How Does Marijuana Affect the User? Marijuana is possibly the most controversial drug to date. The drug is so controversial because of the health hazards it poses but also has shown signs of being utilized as medicine. For decades, marijuana has been used to suppress the symptoms of people with chronic pain or recovering from a different medical instance. Is this drug, a drug that has the potential to help heal but also cause more damage, a drug that should be labeled safe to use? The subject has been debated and will be debated for an unknown period of time. There is a combination of positive and negative effects on the user. Marijuana is a drug increasingly being smoked across the nation. Cannabis refers to dried greenery, stems, and flowers …show more content…
Frequent smoking of marijuana can damage the bronchial passages; these passages protect against inhaled microorganisms and decrease the ability of one’s immune cells in the lungs to fend off bacteria and fungi ("Marijuana's Lasting Effects on the Brain."). For people whose immune systems are already weak, they have a heightened chance of getting risky pulmonary infections like pneumonia, which oftentimes becomes fatal to AIDS patients ("Marijuana's Lasting Effects on the Brain."). Marijuana has shown to decrease the body’s overall immune system, making the body more prone to infection ("Marijuana's Lasting Effects on the …show more content…
A person’s daily life is a stake when marijuana is in their lives. Marijuana has the potential to pose difficulties in daily life or cause someone’s existing problems to become worse ("Health Effects of Marijuana Use."). Consumers have reported lower life satisfaction, worse mental and physical health, problems within relationships, and less success in their schooling and careers as opposed to their non-smoking peers ("Health Effects of Marijuana Use."). Studies have shown that marijuana usage is linked to accidents, increased absences, workman’s compensation claims, and job turnover ("Health Effects of Marijuana Use."). Studies have shown that marijuana usage is linked to accidents, increased absences, workman’s compensation claims, and job turnover ("Health Effects of Marijuana
Marijuana can also hurt a person?s immune system. People who smoke marijuana are more susceptible to getting sick because their bodies are not as healthy. A person?s body is not fully capable of fighting off viruses, bacteria, fungi and protazoa (Fact Sheet). One of the main chemicals in marijuana is THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is what damages the white blood cells in a person?s body (Marijuana). ?Marijuana use suppresses the production of white blood cells (the cells that fight infection and disease)? (What to Teach Kids 4).
Also, marijuana can be seen as being addictive in nature. “Approximately 9% of individuals that use marijuana become addicted” (Marijuana Statistics). Marijuana contains many chemicals, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which can cause many positive and negative effects to the human body and brain. A major attribute for medical marijuana is the economic advantages that are produced from the distribution of the drug. Also, the legalization of medical marijuana can portray positive and negative outcomes for law enforcement. Therefore, medical marijuana has many positive effects, such as treatment for diseases, and negative effects, such as immune system suppression. Throughout this research paper, medical marijuana will be thoroughly explained to exemplify the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing the
Marijuana is a mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems and flowers from a hemp plant better know as Cannabis sativa. Uses of marijuana can be recreational or medical and the earliest recorded uses date from the 3rd millennium BC. (Rudgley, “The
Marijuana can be used to immediately combat a long-term disease such as asthma and arthritis. As seen in a study published in the American Review of Respiratory Disease in 1975, it is shown how medical marijuana can treat asthma. In this study, eight people who suffered from asthma were “induced
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
A person who inhale marijuana on frequent basis suffer from many diseases related to heart, lungs and brain. It disturbs the normal functioning of brain, interfering with a person’s ability to think, feel and act (Sane Australia 2014).
Marijuana while illegal on a federal level has been legalized in 18 states and the District of Columbia for medical use and also for personal use for anyone over 21 in Washington and Colorado. 48% of Americans admit to using marijuana according to a 2013 survey conducted by Scientific America. With the change in public opinion concerning marijuana the need to understand the effect and consequences associated with its use are vitally important. What are the effects on the brain and the rest of the body? Does it matter when you start using marijuana? Also what is the effect marijuana use has on a person’s life, to include school, work, family and friends.
Marijuana is considered in popular culture to be a widely accepted mainstream recreational illegal drug used in the United States; its use comes with severe adverse side effects that are often overlooked. Long-Term use of marijuana 'sis shown to have negative effects on physical, mental, and environmental health. Studies have shown that in the United States, up to 20% of daily marijuana users become dependent (Marijuana and Lung Health) showing a physical or emotional need for the drug. Marijuana use has the potential to affect every aspect of a person 's physical and mental wellbeing negatively. Its use also comes with potentially life-altering risks to one 's future including an individual’s likelihood of obtaining a degree, impacting their future earning potential and decreasing their overall reported life satisfaction. Once dependent on marijuana, people stop caring about their schooling. Long-term use of smoking marijuana can result in the inability to learn, retain information and think critically.
A major health issue that is seen with the use of marijuana is a loss of coordination. As a person uses the drug they begin to become slower and slower when an instantaneous reaction is required. For example, using marijuana can make it difficult for a person to simply catch a ball in the sport of baseball even if before using marijuana that same person did not have difficulty with this task. (“Marijuana”) The main ingredient in marijuana that has a negative effect on the body, specifically the brain, is THC. When the drug is inhaled it begins affecting the brain immediately. These effects include the aforementioned issue of losing certain motor functions in addition to a few other effects. One of the dangerous effects of marijuana in the more long-term spectrum is what THC does to the brain. According to “Drug Facts: Marijuana,” a recent study has shown that the use of marijuana causes a major deficit in the brain when it came to memory and learning. This effect carries into careers and lives, and therefore the legalization of marijuana in Colorado will cause an issue in the comprehensiveness of employees all over the state. The inability to comprehend and remember will be a financial and generally inconvenient strain on the economy of the state simply because employees will need to be retrained more often than if they did not use the drug marijuana. Furthermore, marijuana gives its users a sense of dizziness and sluggishness, which, if used during work or driving could
"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
short-term marijuana uses on the brain and in the bodies for others. When people participate in the consumption of it that the short-term effects include impair thinking, judgment, coordination, trouble with memory, and anxiety. Long-term effects include irritation to the lungs like coughs, excesses mucus,
Marijuana is a drug that comes from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa as a dry, shredded green and brown mixture of stems, seeds, and flowers. The drug is also known as hashish when it’s in a more concentrated, resinous form as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug because its main psychoactive chemical is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. In the United States, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, which has significant health risks and effects on people. Since 2007, the use of marijuana in the United States has generally increased, particularly after a period of decline in the past decade. The increase in the use of this illicit drug is influenced by a
In this article, the authors are arguing the use of marijuana and the consequences or health risks that come with using such. State and Federal legislators are changing laws and the availability to marijuana is becoming more relaxed leading to more use of marijuana and increased health risks including violence. Some popular cases proving this argument are as follows:
Although there is an abundance of previous research conducted on the effects of marijuana use on work/school (Earleywine 2002, Neinstein 2002, Roffman, R, Stephens, R & Marlatt G 2006), the participants involved continue to have both positive and negative accounts for marijuana use on work and school. The various detrimental effects range from the effects that marijuana has such as the changes of capabilities that are required for activities such as work and/or study. These include motivation, memory and cognition and also capabilities of vehicle operation for work including visual perception and divided attention. The use of marijuana has been found to have a range of harmful effects on the health state of an individual, which can affect work ability (Smith et al. 2013). Involved in this are the potential for a progression to harder drugs, mental illness, worsened immune function, lung cancer and brain tissue damage (Earleywine 2002). However, some researchers do not believe that all the side effects of marijuana use have negative consequences. For example (Aronson 2009) believes that it has a significant positive contribution in medical value with the treatment of conditions that may be detrimental to work ability. These include issues such as pain, nausea, appetite loss and neurological disorders.
There has been a strong debate between whether the usage of marijuana is good or bad for people. Marijuana can indeed be used to ease people of excruciating pain, physically and mentally. However, just like any other substances, over use of marijuana can result in harmful effects. Due to the recent legalization of recreational usage of marijuana after the age of 21, marijuana became easier to obtain. In order to make marijuana sound more familiar amongst users, it is often called by its street names, such as dope, grass, Mary Jane, pot, reefer, weed, and chronic. Despite of its easy access, not many people know the its legal classification, short and long term effects, physiological effects, signs and symptoms of use, how it is abused and used, prevention and rehabilitation, and statistics related to use and abuse.