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marijuana physiological effects
marijuana physiological effects
mental and physical effects of marijuana
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Marijuana and College Students
Marijuana may control the way people act, think, and even hurt their college academics. Marijuana is one of the most popular used drugs in America ranking about third after tobacco and alcohol. Marijuana is a substance that has become very much a part of American culture; many college students have either used it occasionally or regularly. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to find out about students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and their use of marijuana. In fact most students might not even know what they are smoking and what exactly makes them feel the way they do.
Exactly what is marijuana? Marijuana is made of the dried leaves and flowers of the female cannabis sativa plant, and looks like oregano. There are many different marijuana preparations that are widely used to obtain effects. It can be either smoked or taken by mouth. Marijuana can be smoked in the form of a hand-rolled cigarette ("joint" or "reefer") it is also smoked in a variety of pipes. Hashish (hash) is a dried-caked resin from the flowers and leaves of the plant. It is sold in chunks and cubes, and its color range from light brown to black. Hashish is often blended with tobacco and smoked. It is more potent than marijuana because it contains a higher concentration of THC. THC is the main ingredient in all cannabis preparations. The more THC cannabis contains, the stronger it is. The effects of marijuana are similar to alcohol intoxication. Small amounts can make you relaxed and generally less inhibited yet some users say that it enhances the experiences of music, food and sex. After hearing all about how college students feel about marijuana I wanted to find out for myself, so...
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...re lighting up next time. Maybe they will wonder just what harm they have done to their body already. Many people that smoke marijuana have the effects that are discussed in this paper. It can plainly be seen, their lack of motivation and kind of "spacey ness" that is commonly associated with marijuana smoking. I often wonder what these people would be like if they stopped their use and allowed themselves to rid their body of the drug and its by-products. Marijuana use is still very popular throughout the United States, and the fact that people are not educated enough about its effects is very detrimental. These people are hurting themselves, and they don't know (and many just don't care) what they are doing to their bodies. If marijuana use continues to grow too much, we may have a country of unmotivated people, with many more health problems. Where will we be then?
Marijuana has been widely mis-viewed as a bad thing; society classifies marijuana as a drug, parents warn their children to stay away from marijuana because it is bad; but those are all misconceptions. But in reality, it is actually a very beneficial drug to many degrees. Marijuana actually has numerous favorable effects, such as helping people escape the cruel reality for a moment, helping patients who are almost at the end of their lives feel better, and helping the economy recover. In addition, marijuana’s side effects are all due to human abusing it, like the old saying goes, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Although marijuana users have a history of not doing so well in life, marijuana should still be made available to anyone above the legal drinking age and be regulated like tobacco and alcohol; due to its assuaging effects to the economy and human’s mental health.
"Marijuana is the second most popular drug after alcohol in the country today. So many people smoke marijuana that the numbers alone seem to legitimize and condone its presence in people's lives. Yet, even in moderation marijuana is not 'safe.' Somehow this information had not filtered down to people who think they are smoking a fairly innocuous drug. Our society perpetuates the myths about pot being a fun, harmless, recreational drug. These myths feed into people's denial of marijuana's problems" (Baum 6). However, the abuse of marijuana is a problem. It is not only a personal problem, but also more importantly a social problem. Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many different cultures. The purposes have changed over time to fit in with the current lifestyles. The cultivation of the marijuana plant in the United States began as far back as the Jamestown settlers around the year 1611. At that time the main focus was on survival rather than for psychoactive purposes. Medicinal uses of marijuana eventually changed to enjoyment manipulation. Beginning in the 1960s marijuana use saw a reemergence with the rebellious youth, and the "hippie movement." This evolved into increased use among the older population as well. This trend continues to this day. Marijuana use can be termed abuse. Today the debate over marijuana is a major controversy that affects our society as a whole. During the 60's it was easy to depict marijuana as a beneficial and completely harmless substance because there was not enough scientific research done during this time (Grolier Wellness Encyclopedia). Today we know that the levels of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana called tetrahydr...
What is marijuana? Marijuana comes from a Mexican Spanish translation marihuana. The true term to describe it is cannabis although both words can be used interchangeably. Medical cannabis or marijuana is parts of the plant that is used to help treat a number of ills from a prescribing physician. Now marijuana has been around for thousands of years with the first historical evidence linking it to be used as early as 4000 BC, and the first medical use of it around 3000 BC. The first people to be associated with using cannabis are the Chinese, and were located in Central Asia. There are 2 common species which are used for medical purposes which are cannabis sativa, and cannabis indica. The effects vary from the different strands with the indica strain being more known for night time use due to its sedative effects, while the sativa strain is used during the daytime due to the cerebral high it produces. There are two forms of medical cannabis which can be used by a patient and they are called hashish and marijuana. Marijuana is the most common form of cannabis consumption which is the unprocessed dried leaves and buds of the female plant. One can smoke, or vaporize the dried leaves and buds to achieve the desired effect. Hashish on the other hand is a concentrated resin that comes from the female plant. It is often more potent than marijuana and can be smoked, vaporized, or chewed. The Chinese emperor, Shen Nung is the first person to describe the medical uses and properties of cannabis in a book he wrote in 2737 BC. After its widespread use in China it spread to India where a British physician by the name of William O’Shaughnessy discovered the therapeutic uses for cannabis and wrote a report on it which was then sent back to Eng...
The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs should be commended for its report, "Marijuana: Its HealthHazards and Therapeutic Potential." Not only does the report outline evidence of marijuana's potential harms, but it distinguishes this concern from the legitimate issue of marijuana's important medical benefits. All too often the hysteria that attends public debate over marijuana's social abuse compromises a clear appreciation for this critical distinction.
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Other forms of cannabis include hashish, and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering drugs (Zimmer and Morgan 1).
About one out of five 10th graders and about 1 out of four high school seniors used marijuana in the past month (Facts for Teens, 1). It is the second most popular drug among teens in the US (Encarta, 1). Teens, ages 12-17, that use marijuana weekly are nine times more likely than non-users to experience with illegal drugs and alcohol (Fed. Study, 1). More 13 & 14 year olds are using drugs, fifteen pe...
A great proportion of college students use marijuana, 25% of students or higher according to some findings. This may not be too much of a surprise to us. What I was surprised to find in my readings is that chronic marijuana users are, as a class and individually, high academic achievers. Furthermore, they are achievement- oriented and even some chronic marijuana users even intended to go on to graduate school at a higher rate than nonusers in a particular study I read about.
Marijuana is a drug that divides people. Some people claim it as the wonder drug of the '90s, capable of relieving the symptoms of many serious illnesses. Others curse the day the cannabis plant was ever discovered. From pain relief to stimulating the appetites of patients on chemotherapy, marijuana seems to have plenty going for it as a medicine. The legalization of marijuana is a large controversy in many parts of the world today, but the obvious negative effects that the drug induces has kept it from being legalized. Many researchers have a strong positive attitude towards marijuana. It has been said that the drug is “worth investigating and even providing as a medicine for pain relief, severe nausea, and appetite stimulation for seriously ill patients” (Zimmerman 2). On a more negative side, studies have also found in many cases of pregnant women who smoke marijuana, that chemicals in the drug have halted early pregnancy. Scientists have determined a link between activation of the biological receptors that respond to cannabinoids (the psychoactive ingredients in marijuana) and abrupt interruption of pregnancy at a very early stage (Ferguson 71). The short-term effects of marijuana have also been researched and are widely known. Some of these effects include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks (Ferguson 23). A new analysis by Bachman examines how marijuana is potentially devastating to adolescents because it suppresses motivation, drive, and commitment to family and school. Although these researcher’s studies have covered many topics about marijuana, the actual long-term effects caused by inhaled marijuana smoke is a topic that has failed to be covered in extent.
The effects of marijuana are minimal. The high has a feeling of euphoria, peacefulness and well-being. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active chemical in marijuana. It’s estimated that a person would have to ingest a dose 20,000 to 40,000 times the average dose before death would occur. In the early 1990’s sophisticated research on marijuana began. The scientists discovered THC stimulates special receptors in the brain. Researchers have now isolated a natural substance that appears to produce the same effects as THC in the brain. Recently the medical uses of marijuana are being more and more accepted, and many marijuana smokers wonder how it can be harmful if it helps/treats patients.
My best friend used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Over time, he developed many obvious bad habits and changed his life style tremendously. He started getting lazy with schoolwork, and did not show much interest in anything at all. His parents noticed all these side effects that had been occurring but were unaware that their son smoked marijuana. After the grades fell so much, they decided to take him to get checked out because they were afraid he had developed some sort of ADD. They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay concentrated on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity took place. My friend finally quit smoking marijuana because he saw what it was doing to his life. Many teens try marijuana not knowing all the side effects that come with this drug. This drug has many misconceptions from when it is really legal to what marijuana will actually do to your body. People think that marijuana is the most harmless drug because one never hears of people dying from it or getting deathly ill. This is false because marijuana does things to the body that can not be seen from the outside. The majority of the damage is in the brain and lungs which can get extremely dangerous. All the bad side effects from this drug will really harm people’s bodies and ruin their futures and lives.
They believe if they use marijuana, it helps them to forget many things including their problems, and they think it helps them to solve sleep’s problems. What these people do not realize is that marijuana causes addiction, which almost always leads to more problems. Some of these problems have already been mentioned in this paper, and another problem is lack of sleep. According to Kashmira Gender (2014) “people who used cannabis in their early teens are twice as likely to have severe sleeping problems in later life, according to a new study, while the results suggested that marijuana use can negatively effect sleep quality in any user, it was most frequent in people who had used the drug since they were 15-years-old or younger.” (par 1,2). They do not know that the repeat use of drug causes the addiction, and it causes strikes and many sleep problems such as
...ssures to be the best they can be academically. With all these pressures of adolescence on the rise, more and more teens are falling prey to the alluring “high” that allows a temporary leave from their problems and stress. Because teens lack the maturity and knowledge to understand long term consequences, they tend not to think about the down falls that they will face as a result of the drug use. This is especially true when it come to marijuana, as it is seen by so many as the harmless drug. With the increased use of marijuana by youth over the last three decades, it is imperative that better preventative measures, and firmer penalties, be put in place to educate and raise awareness concerning the risks and dangerous side effects that marijuana use can have. Only once society has put these preventative measures in to action, will there be an effective change seen.
Abstract: Resent research has shown that marijuana has a negative effect on college students’ academics. Researchers have come to this conclusion because of two main problems that are associated with smoking marijuana. Smoking marijuana has been shown to alter brain function and brain structures when chronically used by adolescents and young adults. Research has also found that marijuana use during college decreases students’ academic motivation to do well. Students who use marijuana frequently have also been shown to skip class move often and have lower GPA’s. In this paper these two problems that is associated marijuana will be discussed at greater detail, and my own original contribution will be discussed. This original contribution was
Marijuana is an extremely popular drug, not only in America, but in every other country in the world as well. However, there are many people who do not know exactly what it is or where it comes from. Marijuana is a blend of flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems from the Indian hemp planted called Cannabis. This plant contains a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the “high” feeling that users experience when smoking it (“Marijuana: Effects, Medical Uses & Legalization”). The THC in marijuana is analogous to the nicotine in tobacco, but it is not as harmful. They both have many similarities, but they also have significant differences.
A considerable amount of literature has been published on cannabis specifically marijuana. These studies classify marijuana into three species: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and cannabis ruderalis. In fact, Cannabis sativa is the most widely used and recognized among the other species due to its ability to produce more fiber and oil. For many years, the plant has been used for making clothes as well as lighting and soap. Nevertheless, cannabis is widely used at the present time for intoxication and medical treatments. Marijuana is usually extracted from the flowers of the female plant (Grinspoon & Bakalar, 1993). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is well-defined as the “dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds. This plant material can also be concentrated in a resin called hashish” (NIDA, 2014).