Marijuana

Marijuana

Introduction:

The Cannabis sativa plant leaves and buds is what is referred to as marijuana, this plant according to scientist contains over 400 chemicals and one chemical that the drug contains is delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol which is a psychoactive chemical. Marijuana smoking or consumption has many side effects such as addiction, increased chances of causing lung cancer, increased accidents, legal problems, difficult breathing, physical deterioration and increased chances of heart attacks and stroke.

Side effects of the drug:

Smoking marijuana affects both the body and the mind of an individual, lung cancer is one of the dangers that a smoker faces as a result of the use of the drug, lung cancer is associated with smoking of both tobacco and marijuana. The smoker may also face legal problems, in most countries the use of the drug by its citizens is a criminal offence, example the US banned the use of the drug in 1938, for this reason this is another problem associated with the drug use despite its use to make important medicinal drugs.

An overdose of the drug may lead to hallucination and the loss of self identity, overdose occurs when the drug is eaten because the user can take in a larger dose at once, The use of the drug is also addictive which is evident whereby the individual experiences an uncontrollable crave for the drug, marijuana addiction cycle is very powerful whereby the individuals find it impossible to stop the habit.

Marijuana

The chemical compound of the drug also disrupts the proper function of the brain. The use of drug causes chemical imbalances in the brain, as a result the individual experiences difficulties in learning, difficulties in remembering, and the lack to quickly respond. The drug use also causes pain and individuals are required to take up more other drugs to stop the pain as a result the drug may lead to depression.

When the drug is smoked it is absorbed into the blood stream and enters the brain, the chemical compound delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol interact with brain receptors and makes the individual to feel hungry, as a result the individual will experience an increase in appetite and as a result the individual is force to consume more food.

The drug also causes physical problems such as an increased heart rate and the breathing rate, as a result the individual is more prone to heart attacks and other heart problem, this effect is caused by the chemicals in the drug which causes an increase in body processes, as a result the drug taxes the body more and therefore speeding up the aging process.

Apart from the above discussed problems associated with the drug use other problems include concentration difficulties, anxiety, paranoia, feeling sleepy and blood shot eyes. All these problems lead to an individual loss of interest in attending school, work and other activities. Marijuana use has also led to the occurrence of fatal accidents whereby a driver who uses the drug may take more time to respond to dangerous situations. Other physical problems include tremors whereby the user body shakes, nausea, headache, increased appetite, breathing problems, coordination problems and a reduced flow of blood into the brain.

Marijuana

Conclusion:

From the above discussion of marijuana use and side effects it is still clear that despite the ban on the use of the drug by many nations the drug is still consumed by many all over the world, the side effects of the drug may be slow in some individuals while some individuals will experience these effects after a short period of time, the chemical compounds of the drug is what causes all these effects and from a scientific point of view the chemicals stay in the body for a long period of time. Therefore the drug should at no circumstance be consumed due to the problems it causes to both the individual and the society.

References:

Richard Rudgley (1999) The Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age, McGraw Hill press, New York

United Nations (2006) Drugs and Crime: Cannabis Why we should care, http://www.unodc.org /pdf/WDR_2006/wdr2006_chap2_biggest_market.pdf