from 1-3 hours.  However, your concentration, decision making, and memory can be affected for days after your high is over. It is worse in people who use marijuana regularly. If it is consumed through an edible (food or drink) the effects can take up to 30 minutes before they start up.  

        People know marijuana as the “gateway drug” because it leads to things that are more hardcore.  Teens think that if they can handle marijuana they can handle other drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, etc. These drugs have more serious affects than marijuana.  Some can cause death when too much is consumed. Others can cause depression and other things of that sort.