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¶ … psychological effects of drugs. Specifically it will discuss the psychological effects of marijuana on the brain. Many factors of marijuana use can affect the brain, and these affects can be long-term and very harmful. Using marijuana may seem harmless, and less harmful than other types of drugs, such as alcohol, but it is very harmful, and can have long-term affects on people who use it regularly.
Marijuana has many chemicals that are harmful. Doctors Bell and Hall note that THC is the most well-known and harmful of these chemicals. They write, "Among them, THC is the most psychoactive in humans, producing euphoria, relaxation, intensification of ordinary sensory experiences, perceptual alterations, diminished pain, and difficulties with memory and concentration" (Bell & Hall, 2005). These affects do not typically last longer than a few hours, depending on how much of the drug the subject ingests, but the affects on the brain can last much longer and can be devastating. Bell and Hall continue, "Several studies have noted partial tolerance to the effect on mood,...
Thus, marijuana can affect many areas of the brain and brain function, both short- and long-term.
One of the reasons marijuana can be so harmful to the brain is because people tend to start to use it at a young age, like adolescence, when the brain is not fully formed and is still maturing (Agosti, Nunes & Levin, 2002). This early drug use can lead to the abuse of other drugs, but it can also have lasting affects on the brain and the way it functions, because it hits the brain before the brain is ready for drug use. Because marijuana and…
One of the reasons marijuana can be so harmful to the brain is because people tend to start to use it at a young age, like adolescence, when the brain is not fully formed and is still maturing (Agosti, Nunes & Levin, 2002). This early drug use can lead to the abuse of other drugs, but it can also have lasting affects on the brain and the way it functions, because it hits the brain before the brain is ready for drug use. Because marijuana and other illegal drugs are also usually very addicting, they create an urge in the user to continue using them, and so dependence on them can grow, adding to the problem of long-term damage.
There is another problem associated with brain function and marijuana use. Authors Agosti et al. note, "Longitudinal studies have also found a significant association between chronic cannabis use, mental disorders, and social morbidity" (Agosti et al., 2002). Therefore, use of marijuana, especially early use, can ultimately lead to the use of more dangerous drugs, and chronic use can lead to many mental problems. Unfortunately, studies show that marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in use in America today, and that 81% of illegal drug users use marijuana (Trevino & Richard, 2002). What this means for the brains of these users is that they will show additional memory loss, confusion, and other signs of brain damage as their life progresses, especially if they continue to use the drug throughout their lives. It can even lead to mental disorders and death as previously noted. Thus, marijuana is more dangerous than many people believe.
Many proponents of marijuana believe that it should be legalized, but about 55% of the American population is against legalizing the drug (Trevino & Richard, 2002). Proponents of the drug cite many studies that have not shown any damaging affects of the drug, but these studies have consistently been disproved by more effective studies such as those cited here. There will always be a segment of the population that wants to legalize marijuana, especially those who use it for its claimed medicinal affects. However, scientific studies show that marijuana use is harmful to the brain and to the overall health of the user,
Marijuana Legalization Marijuana, also known as marihuana, is a drug that is taken from Cannabis sativa, a hemp plant. It is one of the most frequently used and popular drugs in the world along with caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. The United States of America is one of the world's leading producers of marijuana where it is generally smoked and is also referred to as weed or reefer by the citizens ("marijuana"). Marijuana
Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized Physical Health Concerns According to a Harvard University Law School document, it would be "…fallacious to conclude that because the chemicals in marijuana have been found to present fewer dangers…" than cocaine, heroin, alcohol and tobacco, that the recreational use of marijuana "is safe" (Harvard). In fact, even though many states authorize the use of cannabis for medical purposes (for AIDS sufferers and for those experiencing harmful
Another study showed that "marijuana use is associated with substantial clinical problems including cognitive impairments, poor school performance, and a risk for developing abuse or dependence" (Hopfer, Stallings, Hewitt, Crowley, 2003, p. 834). Society would be much better served by teaching these individuals the pitfalls of smoking marijuana from both a short- and long-term perspective. The effects that the drug has on individual thinking, memory and attention are not benign
Mice were exposed to a small amount of THC, and their blood vessel blockages were reduced by as much as 30% (Khamsi). The research is preliminary and involved pure THC as opposed to marijuana but nevertheless shows some areas for future research into the biological benefits of the drug's main psychoactive chemical. Several similar studies show that marijuana and THC may benefit the heart and circulatory system. Marijuana may eventually
Marijuana should be legalized. There is no sensible argument for the ongoing prohibition of marijuana. The prohibition of this plant robs governments of potential tax revenues, diverts spending to the prison industrial complex, leads to racially-biased incarceration rates, and violates America's principle of personal freedom. The counterarguments are rooted in fear, ignore evidence and impose the morality of one group of people on all. It is time to leave the
Marijuana is a substance nearly everyone from adolescence on has heard about, and nearly everyone has an opinion about it. Not everyone has accurate information about it, however. Some people believe that people who smoke marijuana will become addicted to it and feel desperate to have it when they do not. Others believe that it is not addicting, and not terribly dangerous, but creates a feeling of euphoria. Others note