This drug is so easily mistaken as being the least harmful. It's not what it used to be.
Problems
Substance Abuse / marijuana
Marijuana is what?
The Mary Jane—sounds like a candy doesn't it? How about the name pot, grass, or weed? I'm not talking about your yard or garden. These are just a few of the street names for the drug commonly known as marijuana.
Marijuana is a green/brown mix of a shredded hemp plant. Its most active chemical, THC, makes a high by binding with nerve cells in the brain.
Marijuana can be used in a lot of creative ways. A user can smoke a “joint” or pipe called a bong. Cigars can be refilled with marijuana and smoked in “blunts.” Marijuana can even be mixed in your foods and brewed in a cup of tea.
Leading drug of choice?
Marijuana seems to be the leading drug of choice for teenagers today. It was the leader of my survey showing that nearly half of teenagers either use the drug themselves or know of someone that uses. However, don't let this common use confuse you into thinking that marijuana is not harmful.
Short-term effects
It messes you up pretty good by causing:
- Memory and learning problems
- Distorted perception
- Inability to think clearly
- A loss of coordination
- A dangerous increase in heart rate
Long-term effects
- Addiction
- Depression, anxiety, paranoia
- Greater risk of cancer of the head and neck
- Major respiratory and chest illnesses
Did you know that one joint has 4 times more cancer-causing tar than cigarettes? In addition, according to NIDA, a study suggests that an abuser's risk of a heart attack quadruples in the first hour after their joint!
It affects you!
Marijuana does more than just harm the user—it harms other people as well! Here is how marijuana can ruin your life and any other nonuser:
- Car crashes
- Violence
- Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
- Pre-schooled children exposed to marijuana smoke can gain attention and memory difficulties
- Stealing for drug money, which could be your pocket!
The fuel for other drugs
Marijuana will affect someone socially, mentally, and physically. Marijuana is a drug that teens usually start with. As competition increases, teens will find a new way to get high; thus, making the dangers continuously increase.
Stop the dangers from ever occurring and do something about it now.
