Christina Arrasi

December 10, 2015

The Drug Issue of Marijuana
Marijuana is a large problem in the world. It is very popular, and is the
most commonly used drug in the United States. Other names for marijuana
are pot, weed, herb, Cannabis, and Mary Jane. This drug comes from a plant
called Cannabis Sativa. This plant contains tetrahydrocannabinol which
makes your brain react to releasing dopamine. Dopamines main control is
that it sends messages to the brain. Marijuana can be smoked through pipes,
joints, bongs, and blunts. When you use marijuana, the feeling could be
different for everyone. Usually when smoking, the sensations you feel
consists of a floating-buzz like feeling that lasts around 1-2 hours. With
others, marijuana will give them a feeling of panic, anxiety, and paranoia.
Some affects of using this drug is dry mouth, short term memory, increased
appetite, and red or glossy eyes. 15.8 million people use marijuana, that is
more than 3.8% of the earths population. Marijuana users spend around 10.5
billion on it in the year 2000.

Marijuana consumption is found commonly amongst teens. Teenagers

play a big role when it comes to smoking marijuana. One of the reasons why
smoking marijuana is so commonly used amongst teenagers is because of
peer pressure. In high school its hard to fit in, and you feel like you are
included. Some kids end up trying it because they want to fit in and do what

everybody else around them is doing. 91% of teenagers in high school know
someone in their school who can easily give them access to marijuana. The
United States has a high percentage of marijuana consumption and is vastly
simple to get ahold of due to the low prices which the drug is offered. In the
majority of the average teen mind, is a thought that thinks marijuana is just
a plant and is inoffensive to them. Social media is another way for teenagers to
hear about weed. Younger kids will communicate about anything on the internet, they
could talk about selling drugs, asking for it, how much of it they have, ect. It doesnt
matter to a drug dealer if the person they are selling to is 13 or 30, either way they are
getting what they want, and that is to sell them the drug and make a profit. Some
studies have shown that smoking weed can result in a decrease in education, and can
well as meddle with their memory and motivation to perform in school. The national
institute of drug use implies that regular use of marijuana in younger children can
impair kids brain development during an important time of their life. People who start
smoking at an adolescent age have less alertness as they grow older. A petrifying thing
that has happened to the younger generation is smoking weed that has been
contaminated with other hard drugs. It is possible for weed to be mixed with PCP. If
marijuana gets linked with this drug it could cause violent behavior, seizers, coma, and
possible death. Smoking herb can affect your social life and relationships with your
family. As some get into smoking it can turn into all you want to do with your time. Most
teens are trying to hide smoking from their family, when you are an everyday smoker, it
starts to get hard to hide such a big part of your life from them. Teens could find

themselves lying to their loved ones and that could ruin the close bond and relationship
that they have.

Marijuana can be addictive. Your brain will feel an overstimulation in your

endocannabinoid system that could cause transformations in the brain that will lead to
addiction. 9% of marijuana users will become addicted to the feeling that it gives them.
When everyday weed smokers try to quit or take a break they will start to go through
what is called withdrawals. Effects of withdrawals would be mood swings, trouble
sleeping, cravings, loss of appetite, and irritability. Mental health is a big risk factor when
it comes down to addiction. If someone with a mental health issue became additive to
weed, they would smoke it to get rid of the anxiety and if they tried to quit the anxiety
would worsen and make them wanting to keep doing it. Being overly stressed plays a
role in being addicted as well. If you are stressed some people will turn to drugs and
alcohol. The more stressed that they get the more they will want to keep abusing the
drug to keep them feeling relaxed and feeling good.

Medical Marijuana is used to treat diseases or ease the pain or serious injurys.
People with cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, crones disease, etc. It helps patients
get through chemo therapy because it helps with nausea and vomiting. Glaucoma is a
disease where the optic nerve of your eye. If the optic nerve gets too damaged it will
result in vision lost. Smoking marijuana for glaucoma lowers your eye pressure and
decreases the risk of damaging the eye. Multiple sclerosis is a disease where your
immune system is destroying your nerves. This results in cramping, muscle spasms,

inability to change your motions fast, and sometimes could end up being paralyzed.
Crohns disease is where you have an inflammable bowel problem that affects your
lining in your digestive tract. Medical Marijuana is said to help this disease by easing the
pain and helping with nausea. Medical marijuana may be smoked, vaporized, eaten, or
taken as a liquid. Penalties for violating any of the marijuana rules could lead to fines or
jail time. Selling to others without a medical license, having It in a state where medical
marijuana is not legal are all examples of what you could get punished for. Whether or
not medical marijuana should be legal has been an argument for a while now. 24 states
allow medical marijuana use. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC,
Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Main, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon,
Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all gave their approval to the use of using it
medically. Some places are completely against medical marijuana. One of the reasons
is that some doctors say its medically unnecessary. Dr. Allen Weiss, who is head of
NBH, says that we already have great medicine available, why do we need to use
weed? A lot of doctors said that that they want nothing to do with giving patients a
medical marijuana license. They dont want a bunch of potheads waiting around in the
office. A few Dr.s are nervous that if they prescribe someone medically they will become
addicted to it. A Northwestern University study says that marijuana leads to brain
damage and schizophrenia.

Legalizing Marijuana has turned into a big and popular issue for the United
States. For the states that allow legalization there are a few rules that come along with

it. While driving a vehicle you must not be passed 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood.
Being over 0.8 impairs your driving skills. You must be at least 21 years of age and can
only have an ounce of marijuana on you. Colorado is one of the states that has
legalized marijuana not too long ago. Legalization for this state was on November 6 th
2012. One issue is that DEA agents are worried about the drug exporting Colorado and
imported into other states. The postal service has also cracked down uand watch the
packages with a good eye, because of marijuana being mailed to friends and family.
Police say that crime has gone up since the drug has been legalized, but no one knows
if that is because of the legalization. People are worried that younger kids can get their
hands on the edible foods with THC in them. Some kids wouldnt know the different
between brownies, gummy worms, rice crispy treats, if someone handed them some.
Colorado has estimated that tax revenues of about $550 million from legalizing pot.
Another reason, why some of the population is against legalizing it is because they think
marijuana could be a gateway drug. The center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia says that Children (12- 17 years old) who use gateway drugs like tobacco,
alcohol and marijuana are up to 266 times and adults who use such drugs are up to 323
times more likely to use cocaine than those who dont use any gateway drugs Users of
marijuana love the feeling that it grants them. Everyday users will build a tolerance to
the drug and the high will start to feel less intense. When users arent feeling the strong
high that they are used to feeling that is when they will chase after drugs.

Marijuana is a drug issue all over the world. Everybody has their own view on the
drug, prevailing users will say its an excellent thing to have and should be legalized

everywhere. It aides humanity with diseases, helps the economy bring jobs, reduces
stress, less hazardous than the consumption of alcohol and Tabaco, and helps the
government save costs. Others will say that smoking marijuana is a dreadful decision,
because it puts the youth at risk, raises crime rates, lowers IQs, and down the road it
can lead to the risk of lung cancer, it can reasonably be a gateway drug, and it can very
well ruin relationships with loved ones. Marijuana is a present drug problem in the U.S,
and has a majority of diverse opinions upon the usage of the drug, but from what we
can interpret from the information provided for us by researchers is that it is rapidly
progressing everyday and it can very well be a positive or negative influence in the
upcoming life.
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