ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Marijuana

1100 Words5 Pages

What is marijuana? “It’s an illegal drug that is made from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant (Cambridge Dictionary)”. It’s also a drug that has been completely wiping the nation. Everyone has their opinion about this certain plant being legal, which has repeatedly been discussed. For thousands of years it has been used for various purposes, but lately it’s only been grown for smoking. People smoke it everywhere from their homes to their cars, but do they know what they’re actually smoking? With the popularity of marijuana constantly growing, awareness should be brought to the possible outcomes of its usage.
Marijuana, also known as hemp, stems all the way from Taiwan. In its earlier years it was used to make rope and many other …show more content…

Older people tend to smoke for medicinal purposes and younger adults tend to smoke for recreational reasons. When it comes to the case of medical use, marijuana can be used for pain problems, mental illness, and other diseases. Marijuana as a medicine has called for FDA approval, but more research needs to be done in order to take complete action. In other words, people would rather use weed to be helpful than abused.
On the flip side THC has been FDA approved. “It's available by prescription Marinol (dronabinol) and Cesamet (nabilone) (Harding & Casoobhoy, 2005)”. Because the human body makes chemicals similar to those that are in marijuana already it’s easy for the medical marijuana to help these chemicals work faster and better. You can simply smoke it, eat it or drink it to help cure an issue. “Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States (SAMHSA, 2014)”. On that note users should know that the drug has both short-term and long-term …show more content…

“When marijuana users begin using as teenagers, the drug may reduce thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Marijuana’s effects on these abilities may last a long time or even be permanent (“What is Marijuana”)”. Brain development as a teen is what holds the structure of our minds, and once marijuana interferes with how the brain functions, it could change your life. “For example, a study showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing cannabis use disorder lost an average of eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities did not fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults. Those who started smoking marijuana as adults did not show notable IQ declines (qtd in Meier, 2012)”. Also a long-term user may suffer from anxiety, pregnancy problems and also suicidal thoughts as far as teens.(“What is

Show More
Related
1094 Words | 5 Pages

One of the most well designed studies on marijuana and intelligence, released in 2012, found that persistent, heavy use of marijuana by adolescents reduces IQ by as much as eight points, when tested well into adulthood. Other studies have found that marijuana use is linked with dropping out of school, and subsequent unemployment, social welfare dependence, and a lower self-reported quality of life than non-marijuana abusing people. According to the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, youth with poor academic results were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year as youth with an average of higher grades. This is consistent with an exhaustive meta-analysis examining forty-eight different studies by Macleod and colleagues, published by Lancet, who found that marijuana use is consistently associated with reduced grades and a reduced chance of graduating from school. In addition, studies have linked employee marijuana use with “increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover.”

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, it is no secret that marijuana has not always been given a positive image, but cannot be ruled out as a medicine. Marijuana could potentially treat many illnesses and may even some day cure cancer. Medical Marijuana should be legalized for those who are responsible and could greatly benefit from its medicinal

Read More
650 Words | 3 Pages

There are millions of people in the United States that smoke marijuana, legal or not in the state they live in, they will get their hands on it. This plant is a mixture of dried leaves and flowers of cannabis sativa which is a hemp plant. The human brain has similar compounds relating to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which is the main ingredient in cannabis has been proven to help patients in the hospital with pain and nausea. There are studies that show marijuana has a lot of health benefits, such as treating Glaucoma, may reverse the the carcinogenic effects of tobacco and improve lung health, and help control epileptic seizures. Since marijuana has been always looked at as a drug to people everywhere, legalizing it has been an uphill

Read More
1864 Words | 8 Pages

Too much of this drug can cause (THC damaging brain cell receptors): change in senses, changes in mood, uneven body movement, problems with thinking and solving problems, and damaged memory. It also has many health effects which include: paranoia and hallucinations, breathing problems, and fetus’s brain might get damaged while in their mother’s womb. The depressant Cannabis intoxicates the person in specific ways. Its intoxication causes a person to relax but sometimes could have serious side effects. Smoking pot has faster signs and symptoms than eating it.

Read More
1316 Words | 6 Pages

Not only does marijuana have severe long term effects, but it also drastically affects a person in the short term as well. A few examples of this are: temporary memory loss, lack of concentration, changes in mood, altered perception of time,

Read More
554 Words | 3 Pages

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that is commonly used by teenagers and adults to relieve some medical illnesses and most instances just to get “high”. Some use marijuana by smoking it thru pipes and bongs or consuming it as ingredients for baked goods. For as long as I can remember, marijuana has also been an illegal drug. Mostly every day we hear from the news how dangerous and harmful it is to us and our society to be associated with marijuana. Some people lose their freedom when caught having a certain amount of marijuana in their possession and on some cases, some people lose their lives from an illegal drug deal gone wrong.

Read More
1220 Words | 5 Pages

Anxiety, fear, distrust or panic is common side effects of a psychotic high. Male smokers tend to have a lower sperm count. If the male started smoking marijuana at a young age, this may affect him and his ability to impregnate a woman in the long run. If an individual has started smoking at a young age, the drug may be considered as a “gateway drug” and may lead to higher schedule drugs. Although many people that start with marijuana do not continue to get into higher schedule drugs, there are individuals that develop a very high tolerance for the drug and start moving on to more serious and higher schedule drugs to get a more intense a. Teenagers that use marijuana are usually too tired or not motivated to do any school work/home work.

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

Marijuana is a harmless drug. People use it just to help them have more fun in their lives. Other people use it for medical reasons, so there is no real problem with it. There are people that use marijuana almost daily and they still have the same actions as they were before they started using the drug. Yes, it slows down your concentration but, it does not effect every user the same way.

Read More
1735 Words | 7 Pages

I, myself, am not against the use of marijuana for medical purposes if it helps a person with their pain, especially if that person is facing a life threating illness and this is a source of relief. Many people that are using medical marijuana do not care about the possible physical or mind-altering consequences they could acquire due to use because they are worrying about more serious consequences like death. However, I do think a person needs to be aware of the physical and mind-altering side effects they could face because of their recreational choices. I agree that an adult is old enough to make their own choices and they have done reasonable will to get themselves this far.

Read More
342 Words | 2 Pages

It’s effects can last up to days even weeks. Student that smoke this drug tend to have lower grades and drop out. Heavy marijuana use in teen year has been proven to affect/lower your IQ as much as 8 points. “ A study of teens in 12th grade (16-18 years of age) who dropped out of school before graduation are more likely than their peers to be users of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drugs.”

Read More
1821 Words | 8 Pages

The activation of the receptors by the THC negatively affects the brain where simple functions like thinking, memory and coordination are performed (National Institute On Drug Abuse, How Does Marijuana Produce It’s Effects, Drugabuse.gov). Madeline Meier from Duke University states, “Researchers from Duke University analyzed data gathered over many years from people living in New Zealand. They compared the IQs in childhood through age 38 among marijuana users and nonusers. People who began using marijuana in their teenage years and then continued to use marijuana for many years lost about eight IQ points from childhood to adulthood, whereas those who never used marijuana did not lose any IQ points. Those who smoked the most, at least every day saw the greatest drop in IQ, the full 8 points.

Read More
1170 Words | 5 Pages

Users of Marijuana does not only feel lazy and tired once they smoke, but are at a risk of brain damage and memory loss as well. Teenagers amongst all are at the highest risk because they are still in a brain development stage and damage to the

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, long term marijuana use results in the reduction of 8 iq points. And researchers at Harvard found that recreational marijuana use resulted in the irregular shape, volume, and density of the brain. The intoxicating substance that is in recreational marijuana is THC, it is what gives

Read More
1120 Words | 5 Pages

Marijuana is a drug extracted from Cannabis Sativa (hemp plant). In other words, marijuana is also called cannabis, hemp, and herb; in slang terms it is called weed, hash, joint, blunt, Mary Jane, etc. Marijuana is known to be used for medical as well as recreational purposes. It is a drug which alters the mood of a person, induces calmness and is used by certain medical institutions as a form of pain reliever. It can be consumed by smoking, vaporizing or by mixing it in food items.

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

Marijuana, also known as Cannabis, is derived from the Cannabis plant and is used commonly for either recreational or medical purposes. Marijuana is composed of chemicals such as tetrahydrocannabinol (HTC, and over eighty cannabinoids. Marijuana is acknowledged for providing smokers with a “high” feeling. Since the twentieth century, this illicit drug has been banned across the world. However, over the past few years studies have been conducted on marijuana and the results show that it can actually be helpful in many different areas of society.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Marijuana

Related Topics

Open Document