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Mental and physical effects of marijuana
The effect of marijuana on the adolescent brain essay
The effect of marijuana on the adolescent brain essay
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When getting high becomes more frequent, the effects become more serious. The brain, or control center, is greatly affected by marijuana. The average person may not know the brain does not fully develop until their mid-twenties. Hence, why most states set the legal drinking age to twenty-one years old. States also contemplate on the legalization of marijuana because drug use can harm the brain at any age, but teenagers and children are more susceptible to long term damage due to incomplete brain development. One way that marijuana affects the brain includes THC stimulating the brain cells which create the high state of mind. The stimulation can cause hallucinations, paranoia, uncoordination, and impairment. The ability to remember and judgement
The purpose of my paper is to prove that marijuana effects teens and their mind. Marijuana is a tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves, stems, flower tops of the Cannabis sativa (Indian Hemp) plant (Fact Sheet, 1). It is smoked or eaten to get hallucinated and receive pleasure. It grows just about anywhere. It is illegal in some countries but in others it is used for medical purposes (Encarta, 1). Some names that it is called a joint, nail, pot, Mary Jane, hive, etc. (Fact Sheet and Facts for teens, 1). Marijuana stays in the body for several days after one smoking session. In a chronic user marijuana can stay in the body for up to several weeks (Facts for Teens, 1).
The brain is the most complicated part of the human body. I will begin explaining certain parts and their functions. In doing this to I hope to give a better understand of our brain while implicating the possibilities of chemical induced complications “The brain with its 15 billion neurons and nerve cells operates using chemical and electrical messages: (Swanson, 1975).1 This is how we perceive our senses. Differences in the way our brain translates these messages can impair perceptions. Hallucinogens prevent the brain from receiving all of these messages in order. All of the information that we receive is through millions of transactions of neurons, like a computer, marijuana alters these transactions .
Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...
First of all, some people feel smoking marijuana can get hyper, which providing them the emotion of happiness, and helping them to see the world from a different perspective. However, marijuana will cause a lot of healthy problems to human’s body. Marijuana has many physical effects on human such as rapid heart rate, red eyes and dry mouth. Because the chemical THC will enter into the body when people are smoking it, THC will enter through the bloodstream to the brain. The chemical affects them to feel ecstasy and unreality; therefore, THC will make them feel more confused if people smoke marijuana for a long time. According to, “ Treat marijuana abuse like a health problem” (McMillan, 2007, July 17), it shows using marijuana can cause more serious health issues on human’s body such as bronchitis, emphysema, and cancer. In addition, using marijuana has also been linked to lung damage and affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. For example, if marijuana ...
Chandler, C. (2011). The Science of ADHD: A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York:
When marijuana is used starting from early age it affects the brain development and its function. a) Use of the drug impairs memory, thinking and learning process by affecting connection between the neurons of the brain necessary for these functions. III. Marijuana use could also have a physical effect on the person. 1.
Marijuana is a unique and controversial drug. It is a popular psychoactive drug that is easily accessible and relatively inexpensive. Marijuana is often considered a recreational drug despite its illegal status. It is illegal because there are many uncertainties surrounding this substance. In fact, some favor the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes while others oppose. Opponents of marijuana insist that legal approval will result in serious personal and social problems.
Drug addiction involves potentially life-long behavioural abnormalities that are caused in vulnerable individuals by repeated exposure to a drug of abuse (Kumar et al., 2005). The persistence of these behavioural changes suggests that long-lasting changes in gene expression, within regions of the brain, may contribute to the addiction phenotype (Kumar et al., 2005). Recent research has been aiming to characterize the influence of epigenetic regulatory events in mediating the lasting effects of abusive drugs on the brain in animal models of drug addiction (Kumar et al., 2005). Evidence has shown that repeated exposure to abusive drugs induces change within the brain’s reward region in three modes of epigenetic regulations; histone modifications
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana causes the user to feel euphoric by acting on the brain’s reward system. The euphoria is caused by the release of dopamine it to the user system. Other effects can include heightened sensory perception (e.g., brighter colors), laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite. Marijuana also inhibits the formation of new memories and causes coordination and balance to be degraded. These reactions are caused by binding the receptors in the cerebellum and base ganglia. The effect is similar to the impairments that are normally associated with consuming alcohol. Habitual users can also develop acute psychosis, a fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The IQ level of a marijuana users also decreases over time according to a Duke University study conducted by clinical psychologist Madeline Meier “people who bega...
Many could argue that marijuana is destructive physically as well as mentally. “The National Institute on Drug Abuse says marijuana can cause heart irregularities, lung problems, and addiction” (Welch). “One joint can be just as damaging to [the lungs] as smoking at least two and a half cigarettes” (Ruff). According to Dr. Tom Wright, director of a substance abuse treatment center for adolescents in Rockford, “teens may be especially sensitive to marijuana’s effects because their brains are still being formed” (MJ Rebuttal). However, the marijuana legalization proposition would have tight restrictions and regulations by the states that would eliminate some of those issues, such as age. These facts are not consistent; the evidence is not backed from reliable sources. One institute is referred to, but more experts are needed to verify the information.
The Effects of Marijuana Marijuana is a mood altering or psychoactive drug that has many nicknames, such as pot, weed, ganja, sensi, herb, and. others. The. It is an ancient drug that dates back to hundreds of years to the Asia. Many cultures have used it during meditation, religious.
According to Szara Braude, marijuana slows down reactions, causing problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking, and loss of coordination (Marijuana as a medicine 53). Many people use this drug, not knowing what they are doing to their body and how they are actually harming themselves by smoking it so much.... ... middle of paper ... ... Many times it is out of peer pressure that people try this drug to begin with.
...eveloping parts, the frontal cortex, is responsible for planning, judgment, decision-making and personality. Teenagers also have to deal with the immaturity of their endocannabinoid system. This system is accountable for the psychological mechanisms that respond to the active drug in marijuana, THC. Krista Lisdahl, PhD, the director of the Brain Imaging and Neuropsychological Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, states, “That system (endocannabinoid) is important for cognition, neurodevelopment, stress response and emotional control, and it helps to modulate other major neurotransmitter systems” (Lisdahl). Frequent exposure to marijuana can “dial down cellular activity in the endocannabinoid system… That sets the stage for why adolescents may be more sensitive to the effects of repeated marijuana exposure, from a neuroscience perspective." (Lisdahl)
The marijuana affect the brain development, because the teenager are under go development still of age of 25. The effect of marijuana is immediately when is consume as smoke. The marijuana contain some chemical that affect the brain pressure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, and sensory a time perception. All this affects the development of the brain and receptor, because is on constant development and every time that the teenager smokes the effect is immediately and this effect can be last for one to three hours. The concern about the use the marijuana is because affect the development of the brain and affect the intellectuality. According to National Institute of Drug Abuse, the overstimulation of these receptors on the brain areas produces the marijuana "high," as well as other effects on mental processes. In facts the used of mariju...
Marijuana/ weed affects the brain development, being thought teens use this drug it may reduce thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections necessary to function. Study shows that people that started smoking weed heavily as a teen have an ongoing use and lost an average of eight IQ points between 13 and 38 and it doesn 't fully return when they quit smoking when their adults. Weed also affects people’s breathing, the reason being is because it irritates the lungs and people that smoke weed heavily have the same breathing problem as tobacco smokers. The symptoms of having this problem is daily cough and phlegm, more frequent lung illness, and a high risk of lung