Physical and Psychological Effects of Marijuana

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 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 and Cocaine are both considered substance one types of drugs. There are multiple effects of the use of Marijuana and Cocaine in the United States. Marijuana is a drug typically smoked by teenagers and adults. People use Marijuana for medical reasons or recreational reasons. As for Cocaine, derived from the leaves of the coca shrub is an abused illegal drug (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition, Q1, 2017). In the United States Marijuana and Cocaine have been around in numerous states, such as, New York and Colorado. This will be a discussion about Marijuana and Cocaine’s emotional, psychological and physical effects.

Marijuana in the late 1960s’ had only one percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, compared to present day where Health Canada has discovered there is at least 10 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol and 30 percent in some cases. The tetrahydrocannabinol is a strong chemical and works immediately after one has inhaled it. Tetrahydrocannabinol mimics the neurotransmitter anandamide, which fills in the synapse between neurons and this disrupts the brain’s regular functions. In a normally functioning brain, anandamide activates the cannabinoid receptors but when smoking marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol activates these receptors which are in the hippocampus, cerebellum and basal ganglia. This affects the short-term memory, coordination, and learning and problem-solving skills for an individual. Brain development is also affected by the use of cannabis. Dr. Harold Kalant conducted a study in the 1980s’ with rats and cannabis use. He separated the rats into two groups; rats exposed to cannabis at adolescents and rats exposed to cannabis in adulthood. Kalant observed the rats exposed to cannabis as adolescents, had difficulty with memory and learning even after nine years of no exposure. In comparison, the rats who were adults when exposed to cannabis didn’t have long term effects. It is evident that brain development was disrupted by the use of cannabis in the growing years. Also, Dr. Andra Smith saw in her functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain activity of regular cannabis smokers and non-smokers, that the smokers had a more brain activity. She stated it was due to the brain having to work hard to “respond accurately”. It is obvious that brain function and development is harshly impacted by the use of

Have you ever smoked a joint? If so you're not alone, because 1 out of 3 people in America have tried marijuana at one point in their lives. Occasional use isn't that much harmful, because anytime marijuana gets into your system it's going to have an affect on your mind and body. In this paper i'm going to share what marijuana is and different ways it may be consumed that leads to different health effects in the human body.

One of the biggest issues since legalization of marijuana in Colorado is the effect it has on our youth and future generations. In a report posted regarding the cause and effect on teenagers using marijuana Krista Lisdahl, director of the Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology lab at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, talks about the changes in the THC levels from the seventies to now. She also talks about how through modern technology it is possible to physically see the difference in the brain when a teenager is

We all know that marijuana is an addictive substance. Legalizing cannabis use is an easy way for people to use drugs. Using marijuana impacts teenagers’ learning outcomes, ability to work as well as driving, increases car accidents. The consequence of using stimulants at a young age leads to conflicts

According to Marcel O. Bonn-Miller, the author of “Marijuana”, The high may include a dreamy, relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses. The high may last around 1 to 3 hours, but could be more if eaten rather than smoked. After using marijuana, their feelings, thoughts, and perceptions change. In some people, marijuana may cause anxiety or panic. “Short-term physiological effects of marijuana use include redness in the eyes and a rapid heartbeat, as well as increased hunger and sensitivity of the senses, often taste, hearing, and smell.” (Marijuana) Marijuana use interferes with judgement and coordination while high. People who are high from marijuana have a slower reaction time. Increased heart rate is also a common effect in the use of

The effects of marijuana have been examined in several studies that focused on long-term structural differences, cognitive impairments, prenatal risks and neural functioning deficits. Long-term structural abnormalities include reductions in the volume of the hippocampus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens, where these structures also exhibited changes in density and shape. Participants in several studies showed impairment in memory, learning, concentration, coordination, as well as decreased motivation. Marijuana has addictive properties and has dramatically increased in potency over the last decade, which has led to an increase in marijuana-related fatal car accidents and to an increase in emergency room visits. On the contrary, the non-psychoactive

It seems every decade marijuana studies show that it has no side effects on users, in turn it become more available like when some states in America had legalized it. Dr Kevin M. Gray believes that the only side effect of smoking weed is the physical addictions it causes, he believes that over 51% of all teens have used weed at least once and the biggest problem we are facing with this rapidly growing drug use is only addiction. Dr Marshall M. Gay believes that the health effects of weed isn’t that much as smoking cigarettes and doesn’t see it a threat to people’s health. “More than half (51%) of adolescents reported that marijuana is fairly or very easy to obtain.2 this ease of availability may have contributed to a recently reported "reverse gateway" from cigarettes use to marijuana”. The more ignored belief is that marijuana can lead to a variety of developmental, mental and physical side effects. The effects of smoking weed can extend to those of smoking cigarettes “studies show regular marijuana use can lead to many of the same

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.

Additionally, Marijuana has some effects on our brain in both short terms and long terms. Talking about the short terms, it not only alerted the senses it also changes in the mood. It creates difficulty with thinking and problem solving. It impaired the body movement, memory and learning. (National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA). Whereas, the effect in brain development is one of the example of long terms effect of smoking marijuana. When marijuana user begin as teenagers, it will reduce thinking memory , and learning functions and affect how the brain make the connection between the areas necessary for its functions . These effects may last for long time or even be permanent. A study Show that people who started smoking early have low IQ

In the United States today, an approximated 24.5 million people are abusing drugs. The most popularly abused drug out of them all is marijuana, also known as cannabis, weed, etc. Everybody has their own opinion on whether or not marijuana should be legalized, but they do not know enough about the subject matter to make a knowledgeable decision. What many people do not know is that there are a countless amount of health risks that are likely to come from smoking marijuana. Consuming cannabis can have significant effects on both your mental and physical health. Heavy use of the substance has even been proven to lead to reduced brain function, which causes individuals to go through life at a reduced intellectual level. Credible

Canadian adolescents have among the highest rates of cannabis use compared to their peers in other developed countries. According to Statistics Canada in 2015, 22.4% of youth aged 15-19 reported past-year use of cannabis; among young adults aged 20-24, 26.2% reported past-year. This large amount of adolescents being exposed to marijuana raises concern due to the drugs negative effects on the developing brain. (Gruber et al, 2014). Among the negative effects are risk of greater substance use, legal problems, disruption education, injuries/medical problems, developing psychopathology, cognitive changes and chronic psychosocial struggles. (George et al., 2015). It is not fully known what the impact of marijuana use is on the adolescent brain and its development but there are many studies that have emerged to help better understand the effects. These studies include looking at the negative impact on cognitive function, self-destructive development and the consumption damages related to marijuana use in adolescents that will be covered.

Functional Consequences of Marijuana Use in Adolescents: A critical review of Jacobus, Bava, Cohen-Zion, Mahmood, and Tapert (2009) addresses the question of how does the use of marijuana affect an adolescent’s brain functioning, structure and sleep. The article assesses many other studies and literatures in order to summarize the conclusions respective to these affects of marijuana use. Through careful review of these studies, the authors were able to determine the affects on an adolescent’s brain functioning, structure and sleep. The results which are presented dictate that Adolescents who use marijuana have a disadvantaged in their processing speed of attention and