Essay about The Effects of Marijuana on Consciousness

Marijuana can have very damaging affects on a person?s brain. It can impair a person?s short-term memory, decision-making and signal detection (Cannabinoids). ?In one study conducted in Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana? (Marijuana). After having used marijuana a

THC disrupts the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. This makes it hard for the user to recall recent events (such as what happened a few minutes ago), and so it is hard to learn while high. A working short-term memory is required for learning and performing tasks that call for more than one or two steps. Some studies show that when people have smoked large amounts of marijuana for many years, the drug takes its toll on mental functions. Among a group of long-time heavy marijuana users in Costa Rica, researchers found that the people had great trouble when asked to recall a short list of words (a standard test of memory). People in that study group also found it very hard to focus their attention on the tests

Millions are abusing marijuana every day. In fact, 1 out of 7 high school students smoke marijuana more than once a day. Marijuana is taken very lightly and is the most highly used illegal drug. For this reason, society should know its short and long term effects on the brain. Marijuana can effect these two areas emotionally or physically. Also in some cases physical damages causes the emotional response. Although most public information on drugs are funded by anti-drug organizations, hopefully we will still learn these true facts of marijuana in spite of that.

People might think smoking marijuana is cool. They might try it without knowing what it is or what affects is has on you. Once someone smokes it for the first time, they might keep doing it again and again and they could get hooked on it for life. People who use marijuana usually never use any other type of illegal drugs, but more than seven thousand five hundred people get arrested for using marijuana every year. There is a wide variety of marijuana, but they are all based off of two marijuana plants, Indica and Sativa. Marijuana is very popular in America, and all over the world. Marijuana affects the body, it can be used as medicine, and marijuana can be addictive.

Wether you call it Hemp, Mary Jane, Pot, Weed; it doesn't matter. It is still Cannabis Sativa, or cannabis for short. And it is still illegal. The use of marijuana as an intoxicant in the United States became a problem of public concern in the 1930s.

Marijuana has been used in the treatment of AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and chronic pain ("Medical Cannabis."). Researchers have been trying to explain the negative effects that marijuana can have on the central nervous system and how it hinders memory as well. The constant reports of short-term memory loss by heavy marijuana users brings up the question, is it the most common long term effect of marijuana use? Although it is said that marijuana has many effects such as exhaustion, increased appetite, offset sense of time, and bloodshot eyes, short-term memory loss is the symptom most frequently linked with the use or ingestion of marijuana. But why? Why does using marijuana have any impact on a person’s memory at all? Countless scientists have been working tirelessly to find an answer for this question. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is known to attach itself to areas of the brain linked to memory. When the scientists injected lab animals with THC at Rutgers University, they found that they acted as though there was no rhythm to their thought. It affected the hippocampal circuits in the brain to produce animals that were acting normal but in a delayed or offset manor.

In reality, marijuana has the effect of slightly increasing alpha-wave activity in your brain. Alpha waves are generally associated with meditative and relaxed states, which are, in turn, often associated with human creativity

     Researchers believe that marijuana blocks the messages going to your brain and alters your perceptions and emotions, vision, hearing, and coordination. A recent study of 1,023 trauma patients admitted to a shock trauma unit found that one-third had marij

Smoking marijuana is best described as a one-way ticket to negative side-affects. Based on Lifetime Health by Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. “smoked marijuana are felt within minutes and may last for 2 or 3 hours”(2009). Short term effects consist of slowed thinking ability, difficulty paying attention, distorted sense of time, and many more. (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Long term effects include frequent respiratory infection, impaired learning and memory, and even panic attacks (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Thus, the ingestion in smoking marijuana can cause harmful outcomes, which are

For a long time, the anti-marijuana community's rallying banner has been marijuana's effect on short-term memory. However, hardly any of the factoids on anti-drug websites or pamphlets actually clarifies WHEN the short-term memory loss is occurring. For anyone who has smoked marijuana, they have felt the effects of not being able to remember a train of thought while under the influence of the substance. However, does marijuana have long-term effects on short-term memory? This is much less clear, and if it doesn't, then the DEA doesn't really have a rock to stand on. What difference does it make if someone has their short-term memory impaired WHILE smoking marijuana? If someone smokes up and forgets to attend a job interview, it is not the marijuana's problem, but the fact that the user made a poor judgment call. So what is to be learned from all of this? Is it that since alcohol poses more health risks than marijuana, that it should once again be banned? Certainly not. I think the lesson to be learned is that prohibition of a substance that poses few health risks when used in MODERATION is not right for America. Sure, there are some people who develop alcohol and marijuana

The impending paragraphs will discuss how marijuana users are affected while intoxicated. Some of the areas that will be covered include how

For some it makes them more aware of their physical sensations. For others, there are numerous other effects. All forms of marijuana are mind- altering. All of the changes are caused by chemicals that affect the brain. More than 400 chemicals are in the average marijuana plant.

Marijuana continues to be the most widely used drug in the Western Hemisphere, its cognitive effects robustly revolve around memory. There have been many studies done on the chemical effects that marijuana has on the brain centers concerned with memory and learning. There are more productive studies relating to the effects of cannabis on short-term memory that show different memory processes effected by this drug. Though there is not much knowledge on the effects the drug has on long-term memory due to suspected confounds that temper with the process of collecting proper data, there have been studies showing lasting effects in adolescents and chronic users (Schoeler and Bhattacharyya, 2013). More research should be done on the long-term processes in order to better understand the lasting effects of cannabis use. Marijuana causes these adverse effects on memory by first altering chemical processes in the brain.

Cannabis is a drug many people use. It is a genus of flowering plant that includes three species or subspecies, sativa, indica, and ruderalis. Cannabis, along with other drugs, is a very addicting habit. Many people, teens in particular, smoke weed. Cannabis is a flowering herb.

This study consisted of 51 long-term marijuana users, 51 short-term users, and 33 non-users. All of the participants experienced nine neuropsychological tests. Attention, memory, and other cerebral abilities were tested (“Study” 3). Nadia Solowij, of the Univeristy of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, states long term users performed drastically less on tests of memory and attention. “On the Ray Auditory Verbal Learning Test, long-term users recalled significantly fewer words than either short-term users or controls,” Solowij reported. Undoubtedly, marijuana use corrupts memory and other cognitive functions. Therefore, marijuana use causes mental damage to the user.