Marijuana Abusing Adolescents

There has been an extensive amount of research done on risk factors and marijuana use. Among adolescents the vast majority of the research has identified five major risk factors associated with adolescent marijuana use, family relations (parent-child attachment), peer associations, substance abuse programs, gender, and race. Some researchers have found that the family is the best predictor of adolescent marijuana use, while others claim that peer associations are predictors of adolescent marijuana use. Others believe that substance abuse programs are the key to deterring adolescent drug use. The final groups of researchers believe gender and race are the underlining predictors. The following studies will give a quick overview of the prior research on risk factors and adolescent marijuana use.

Why does your teen smoke Marijuana? Is it because of a toxic Family, Divorce, mental disorder, or fitting in? With the majority of teens struggling from depression, anxiety, stress, Insomnia or other mental disorders, it can take a toll on an adolescent's psyche. With 95,000 adolescents ages 12-17 experiencing major depressive episodes, only 41.8 percent receive help. Most mental disorders and psychological issues among minors go undocumented so they turn to other methods. Most teens who use marijuana do so to help cope with things they don't know how to control. Marijuana can give teens that outlet they seek during things like a divorce, an uncomfortable social situation or a physiological.

What is Marijuana? The marijuana affects the brain development on teenager. Also affect the function at school, work, and social life of the teenagers. The marijuana increases the risk of mental health issues. The sadistic show that the used of marijuana increase every years. Marijuana affects the teenager and also their families.

Research has found that teenagers who used cigarettes were twelve times more likely to graduate to marijuana use. A similar study conducted by Denise Kandel (1992) revealed that use of marijuana affects dopamine levels in the brain in a similar way to nicotine. Cigarette smoking facilitates consumption of other substances. Smoking cigarettes initiate juveniles into the sensation of drug inhalation, which desensitizes them from the feeling of smoke clouding their lungs. This paper finds that marijuana pervades the life of a juvenile tobacco smoker. Teenagers who smoke cigarettes

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).

According to a 2012 Monitoring the Future study, marijuana is the illicit drug most likely to be used by teens (Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey). Marijuana comes from the plant Cannabis Sativa and appears as a green/brown mix of flowers, stems, and leaves (Teens Health 1). Marijuana is also known as pot, weed, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, dope, ganja, herb, and grass. Marijuana is most often smoked in cigarettes, hollowed-out cigars, pipes, or water pipes, but is sometimes mixed into food or tea (1). Why are there concerns about teen use of marijuana? During adolescence, many developmental changes are occurring and poor choices could affect a teen’s future

This is a summary of a research article. I definitely feel that this research article has importance to both the public and students of the field of psychology because there are a lot of men and women that believe marijuana use during pregnancy has no effect on the child. This type of ignorance and unawareness is what negatively affects children born into this world. Both the public and students are able to see that just because a child is born with no obvious illnesses or abnormalities, doesn’t mean that they will not be affected later on in life. Many people are unaware of the fact that prenatal marijuana exposure can lead to

Marijuana has its strongest long-term impact on young users whose brains are developing and maturing. Researchers see a decline in verbal ability as well as general knowledge in children between ages 9-12. (National Institute on Drug Abuse August

Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug used among our teenagers in the United States. Research shows that 42% of high school seniors have smoked Cannabis, 18% within the past month and 5% smoked daily and 1 in 6 are addicts. More than 64% of teenagers reported that marijuana is very easily available (Gary). Unfortunately, some parents live in a world of denial and say “It’s not my kid. My child doesn’t smoke.” Unbeknown to us, there are unfavorable concerns for many young marijuana abusers such as the risk of addiction, poor school performances and a “gateway” to other lethal substances. Smoking marijuana increases respiratory diseases, impaired immune function, cognitive problems and motivational impairment. (National Institute on Drug Abuse). It is the leading cause of abnormal cognitive development which persists long after abstinence. Marijuana is the main drug used by children who seek emergency medical treatments and screened following an arrest or autopsies (Dennis et at).

Not only are the toxic levels of alcohol much greater than those of marijuana, but the consequences of drinking long-term are far more damaging as well. Next to smoking tobacco and being overweight, drinking alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Not including all the accidents and homicides that are attributed to the use of alcohol, the number of people that suffered alcohol induced deaths was 20,687 in 2003 alone (Foland). Those who choose to drink face the risk of many different health conditions, including some cancers, liver cirrhosis, liver disease, and heart disease---not to mention the risk of physical dependency (“Alcohol vs. Marijuana”). The effects on the brain are just as detrimental. In contrast to the old myth that drinking alcohol kills brain cells, recent studies have shown that instead it prevents new cells from being made. This process of making new cells, called neurogenesis, was found to be decreased by over fifty percent in abusers of alcohol. Marijuana seems to have the opposite effect. The same study showed that the use of marijuana actually increased neurogenesis, thus increasing the making of new brain cells (Wenk). Recent studies

Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the Nation and the world. In an article by Gray (2007) he states that “42% of high school seniors have tried marijuana, 18% have used it in the past 30 days, and 5% use it daily. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 3.6% met criteria for cannabis use disorder (abuse or dependence) and 2% met criteria for cannabis dependence”. Gray (2007) also explains how easily adolescents say it is to obtain marijuana these days. The article also states that there is evidence to prove that marijuana use may lead to “hard” drug use, academic failure, and more. With those who use marijuana chronically it may lead to impairing of the immune

Many physicians across North America hesitate to prescribe medical marijuana to their adult patients out of fear, why would they even start considering prescribing it to children . This fear mainly originates from the fact that as medical students in medical school, doctors learn absolutely nothing about prescribing it, therefor, cannot knowledgeably advise patients on dosage and side effects of this medication. This is quite sad considering how much benefits can come from medical marijuana, especially in paediatric care, as it useful, safe and in some cases lifesaving. The stereotype associated with "weed" forces doctors to second guess the benefits that may come from it. The fact that it is considered a Schedule 1 drug in United States

Teenage marijuana use is at an all time high, it has been found that today’s teen marijuana smokers are doing so at extreme amounts, some even do so daily. What are the factors that cause them to start experimenting and smoking marijuana? The amounts of marijuana being smoked by today’s teenagers must have an effect on the developing teens. The minds and bodies of the teens who smoke must be facing some sort of developing issues. Marijuana is a mild drug compared to harsher drugs like cocaine, heroin, meth, etc. the users of marijuana will eventually look for a stronger and long lasting high so they will turn to these harsher and more addicting substances. The decisions that today’s teens are making to smoke marijuana might have a

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.

The article, “Marijuana and the Teen Brain”, from the Scientific American journal, Claudia Wallis, argues that marijuana negatively affects the teenage brain. Wallis begins her argument by stating her viewpoint on the drug and then proceeds to provide information to support her stance. Multiple studies by scientists/researchers are cited in this article including those based on x-rays of a marijuana user’s brain and others that tested marijuana users on their cognitive skills. Wallis additionally mentions a study on rats which tested the effects of THC. The author provides background information on marijuana to give the reader a better understanding of the concept. This source supports the argument that marijuana use has negative impacts on the human brain because the author also stands behind that argument. Wallis discusses these negative impacts and provides evidence to support her claim. This source cites various studies in which researchers tested the effects of marijuana on the brain which reinforces the argument that marijuana has abnormal effects on the human brain.