Smoking Pot

In the United States today there are many different types of drugs used bye people of all ages. Many of these drugs have a great effect on ones perception and make it very hard for them to even think. The most commonly used drug in the US is the drug known as Marijuana (pot), the leaves of the hemp plant cannabis sativa are dried then broken up and put into a pipe of rolled like a cigarette then the user inhales the smoke into there lungs giving them A "high" effect. This drug has affected me and many people very close to me this is why I decided to tell you how Marijuana effects your perception and the way that you think. I have had many experiences with this drug and I can Relate to this research very good. Marijuana affects many parts of people's perception and ability to concentrate. There are some important questions that I have about this topic that I hope to be able to answer in this paper. One question that I have is what attracts people to use this drug, why do they want to slow there brain and body down and make it harder for themselves to think. My second question is that what ingredient in pot effects the user's perception the most. My Third question is that what part of the brain is effected by pot the most and why.

According to Elizabeth Russell Connelly Marijuana is one of the oldest drugs known to man. This drug is also the most used drug among adolescent adults. Doing some research Connelly tells us that 1/3 of the seniors in the United States has used this drug before. Often used for both medical and recreational use. Marijuana or also known as pot is made up of substances that come from the cannabis plant. After the plant grows leaves, and flowering tops, the plant is cut down and dried. There are many different styles of smoking the plant can be rolled into a joint, or put into a pipe, and is smoked and inhaled into the lungs like a cigarette. The most potent form of Marijuana is known as "sensimilla." (Connelly15).

The first questions that I personally have about this drug is what attracts people to use this drug and why is so popular. I read threw my research and found a couple of good explanations why people like to use this drug. One of the greatest reasons why adolescents use this drug is to fit in. They feel that smoking pot will make them cooler and that they will have more friends. Adolescents also first try this drug because they feel that the drug will make them more organized and independent, however the drug actually does the exact opposite. Some people who have physiological problems are more likely to use this drug because they feel that it will make there problems go away when all it will do is make it worse. Sometimes teens even use this drug because they are afraid to grow up, they do not want to become boring. There is never a good reason to try this drug. People who abuse drugs are usually influenced bye a variety of things. Males more often abuse this drug then females usually hang out with people who are drug users. Sometimes people feel that they are not loved and feel lonely, and if an adolescent receives very little attention from there parents they will be more likely to use the drug (Connelly31-32). After reading all the reasons about why people use these drugs I started to think about when I use to use it. When I was in junior High school I use to get into a lot of trouble and was very curios about things in life. I think that the best reason for smoking pot in my case was because I thought that it would make me cool, but mostly I just wanted to have fun and I liked to experiment with everything. I remember the first time I ever tried it I was working at the bowling alley and I was going to hang out with my buddies after work. We had talked about trying it before and that night my friend's brother -in-law was coming to pick us up. He was a lot older then us and usually smoked pot every night, so we could get it from him. On the way home he lit up a joint and asked me and my friends if we wanted some. We all said yes so he passed the joint to us and we all took turns. At the time I thought I was hot shit and I thought it was kind of fun.

The second question that I have is what ingredient in pot affects the user the most? As I said before pot is a plant, but there parts that are in the plant. When I read threw Mitch Earleywine's book I found out that the Ingredient in pot that effects people the most is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol also know as THC. This is not the only chemical in the plant it is just the part that mostly affects a persons thoughts and perception. When the smoke from pot is held in the lungs THC enters the bloodstream threw capillaries. After the blood enters the blood stream it almost immediately heads straight to the brain. So if the Smoke I held in the lungs longer the more of an effect will occur (Earlywine132). "THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells." Some of the parts of the brain that are affected the most are parts that influence, pleasure, mental thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movements(Drug abuse.gov). The first time I smoke pot was defiantly not the last. I remember smoking pot almost every weekend with my buddies. When we first started out I remember that we would usually smoke with my friend's brother-in-law because he would give it to us free, but that didn't lat very long, so we started to bye it ourselves. I remember after I got use to smoking I started to learn some new techniques. I always remember my buddies telling me that if you held the smoke in longer you would get a better high. I understand know why it gave me a greater effect.

My third and final question is probable my most important question for the paper. I want to know what part of the brain is affected most bye this drug and what are some of its greatest effects on Perception and your ability to think. Earleywine seas that, "People think and remember differently during cannabis Intoxication." After People get high they have problems with concentrating, paying attention to detail, focusing on there goals, doing two things at once, and learning new things. The more pot a person smokes the worse the problems will get. And over time some of these symptoms will occur even when the