The Use of Marijuana Among Juveniles and the Effects of Marijuana

Marijuana Drug Use Among Juveniles-The Effects it has on Family and Friends

"In today's society, research done by organizations such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), shows that marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug among everyone in society, including juveniles. Many people believe that marijuana is the "gateway drug", whether it is or not, marijuana has many adverse mental and physical effects on the user. Not only does marijuana directly affect the user it also indirectly affects his/her family; friends, and the rest of society. So first how about we have a look at the affects marijuana has on the individual using the drug."

Marijuana consists of the buds and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant. The plant contains more than four hundred chemicals including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol also know as THC. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug among youth today according to the "National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse" at Columbia University. It is a cheap drug that takes control of many youths lives in many ways. Throughout this paper I will explain to you some of the many effects that this drug has on today's youth and what effects it can have on the people we love.

Firstly marijuana use among youth today is very high simply because it's cheap, there are few risks associated with it, and it is easy to come by among teens. Sadly as with everything else in today's world it is becoming better stronger and more readily available to those who are willing to pay. Each year over 100,000 teens are treated for marijuana dependence. Compared to the drugs of the 1960's marijuana is much stronger, and often laced with other more powerful drugs. Research has shown that the earlier teens start using marijuana, the more likely they are to become dependent on this or other drugs later in life.

As with almost anything else the use of marijuana usually has something to do with peer pressure. When a teen starts a habit of smoking or consuming the drug it becomes addictive and they start relying on it as an escape from problems of family, friends, school, or anything else that life can throw at us. The use of marijuana has an effect on almost every aspect of a teen's life such as school because marijuana can make very difficult for the teen to focus on their surroundings. Also it can have poor effects on hygiene, relationships, not to mention health. Did you know that regardless of the THC content, the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed is three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Someone who smokes 1 to 3 joints can produce the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking five times as many cigarettes.

There are also a number of side effects of smoking weed that we do not take into light. These effects are in our body where you cannot see them and very rarely would think about doing any kind of damage. One of these places is our hormones. Yes smoking weed can affect your hormones, it can also cause erectile problems and low sperm count in men. While for women it can affect their monthly cycles. While no research has showed that it can completely cause infertility it's still not something that should be taken lightly. To conclude the effects that it has on the individual here is a list of long term and short term side effects that marijuana has on individuals:

Short Term:

• Problems with memory and learning

• Distorted perception

• Difficulty in thinking and problem solving

• Loss of coordination

• Increased heart rate

• Anxiety

• Panic attacks

• Daily cough and phlegm

• Symptoms of chronic bronchitis

• More frequent chest colds

Long Term:

• Abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke
• Impairment of critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning
• Recent findings indicate that smoking marijuana while shooting up cocaine has the potential to cause severe increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

Marijuana use can have poor effects on family life too. Marijuana effects can break apart families and lead to long-term substance abuse. It can also be a very hard for a parent to help a teen quit using marijuana, when it is very hard to see that they are using in the first place. Some children go through all sorts of hassles to hide it from their parents and siblings because they are afraid of being in trouble or being judged. And because of this it puts a strain on the relationship of parent and child or child and sibling because they are always trying to hide what they have been doing. This then leads too many other problems and questions which may put the "user" over the top and lead them spiraling in all sorts of directions. Then it causes the parents to question their trust and many other things. See marijuana while it may not be addictive for everyone it is to some people and it becomes their safety net; it helps them escape all of the problems that are occurring in their everyday live. . . Well at least that's what they think it is doing for them, while in all reality it is causing more problems every time they use. Those are just a few ways that marijuana can affect the people you love.

A 2002 SAMHSA report, Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications,Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys high school students on several risk factors including drug and alcohol use. Results of the 2007 survey indicate that 38.1% of high school students reported using marijuana at some point in their lifetimes. Additional YRBSS results indicate that 19.7% of students surveyed in 2007 reported current (past month) use of marijuana. These stats alone show that the use of marijuana among teens is extremely high. This poses a great problem for us, because as I stated before the younger we are when we start the more likely we are to become addicted to it or other hardcore drugs over our lifetime. When you sit and look at the fact that by if over time the trends keep rising more than half of our population will either be addicted to pot or some other hardcore drug. Because marijuana is easier to come by for teens than any other hardcore drug we are see staggering numbers of youth in treatment centers for becoming addicted to the drug. More and more of today's youth are becoming stuck in an ever growing trend of druggies and treatment centers. It is my hope that someday we can put a stop the use of this drug as it has a great many side effects that are not only harmful to the individual using but to the people surrounding them. concludes that the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults. The

An addictive substance that is seen as relatively harmless by itself, but is believed to encourage the user to experiment with more harmful substances. This is the definition given for a gateway drug, but can marijuana really be called a gateway drug if not everyone who tries it, tries another drug? Well there has been a great deal of research done by a great many individuals and believe it or not they couldn't come up with a yes or no to that question. There are many different views and beliefs by some very knowledgeable sources he is a few of those views and beliefs:

The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), stated in an Aug. 28, 2002 press release about SAMHSA's report; "Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications:"

"A new federal report released today concludes the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults...Increases in the likelihood of cocaine and heroin use and drug dependence are also apparent for those who initiate use of marijuana at any later age."

Also, The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) told ProCon.org in a Jan. 2, 2002 email:

"Among marijuana's most harmful consequences is its potential role in leading to the use of other illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. Long-term studies of high school students and their patterns of drug use show that very few young people use other illegal drugs without first trying marijuana.

While not all people who use marijuana go on to use other drugs, using marijuana puts children and teens in contact with people who are users and sellers of other drugs, so there is more of a risk that a marijuana user will be exposed to and urged to try more dangerous drugs.

A recent study by Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found a pronounced difference in future drug use between kids who used marijuana and those who did not. It revealed that teens who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not. This means the odds of using other drugs increases with the increased frequency of marijuana smoking."

With that being said it is clear to me that for most people it is a gateway drug, another one of the many bad effects of using marijuana. My do we spend so much money educating our children on the facts of marijuana, when the number of youth using keeps getting higher? There must be something we can do to help prevent the use of marijuana, because no one wants to know that their child might try pot one day and be snorting cocaine another just because of the gateway affect that it has. It is a scary world out their hopefully there is something we do to help stop the rising trend of marijuana users and stop the gateway effect from occurring. If we can stop these problems we may be able to slow down the use of treatment centers for marijuana independence and if it really is a gateway drug then maybe we can also lower the rate of those who are seen in treatment centers for heroin and cocaine addictions.

Works Cited APA Style

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