Negative Effects Of Marijuana

There has been an extensive amount of research done on risk factors and marijuana use. Among adolescents the vast majority of the research has identified five major risk factors associated with adolescent marijuana use, family relations (parent-child attachment), peer associations, substance abuse programs, gender, and race. Some researchers have found that the family is the best predictor of adolescent marijuana use, while others claim that peer associations are predictors of adolescent marijuana use. Others believe that substance abuse programs are the key to deterring adolescent drug use. The final groups of researchers believe gender and race are the underlining predictors. The following studies will give a quick overview of the prior research on risk factors and adolescent marijuana use.

A reduction of fifty percent in smoking of cigarettes among juveniles could cause a reduction in use of marijuana among juveniles by as much as 16.5-28.5% (Ochsner, 2006). The high end of this range makes the assumption that half of the fifty seven percent of juveniles who used cigarettes would not have used marijuana if they had not experimented with cigarettes. The low end makes the assumption that forty two percent of the fifty seven percent of juveniles who first smoked cigarettes might try marijuana even without trying cigarettes first.

According to a 2012 Monitoring the Future study, marijuana is the illicit drug most likely to be used by teens (Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey). Marijuana comes from the plant Cannabis Sativa and appears as a green/brown mix of flowers, stems, and leaves (Teens Health 1). Marijuana is also known as pot, weed, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, dope, ganja, herb, and grass. Marijuana is most often smoked in cigarettes, hollowed-out cigars, pipes, or water pipes, but is sometimes mixed into food or tea (1). Why are there concerns about teen use of marijuana? During adolescence, many developmental changes are occurring and poor choices could affect a teen’s future

In this article, whether or not prenatal marijuana exposure (PME) contributes to marijuana use at age fourteen is studied. Over the years the use of marijuana and its effects on adolescents has increased. There have been attempts to prevent the use of marijuana among adolescents, but in order to prevent something you have to know the reason for the occurrence. “Among preteens and adolescents, PME predicted poorer performance on tests of memory, attention, and executive functioning” (Day, Goldschmidt & Thomas, 2006). In addition to PME, factors such as: child management practices,

Marijuana has its strongest long-term impact on young users whose brains are developing and maturing. Researchers see a decline in verbal ability as well as general knowledge in children between ages 9-12. (National Institute on Drug Abuse August

In addition to increase public health problems, legalizing marijuana will lead to increase use of the drug among youngsters. Despite the regulatory approaches, legalizing marijuana has the inevitable effect of increasing the availability and consumption of the drug. Under the current prohibitions, the rate of consumption of marijuana among teenagers is already high; however, the rate of use would greatly increase if the drug was legitimately available to the population. For instance, despite the prohibitions against distribution of alcohol to teenagers, many youngsters who are under the legal age drink alcohol today. Similarly, high percentages of the young population are currently smokers even though the law prohibit them from buying cigarettes. Therefore, it is expected that the usage of marijuana among teenagers would increase if marijuana was legalized. Notably, the marijuana use will impair the development process of teenagers, which will negatively affect their health in later life. Thus, the increased use of marijuana among teenagers is a great concern. It will contribute to great dangers on the health of the youths.

Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug used among our teenagers in the United States. Research shows that 42% of high school seniors have smoked Cannabis, 18% within the past month and 5% smoked daily and 1 in 6 are addicts. More than 64% of teenagers reported that marijuana is very easily available (Gary). Unfortunately, some parents live in a world of denial and say “It’s not my kid. My child doesn’t smoke.” Unbeknown to us, there are unfavorable concerns for many young marijuana abusers such as the risk of addiction, poor school performances and a “gateway” to other lethal substances. Smoking marijuana increases respiratory diseases, impaired immune function, cognitive problems and motivational impairment. (National Institute on Drug Abuse). It is the leading cause of abnormal cognitive development which persists long after abstinence. Marijuana is the main drug used by children who seek emergency medical treatments and screened following an arrest or autopsies (Dennis et at).

I am very concerned about the legalization of marijuana, since I am a parent of six children, whose ages range from nine to twenty-two. I have made it a point to educate my children on how smoking marijuana can affect their brain development. Just recently my youngest son, has told me that he has learned that middle school and high school kids have been eating marijuana in different forms of baked foods, such as brownies, chocolate truffles and rice crispies. The kids are over eating the marijuana treats because they don’t think it’s getting them “high”. The children are not realizing that it takes time for the body to absorb the THC. They then end up in the hospital for feeling ill because they have eating too much of the drug. The National Families in Action Campaign, reported that pot-related emergency admissions have tripled and expulsion rate has gone up 40% since the legalization of medical marijuana due to pot related incidents (5). Parents will need to be more aware of the potential risks and signs of THC posing due to the high levels of THC found in the marijuana that

Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the Nation and the world. In an article by Gray (2007) he states that “42% of high school seniors have tried marijuana, 18% have used it in the past 30 days, and 5% use it daily. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 3.6% met criteria for cannabis use disorder (abuse or dependence) and 2% met criteria for cannabis dependence”. Gray (2007) also explains how easily adolescents say it is to obtain marijuana these days. The article also states that there is evidence to prove that marijuana use may lead to “hard” drug use, academic failure, and more. With those who use marijuana chronically it may lead to impairing of the immune

Despite all of the efforts put fourth in attempting to better educate and stop drug use in America studies show that drug use by juveniles has substantially increased within recent years. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) juveniles as young as eighth grade are using drugs such as marijuana on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most of these juveniles have also experimented with alcohol at this age as a gateway drug to start using marijuana and so forth. (NIDA) There are many aspects that could impact why children so young are getting access to these drugs. The NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow states that, “Marijuana use not only places teens at risk of addiction but also impairs their memory, judgment, and ability to learn.” These drugs are now so easily accessible at such a vulnerable and impressionable age that it could have devastating impacts on the juvenile’s future in the criminal justice system. Important factors that go alongside in drug abuse with juveniles would be peer pressure, family factors, and lastly emotional problems they are experiencing in their young years of life.

Marijuana derives from the hemp plant, scientifically named cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Marijuana consists of dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant. The cannabis plant is one of mankind 's first cultivated plants and has many applications (How). One of the most common and most misunderstood uses of marijuana is obtaining the well spoken of high as well as recreational uses. Most people believe that there is

Teenage marijuana use is at an all time high, it has been found that today’s teen marijuana smokers are doing so at extreme amounts, some even do so daily. What are the factors that cause them to start experimenting and smoking marijuana? The amounts of marijuana being smoked by today’s teenagers must have an effect on the developing teens. The minds and bodies of the teens who smoke must be facing some sort of developing issues. Marijuana is a mild drug compared to harsher drugs like cocaine, heroin, meth, etc. the users of marijuana will eventually look for a stronger and long lasting high so they will turn to these harsher and more addicting substances. The decisions that today’s teens are making to smoke marijuana might have a

Perhaps more so than with any other illegal drug, side effects resulting from marijuana use can vary widely. What side effects are felt is chiefly determined by the user's tolerance to tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient of marijuana plants. As with many other mind altering drugs, a user's state of mind before using the drug plays a large part in the quality of the experience, as well as what side effects are experienced.

So what is marijuana? Marijuana is a deep green or grayish plant that is derived from Cannabis sativa, and it can be grown in any climate, but is mostly grown in tropical temperatures. In ancient times Marijuana was used for making pottery in Taiwan, making hemp rope in Greece, hemp paper in China, in Ethiopian pipes, also in Hindu religion

Cannabis has been studied by many scientists to find the medicinal value, and to decide whether the negative effects were too damaging to ignore. Many patients use cannabis to ease pain and to help relieve symptoms from illnesses. Cannabis, wheather used for medicinal purposes or not, is damaging to the brain, damages the lungs and is not only harmful to the user, but to others around the user. In recent studies, the findings suggest that long-term cannabis use is associated with brain morphing alterations in regions linked to memory and executive and affective processing. A decrease in hippocampal volume in regular cannabis smokers has been correlated with lifetime consumption and psychotic symptoms. When comparing gray matter volume between groups, they found that significant clusters showing a lower gray matter volume in regular cannabis users compared with occasional ones are located bilaterally in the temporal pole. Regular users exhibit a decrease in gray matter (GM) volume in the medial temporal cortex, temporal pole, parahippocampal gyrus, left insula, and orbitofrontal cortex (Battistella et al). It has been demonstrated that the main psychoactive component of cannabis (Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol,THC) induces dose-dependent toxicity and structural changes in brain regions rich in cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Not only does cannabis affect adult brains, it affects underdeveloped brains as well. Specifically, significant gray matter atrophy can occur either with a heavy cannabis consumption independent of the age of first use or with recreational consumption that started during adolescence (before the age of 18). The duration of exposure to cannabis is indeed associated with localized volume reduction in regions rich in CB1 receptors, correlating with the amount of cannabis used. The progression of a long-term exposure to drugs toward the development of substance use disorders and addictive behaviors is often associated with deficits in decision making. FMRI demonstrates altered brain activity in core regions linked to the motivational and affective aspects of decision making, mainly in the ventromedial prefrontal (VMPFC) and orbitofrontal cortices and insula. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that