Marijuana

I did my report on marijuana. Marijuana is an illegal drug that is abused more than we think. It is the most commonly used drug. This is a drug that is not talked about on the news as much as it should be. In 2004, a group of Americans took a survey. 14.6 million Americans age 12 and older, marijuana had been used in the prior thirty days of taking the survey. Another survey showed an estimated 40.4% of Americans age twelve or older had used marijuana in their lifetime. 2.1 million of the people who took the survey were under the age of 18. About 6 thousand a day in 2004 used marijuana for the first time.

Marijuana is a mixture of brownish green stems, seeds, flowers and leaves from a plant called cannabis sativa, commonly known as hemp. It is usually smoked out of a pipe or bong or rolled as a cigarette (joint) or cigar (blunt), but can also be taken as a pill or mixed in with food. Marijuana contains a chemical called THC, which is what causes the high. Some common names for marijuana are pot, grass, weed, ganja, widow and hash.

The effects of marijuana start as soon as it enters the body and lasts from four to six hours. Some short term effects of pot are: inability to think clearly and make decisions, short term memory loss, lightheadedness, blurred vision and a bad habit of laughing. Some of the effects that marijuana has on the body are the following: four times more likely to have a heart attach, risk for lung cancer increases, affects the immune system, it also affects the social behavior and the persons ability to learn. Another effect marijuana has is that causes depression, anxiety and personality disturbances. Teens who smoke this drug are most likely to get lower grades in school and will most likely not graduate and adults are more likely to miss work and have troubles with the people and the task that will be trying to accomplish. It even affects pregnancies. Babies can be born with vision loss, increase tremulousness, and a screechy cry due to the women smoking during the pregnancy. Some people think this drug is not addictive and believe even if they try it once it won't affect them. Some withdrawal effects of the drug are irritability, anxiety and trouble sleeping. Scientist did a study and found the effect of marijuana is determined by heredity. Marijuana was the top reason for people with a history of drug abuse to return to a rehab center. Most were white males in their teens to early twenties. 56% of the uses have tried it by the age of 14 and 92% have used it by the age of 18. A study has shown that the younger a person is when they start using pot the more likely they are to use other illegal drugs. Adults who use pot before the age of fifteen were 56% more likely to use cocaine 9% to use heroin and 54% more likely to misuse prescription drugs. Another survey has shown that in 2002 19.2%of eighth graders