Marijuana is often considered a “gateway” drug, because its regular use among teens has been shown to contribute to the use of other addictive substances later in life. Teens often ask, however, “Is it really such a bad drug? It’s natural. Can it really hurt me?”

The simple answer is, yes, the use of marijuana has been demonstrated to be harmful for teenagers. Let’s take a closer look.

A survey of 12-17 year olds, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found the following self-reported behaviors among regular users of the drug:

• Adolescents who use marijuana weekly are 9 times more likely than non-users to experiment with drugs and alcohol
• They are 6 times more likely than non-users to run away from home
• They are 5 times more likely to steal
• They are 4 times more likely to engage in violence
• They are 3 times more likely to have thoughts of suicide
• Additionally, adolescents who use marijuana weekly are more prone than non-users to physically attack other teens
• Teens that regularly use marijuana have been shown to have more social withdrawal, physical complaints, anxiety and depression, and attention problems.

As with smoking cigarettes, smoking marijuana can cause lung health issues, such as wheezing and coughing. However, marijuana cigarettes contain three to five times more cancer-causing agents than tobacco cigarettes. Smoking five marijuana cigarettes is roughly the same as smoking an entire pack of tobacco cigarettes.

Perhaps the greater cause for concern is the effect marijuana has on the still-developing brains of teenage users. The use of marijuana among teens has been shown to cause behavioral changes, cognitive impairment, and mental health problems. Even those in favor of legalizing the drug argue that the use of the drug is harmful for teens. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said, “One can argue before a young person reaches full brain development in their early 20’s they should not use or have legal access to marijuana.” (The Ledger, Lakeland Florida, January 3, 2005)

The use of marijuana among teenagers is clearly harmful on many levels. The use of marijuana among teens has been shown to increase participation in risky behaviors, impair judgment and reaction times while driving, leading to crashes, impair academic performance, and a host of other problems. Beyond that, elements of the drug remain in the body for a days, weeks, or months after smoking it, creating long-term health problems that do not simply go away.

Marijuana is harmful. The high is not worth the consequences.

Signs to look for in someone using marijuana:

• Laziness or Lethargy – Oftentimes marijuana users will spend long periods of time “spacing out” in fromt of the tv or video games. They will shirk duties and chores such as housework, school or work.
• Change in Appearance – personal appearance and hygiene become less important. You may notice your child growing their hair long or not shaving. Clothing is worn sloppily, or torn.
• The Smell – look out for a certain odors on the person or around them that sometimes smells like skunk, pine needles, or roasted peanuts.
• Binge Eating – One of the side effects of smoking pot is something users call “The Munchies” where they will eat large amounts of snacks or junkfood in one sitting.
• Pariphernalia – Look for pipes made of glass or metal. Rolling papers are a sure sign someone may be smoking marijuana. There also may be items used for scraping the resin from pipes that are covered in a black, sticky, tar.
• Music and Media – Is your child listening to music or watching movies and tv that glorify marijuana use?

Of course, it may sometimes be difficult to tell if someone is smoking pot, or if they are just being adolescents. But if you are noticing all, or many of these signs then your child may be addicted to marijuana. Seek the council of a drug rehab center immediately.

The current attitude in America about the use of Marijuana, and the belief that it is a “harmless drug” has caused marijuana usage to increase since the year 2000. Movies, magazines, music and T.V. shows glorify the use of pot and made it more acceptaqble in society. The opening of Medical Marijuana Clubs in California have brought weed one step closer to legality.

The truth of the matter is, Marijuana is not at all harmless. It is a social ill that causes many health problems, and externalities to the American economy.

According to the Surgeon General there is no health benefit to smoking marijuana. Smoking 1 joint is equal to the amount of tar and nicotine from smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. Many say pot is not addictive, and perhaps it is not as addictive as cocaine or heroin, but prolonged use does cause a physical addiction. The longer you use it the more your cellular structure changes to need the chemicals supplied by marijuana. Productivity in the workplace is lost due to the smoking of marijuana. Also, the use of marijuana costs the taxpayers plenty in legal and medical costs.
Marijuana is not at all harmless and shame on the media for making it appear so to the youth of America.

However, marijuana has become a problem among the younger people today. It is something that is very commonly found in high schools and in even younger populations of users. This leads some to believe that it is indeed a gateway drug, and it is something that is becoming very dangerous for life today.

Because of this, there have been many different drug rehab and eduction programs that have been established with the hopes of educating the public on the dangers of marijuana and the new trends of use among people today. It is the hope that through this education, marijuana use among young people will decrease, and there will be less of a chance of young people developing addictions.

Perhaps the most scary statistics show that use among the students in grade 12 has been fluctuating over the years. The drug was reported as being used by 34 percent of seniors in 1980, but that number went down to 12 percent in 1992. However, then the numbers doubled, and was at 24 percent in 1997, and back to 20 percent in 2005. These trends show that marijuana is often going through phases in which it is popular and then decreases in popularity.

Along with students who were ready to enter college, the trends of marijuana use in 10th graders also increased in the 1990s. Among 8th graders, the pattern seemed to be the same. Most of these statistics show that marijuana is not decreasing in popularity and use of marijuana does not seem to be influenced by higher levels of education.

The main chemical in marijuana is THC. Your brain will produce protein receptors that bind to the THC and this will kick off a lot of chain reactions, which lead to the marijuana high. Because this chemical comes from an organically grown plant, it is something that has been hard to regulate. Marijuana is not created or manmade, it is something that grows in nature. Because of this, it is something that has been used often by many different groups of people, and it is very hard for officials to regulate its use.

There is a regulation of marijuana by the FDA. However, in recent years, many states have begun to explore the possibilities of using marijuana as a medical alternative. It is used many times in cases of severe pain, and currently, several states are working on making it legal for people with severe pain to use it. Many times, people who use marijuana for medical reasons claim that it is the only thing that can help alleviate their pain. This has become a hot topic in many different areas because the people who believe both sides of this issue tend to believe it very strongly.

Other than medical use, usage of marijuana has increased in minors and other people. It has its main usage base in younger people. Often it is smoked and inhaled, and is related to many of the younger activities, such as going to concerts and going to parties. It tends to be found in the younger generation, although there are a fair amount of adults who claim to use marijuana on a regular basis. It is found often in every different age group, although it does tend to be used by the younger people more often.

Most of the time, it is smoked as a cigarette, which may be called a joint or a nail, and sometimes it is smoked in a pipe, which may also be called a bong. Sometimes, marijuana is smoked in blunts. These are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana. Sometimes they are also filled with other drugs as well.

Addiction occurs when a person has used marijuana for a long time and they are unable to stop using it. Most of the time, a marijuana addiction is something that is going to be very hard to shake because the addiction deals with not only a physical addiction but also a lifestyle addiction. Many claim marijuana is a “harmless” drug but it too destroys bodies and lives, you can find help with marijuana rehab programs.

The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The way it works is that the membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to the THC. It is the THC that a person will develop an addiction to.

Once it has entered your blood stream, the THC kicks off a series of reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana. It is this high that becomes most addictive because people will get used to the way that they feel when they are on marijuana. It is this feeling that becomes addictive because a person likes the way that marijuana makes them feel. This feeling becomes a lifestyle, and it is what ends up being very hard for a person to shake.

When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain. The THC in marijuana also messes with the immune system’s ability to fight disease. There is also research that has been done that demonstrates the fact that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person’s existing problems worse.

Some of these problems might include depression, anxiety, and disturbances in the personality of the user. In many instances a dual diagnosis of marijuana addiction and mental health condition should be treated together in a marijuana drug rehab program to facilitate a sucessful recovery.

It is also true that marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information.Because of this, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in the way that their brain creates skills relating to the intellectual portions of their brain, how they get or hold down a job, or how they learn and use social skills.
Even though these symptoms exist, people will continue to smoke marijuana because of the way it makes them feel. This is when a marijuana addiction will develop. Usually, a person becomes addicted to marijuana because the drug allows them to really enjoy the things that they have in their lives, and to be themselves. A marijuana addiction will develop when a person begins to enjoy the way that the drug makes them feel.

If you or someone you know has a problem with marijuana addiction, do not be afraid to seek help. There are many different therapies and behavioral techniques that someone can use in order to stop smoking marijuana. Even though marijuana might seem like a drug that is not that important, or one that can easily be forgotten about, it is still a drug that can be very dangerous and very addictive. There is marijuana rehab program treatment and information available to you. You should seek help. Marijuana can do more than just hurt your body, it can also hurt your life. It is never something that should be taken lightly.

The cannabis chemical compounds consist of C21,H30,02. The molecular weight for cannabis is 314.47. Cannabis will reach its boiling point at 392 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius.

When Cannabis came from north-east Asia, it moved onto the African continent and eventually spread to India, Europe, and the Americas. There is evidence of cannabis use in early societies going back all the way to 5 BC.

Cannabis was first used in many different religious groups. It was used by the Islamic order of Sufis and Dervishes. Referred to as Ganja, it is used by the Rastafarians in Jamaica. Because of the many different psychotropic effects that Cannabis has on the brain, many different cultures and religions use the drug.

The main chemical in marijuana is the aforementioned THC. Your brain will produce protein receptors that bind to the THC and this will kick off a lot of chain reactions, which lead to the marijuana high. The THC is the chemical in the cannabis that creates the high when it is smoked. The THC in marijuana might impair the immune system’s chances at fighting diseases. An abuser of marijuana is going to have a higher risk of heart attack than someone who does not use marijuana. This might be because of marijuana’s effects on blood pressure and heart rate as well as the capacity of your blood to carry oxygen. A user of marijuana will also suffer negative effects to the lungs.

Marijuana has also been found to have an effect on a person’s daily life. They might go through periods of depression, anxiety, or also have disturbances in their personalities. Smoking marijuana is going to have a bad effect on your lungs, especially if you smoke it regularly. It might be that a person who smokes marijuana regularly will have the same cough and other respiratory problems than chronic cigarette users.