Summary: The Deficits Of Marijuana

people who smoke marijuana 27 out of 30 days, critical skills related to attention, memory, and

Armand, Wynne. "Marijuana: Health effects of recreational and medical use". Ed. Armand,Wynne.Research.2016.Armand provides research information that recreational marijuana can cause health issues in one's life in the forms of long-term and short-term use ranging from battling one's memorization skills, cognitive skills, to how damage to the lungs like bronchitis and asthma. Armand expresses that recreational marijuana is a common use among teenagers to young adults. That how among that age bracket, marijuana consumption is the highest in the nation. That among this bracket when marijuana is consumed in the body, it creates short term effects that can damage these developing brains, which could lead them from growing at the regular pace for

The use of Cannabis (Marijuana) for medical treatment is gaining momentum across the United States. Currently twenty three states and the District of Columbia have passed bills legalizing medical marijuana for treatment of cancer, AIDS, PTSD, neuromuscular disease and various other health issues (Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons, 2014). On May 3, 2013, Representative Robert Hagan (Democrat- Youngstown) introduced HB 153 ( a reintroduction of HB 214 to the 129th Ohio General Assembly) to the 130th Ohio General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana for patients and provision for statutory protection regarding medical use of marijuana (Ohio Legislative Service Commission, 2014).

1. Attention, memory and learning are impaired among heavy marijuana users, even after users discontinued its use for at least 24 hours. Heavy marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects even after a day of supervised abstinence from the drug. Heavy users displayed significantly greater impairment than light users on attention/executive functions, as evidenced particularly by greater preservations on card sorting and reduced learning of word lists. These differences remained after controlling for potential confounding variables, such as estimated levels of premorbid cognitive functioning, and for use of alcohol and other substances in the two groups. However, the question remains open

They are five times more likely to steal than those who do not use the drug. Some believe marijuana is a gate way drug that can lead users to consume stronger drugs to achieve the same high once marijuana no longer “works.” Cannabis has its effects both short and long term. Short term effects are loss of coordination and distortions in the sense of time, vision and hearing, sleepiness, reddening of the eyes, increase appetite and relaxed muscles. When these areas of the brain are disturbed, the user has a harder time walking and talking correctly, becoming quite clumsy. It also impacts their ability to drive which is why states like Florida, have not made the drug legal due to the fact they fear more automobile accidents. Heart rate can speed up. In fact, in the first four hours of smoking marijuana, a user’s risk of a heart attack could increase by five times. School performance is reduced through impaired memory and lessened ability to solve problems. The active ingredients in marijuana act in the part of the brain called the Hippocampus to alter the way the information is processed and how memories are formed. This blockage of memory formation can cause cognitive impairment in adulthood if use happens during adolescence. When young people start using marijuana regularly, they often lose interest and are not motivated to do their school work. Heavy pot smokers in studies scored lower than non-users on tests of memory, attention, and learning. The more they smoked the worse they did. Brain image scans of heavy marijuana smokers have revealed changes in blood flow to parts of the brain involved in memory or attention. Researches have also noted differences in the size and shape of the Thalamus, the part of the brain that’s

Marijuana is known for causing issues with the human brain, which is a product of behavioral issues. Nevertheless, being under the influence of this drug can produce poor memory and little to no attention span (Marijuana: A Continuing Concern). Research shows that all of these effects can indeed take place after using the drug. After long term use of marijuana, the human brain may not become fully developed if the user started the drug at a young age. This could result in the brain not reaching its full potential. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that someone can have complications with their short-term memory after using the drug, and these complications can last for a multitude of days. People who are under the influence of marijuana have a difficult time paying attention to what is going on around them. With the use of marijuana comes brain damage, which some could become permanent (Marijuana: Breaking Down

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

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.

Along with the negative effects marijuana has on the lungs, it also has many negative effects on the brain. Smoking marijuana causes negative effects on attention span, memory, and learning; which can last for days and even weeks after the acute effects of marijuana wear off.(“Marijuana Abuse”). Many people believe that attention span, memory, and learning are not import when they smoke marijuana. Attention span, memory, and learning are all very important in everyday life, school, and work. “THC (tetrahydocannabinol) produces

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 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

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

Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area reports that “marijuana use among the ages 12 to 17 years increased 6.6 percent.” Although recreational marijuana is only allowed to be purchased by people twenty-one and older, teenagers are still managing to getting ahold of it. A. Eden Evans, a director at the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital(MGH) has done a large amount of research on the effect of marijuana on adolescents. She found that some immediate physical risks of marijuana are “impaired coordination, slowed reaction time, slow processing on particularly unexpected or complex events”(Legalizing Marijuana: The Public Health Pros and Cons 14:44). Although they are unsure exactly how long these side effects last, they do have a negative effect on young children trying to learn and can reduce their quality of learning experience. Evans mentions a study done at MGH on the impact of marijuana to the body functions, that when testing kids early “[they] didn't find function difficulties [but] five years later those who had starting using marijuana had worsened executive function”(17:59). Drug Rehab, a website that offers ways to overcoming addictions, explains in further detail some of the specific risks and statistics to help show marijuana's high health risk. One of the risks they cite on the website is marijuana's addictive nature, where they state that “10% of users will develop dependence over time.” Addiction to marijuana can lead to many other drug addictions. On the same website they take a look into another medical study on males, that reports “that teenage boys who abused alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were 2 to 3 times more likely to abuse prescription drugs during young adulthood” (Drugrehab.us).

Armand, Wynne."Marijuana: Health effects of recreational and medical use". Harvard. Ed. Armand, Wynne. Article. 2016. Armand is providing research information in her post about what are the effects of marijuana on the one's health and how that among the youth, those ranging from teenagers to young adults, there is staggering number of them who are damaging their developing brains. The article gives the audience the effects of long-term and

Something else to think about is the poor education outcomes from using marijuana. Stated in Marijuana Affects School, Work, and Social Life from Marijuana is harmful in 2009, “Consequently, someone who smokes marijuana daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level most or all of the time.” Compared to non-smoking students evidence shows students who