It seems like more and more teenagers find a way to obtain drugs, even if they are underage or if the drug is illegal. In my hometown teenage drug use has become a problem. I experienced friends and people my age doing drugs and not legal drugs, but illegal drugs. People smoked marijuana more than any other drug. When they smoked marijuana it effected so many people and hurt them as well. Marijuana use by teenagers does not just happen in my hometown, it happens all over Kentucky and around the United States. Some people believe Marijuana needs to be legalized but teenage marijuana usage needs attention because it effects so many different people. While I attended high school I saw a lot of different situations and learned to deal with those …show more content…
If you abuse this drug it comes with consequences. For example, marijuana causes health issues and is illegal in most states. Marijuana is illegal in every state in the United States except Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. In these states marijuana is legal for both medical purposes and non-medical purposes. If a mother smokes marijuana while pregnant with an infant then it could harm the unborn baby and cause serious birth defects. Smoking marijuana “is the creation of a pleasant, dreamy state, with impairment of attention, cognitive and psychomotor performance, which appears to the subject to be reversible” (Versteeg 316). If you abuse marijuana, then it can cause brain damage and affects immune cell activity. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol effects macrophages. Macrophages are natural killer cells (Versteeg 316). In other words the chemicals in marijuana affect your immune system and the ability of your white blood cells to fight bacteria or diseases. Also, abusing marijuana causes users to develop poor mouth health. Using marijuana causes diseases such as “tongue carcinoma” (Versteeg 316). Tongue carcinoma is tongue cancer. Also, marijuana can cause cavities in your teeth and if cavities worsen, then your teeth could possibly fall out. Teenagers should not be able to obtain this drug easily. Law enforcement needs to step up their patrol of marijuana and teenagers need to learn more about the harmful effects of