The Dangers of Marijuana Essay

Marijuana creates many short-term and long-term effects on the body and brain. Some short-term effects include: impaired memory, altered senses, changes in mood, and difficulty with problem solving. Some long-term effects include: breathing problems, reduce memory, and decrease IQ. A study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities didn't fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults (National). This study can be seen as reliable evidence because it was conducted by researched from Duke University, which is a private research

Smoking marijuana is best described as a one-way ticket to negative side-affects. Based on Lifetime Health by Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. “smoked marijuana are felt within minutes and may last for 2 or 3 hours”(2009). Short term effects consist of slowed thinking ability, difficulty paying attention, distorted sense of time, and many more. (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Long term effects include frequent respiratory infection, impaired learning and memory, and even panic attacks (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Thus, the ingestion in smoking marijuana can cause harmful outcomes, which are

Marijuana is a mixture of the dried parts of the cannabis sativa hemp plant. Excessive marijuana use can lead to an addiction. The main chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which moves quickly through the bloodstream and to the brain, causing mild hallucinogenic effects. THC binds with cannabdnob receptors and activates neurons, which causes adverse effects on the mind and body. THC can mimic or block actions of neurotransmitters and interfere with normal functions. Marijuana use can lead to disturbed thoughts and can worsen psychotic symptoms. The short-term effects of marijuana include impaired coordination; skewed sensory and time perception; difficulty with thinking; shortened attention span and distractibility; impaired learning and memory. Long term users of marijuana often experience lowered motivation and some can experience anxiety, panic attacks, respiratory illness, and increased heart rate and risk of heart attack.

Just like marijuana has its good things, it can also have its bad ones. For example, the effects of using marijuana as a medical treatment can interfere with balance attention and judgement. It may also increase in heart rate and decrease in blood pressure. For the people that smoke it, there's a risk of damaging their immune system.

"Unfortunately, much of what is known about the human pharmacology of smoked marijuana comes from experiments with plant material containing about 2% THC or less, or occasionally up to 4% THC. In addition, human experiments typically are done in laboratory settings where only one or two smoked doses were administered to relatively young, medically screened, healthy male volunteers well experienced with the effects of marijuana. Females rarely participated in past marijuana research because of prohibitions (now removed) against their inclusion. Thus the clinical pharmacology of single or

Long-term effects of alcohol are liver cirrhosis, stomach ailments, impotence, vitamin deficiency, increased stroke risk, decreased mental performance, heart disease, peptic ulcers, hepatitis, and various forms of cancer. Alcohols effects on the brain are loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts. Long-term effects of marijuana are mouth, throat, and lung cancer, increased heart rate, decrease in testosterone levels for men, increased testosterone levels for women, diminished sexual pleasure, increased blood pressure, increased stress, decreased motivation, and respiratory problems. The THC in marijuana damages the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed, making it hard to remember things.

Although marijuana is a hallucinogen it does not have a highly addictive characteristic like other hallucinogens. In 2004 the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that its short term effects include, but are not limited to: blood shot eyes, dry mouth and increased heart rate. Its long term effects include, but are not limited to: lower testosterone levels in men, and higher testosterone levels in women. When you compare this to other drug’s side affects you see that they are not so bad.

Fifth effect of using marijuana is that it causes harmful effects during pregnancy. Marijuana consists of an ingredient called THC. It is known that it passes from mother to the fetus through placenta. Hence any amount of marijuana can effect fetus and cause complications. Use of marijuana during pregnancy can also affect children reproduction and studies indicate that it effect the baby’s brain development process. Marijuana also decreases sperm quality and decreases the ability of sperm to move quickly; in addition it also changes the structure of

This effect can last up to several hours after the drug has been smoked (National Institute on Drug Abuse ). The brain is another thing affected by smoking marijuana, leading to loss of memory in the brain. The nervous system also is affected when using this drug (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Loss of memory and the effects it has on the nervous system alone should raise concern for the American people. Continuing on with heath issues associated with the use of marijuana, it is proven to impair the immune system and can also promote tumor growth (Taylor). The immune system is essential to keep healthy because this is what fights off other illnesses within the body. Increased risk of lung cancer, and cognitive difficulties all can be associated with the use of marijuana (Wilbur). Research has proven smoking marijuana affects health several ways; even though most have been discussed take a look at the following chart, it will help visualize some health issues that are associated with smoking marijuana.

     Long-term effects of alcohol are liver cirrhosis, stomach ailments, impotence, vitamin deficiency, increased stroke risk, decreased mental performance, heart disease, peptic ulcers, hepatitis, and various forms of cancer. Alcohols effects on the brain are loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts. Long-term effects of marijuana are mouth, throat, and lung cancer, increased heart rate, decrease in testosterone levels for men, increased testosterone levels for women, diminished sexual pleasure, increased blood pressure, increased stress, decreased motivation, and respiratory problems. The THC in marijuana damages the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed, making it hard to remember things.

People might think smoking marijuana is cool. They might try it without knowing what it is or what affects is has on you. Once someone smokes it for the first time, they might keep doing it again and again and they could get hooked on it for life. People who use marijuana usually never use any other type of illegal drugs, but more than seven thousand five hundred people get arrested for using marijuana every year. There is a wide variety of marijuana, but they are all based off of two marijuana plants, Indica and Sativa. Marijuana is very popular in America, and all over the world. Marijuana affects the body, it can be used as medicine, and marijuana can be addictive.

Marijuana has also been linked to lower testosterone levels, sperm count and quality in men who are heavy users. Therefore, they may suffer from low libido and fertility. If a mother uses it while pregnant their baby may develop memory, concentration and problem-solving skills (Web MD).

A great deal of people are involved with marijuana. Marijuana affects people differently. This drug can cause serious health issues and also other problems. “According to the Mayo Clinic, marijuana contains between fifty percent and seventy percent more carcinogens than tobacco smoke

One more affect of smoking marijuana that many people do not know about is its affect on a person?s hormones. In males, constant marijuana smoking can cause a lowered testosterone level and an increased estrogen level. It can also lead to a lower sperm count (Cannabinoids). In females, it can cause a higher testosterone level and a higher risk of infertility. Smoking marijuana is extremely dangerous for women who are pregnant; they are at a higher risk of having a miscarriage (Straight Facts).

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.