Affects of Marijuana to Ones Health

¶ … Marijuana to Ones Health:

Marijuana is a drug that comes from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa as a dry, shredded green and brown mixture of stems, seeds, and flowers. The drug is also known as hashish when it's in a more concentrated, resinous form as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug because its main psychoactive chemical is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. In the United States, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, which has significant health risks and effects on people. Since 2007, the use of marijuana in the United States has generally increased, particularly after a period of decline in the past decade. The increase in the use of this illicit drug is influenced by a diminishing perception of its health risks. According to recent annual survey data, many teenagers are currently smokers of marijuana than cigarettes. Despite of its increased use, there are several concerns regarding the affects of marijuana to people's health.

Reasons for Use of Marijuana:

Marijuana is often smoked through the use of a bong, pipe, or by rolling a joint. It even involves using blunt, which are cigars that are emptied of tobacco and filled up with this drug, sometimes in mixture with other drugs ("Marijuana" par, 2). Marijuana can also be eaten in food like baking it in brownies, which not only delays the onset of its effects but also makes the effects to last longer. Similar to the availability of different ways of using marijuana, there are various reasons why people use the drug. One of the major reasons for increased use of marijuana despite of its health risks is that it helps relax an individual and elevate his/her mood. The drug is also used because it contributes to heightened sensory awareness and altered perceptions. However, these effects are followed sedation, drowsiness, and a more hallucinogenic response brought by high concentrations of THC.

Effects of Marijuana on Teenagers:

Since late 1960s, the average age of people who use marijuana has dropped significantly from 19 years to just over 15 years. Actually, a huge percentage of people who use the drug range between 15 and 22 years, a trend that is brought by the fact that people are lighting up at an earlier age ("Marijuana Myths and Facts," p.1). The increase in the number of young people using the drug is evident in the fact that 67% of under-18 initiates has increased by nearly two-thirds. Marijuana has become popular among young people because many of them do not consider it as a harmful drug. Furthermore, young people in the modern society live on completely different environment from that of their forefathers.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana continues to have significant effects of people's health, especially those aged between 15 and 22 years. In contrast to popular beliefs, marijuana harms in various ways with kids being the most vulnerable to its damaging impacts. The increased use of this drug can result in significant social, health, safety, and learning or behavioral problems. These significant problems resulting from its use originate from marijuana's effect on the individual's brain, heart, and lungs. Its effect on the brain is because it's active ingredient i.e. delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol acts upon cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and affects their activity. As a result, users can experience symptoms of impaired memory, delusions, disorientation, and hallucinations when the drug is eaten in food instead of being smoked.

The effect of marijuana on the heart occurs a few minutes after smoking as the heart starts beating more rapidly while the blood pressure decreases. Actually, the drug increases heart beat by 20 and 50 beats per minute and can increase more with increased use. This can in turn increase the risk of heart disease by four times within the initial hour of smoking the drug. In relation to the lungs, marijuana causes some respiratory problems because of burning and stinging of the mouth and throat as well as heavy coughing. Some of the major respiratory problems include more frequent acute chest problems, obstructed airways, daily cough and phlegm production, and enhanced risk of lung infections (Buddy par, 8).

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Marijuana on Health:

In addition to its effects on young people's health, marijuana also has some short-term effects on a user. The most common short-term effects of marijuana use include dry mouth and eyes, observable signs of intoxication like puffy eyelids and bloodshot eyes, and increased heart rate. The other short-term problems are anxiety attacks or paranoia feelings, impaired short-term memory, enhanced susceptibility to infections, difficulties in thinking and problem solving, and difficulties in muscle coordination judgment. In the past few years, dangerous impairment of driving skills has emerged as a short-term effect of marijuana use.