Marijuana, Cannabis, Bud, Grass, Pot, Weed, Herb, Ganja are all different types of names or nicknames for the considered drug made from the plant Cannabis Sativa. The key mind-changing ingredient in marijuana is THC. THC stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol, but there are more than 400 other types of chemicals within the plant. The THC is a mind-altering ingredient and the amount of the THC within the plant will determine how strong the effects will be along with other factors including the type of plant, the weather and soil where it was grown, and the time of the harvest. Different cultures have used the drug for meditation, religious worship, and for intoxication. The marijuana that was used back in the 1970s was about ten times less potent then the marijuana used today. The potency of present day cannabis increases physical and mental effects and the possibility of health problems for the user. The effect that marijuana can have on the brain and central nervous system are very serious and can reduce the strength and speed of communications between the mind and body. The effects are often overlooked resulting in an estimated one out of every three persons in the US having tried the drug.
Smoking Marijuana can cause plenty of harm to the body internally, long-term brain damage and will also alter a person’s lifestyle. Many people believe that just trying the drug to experiment will not harm them severely at all because the user may think that they will only try it one time or think that they will not react negatively, but any user does not know how the body will react with certain chemicals or how the mind will deal with it. When first time users get the impression that trying it “Just this one time,” they really do not understand the significance of that one time. After smoking and experiencing the drug and the euphoria it brings, the user is more than likely to try it again and make a pattern out of it, hitting the denial stage and possibly, eventually having the drug be a routine and part of life. Somebody who has just smoked cannabis for the first time, in the heat of the moment, peer pressure or whatever reason they tried it, probably did not realize that they will suffer from the aftermath of their decision to smoke. Being pressured into smoking marijuana is a terrible way to being using the drug. If someone was pressured by a friend, family member, stranger or kids from school, chances are that they did not know much about the drug to begin with and took the advice that the peer user had given, which is ultimately, usually false information. Not knowing the background information of the drug can lead to serious consequences including further addiction or even failure to pass a drug test if needed for a new job, academics or sports.
Marijuana can affect driving ability, the reproductive system, the heart, lungs, and can also be a factor of cancer. When a person smokes Marijuana, their thinking and reflexes are slowed. These effects will terminate a person’s ability to drive safely. Being around smoke that contains THC or physically smoking and taking the THC into the body while pregnant can result in premature birth and low birth weights. Users of the drug will have an increased heart rate up to 50 percent and can cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same ingredients in tobacco smoke that can cause emphysema and cancer. If a marijuana user decides that it is okay for them to drive while smoking the plant, or smoke and then get behind the wheel, there can be high risks of getting into an accident or being pulled over by the police. A driver under the influence may think that they are driving absolutely normal, not realizing that in reality the driver’s ability to respond quickly, ability to “ Track,” which means to stay in lane through curves on the road, and to brake quickly are all driving skills that are impaired while being high after smoking marijuana. These skills are normally impaired for around 4-6 hours even after the cannabis has been smoked. Although, the user may believe that their “High” is gone because they don’t feel the original euphoria that they felt earlier, the mind and body skills are still impaired along with having lack of judgment. If a person is smoking while pregnant or around the smoke, the baby will be affected. If the result is premature birth, the baby will more than likely have lung and breathing problems. Also being a premature baby, there is high chance of low birth rates for the child.
A user may feel the need to use more and more of the substance to reach the point that was originally aimed for. Once a user of marijuana feels the need to use more in order to reach that point of being high, it is noticeable that they are dependent on the drug and they will be consuming larger amounts at a time in order to satisfy themselves. Once a person gets to this point, the damage to their brain will be more severe than before because there are greater quantities being consumed. After already smoking, hitting the point of feeling tired and hungry, people that are dependent may smoke again in order to keep their high alive which will also contribute to why smokers of the drug smoke so much of it and spend so much money and time trying to get a hold of it. When marijuana gets through to certain people, it can start taking over lives. People end up being in debt because of the habit and people often begin to have a deficit spending problem, borrowing money from people, stealing and selling items, all to support the habit. Lying to their friends and family about what the money is being borrowed for and people around the abuser may start to ask questions about their recent behavior that has changed due to getting hooked on the drug. If friends and family try to help a person who is dependent and the person does not cooperate and decides to keep using, thinking there is not anything wrong with their lifestyle, then they will soon notice a gradual move with those relations between their friends and family to become farther and farther away than ever before.
A person who is unfamiliar or new to the drug may also by chance be unfamiliar to the problems that arise with the law if caught with possession of cannabis or being under the influence. If caught with any amount of marijuana by authorities, there will be negative consequences that follow, for example, being ticketed and going to court, being arrested on the spot depending on age, and if driving while using or holding, the consequence will involve both a ticket, being held under arrest, and losing a well-earned driver’s license. The law cracks down hard on drugs and if caught smoking or using drugs, the police will do whatever is in their power to make sure the victim gets the consequence that is deserved. The police are doing their best trying to make sure that all drugs and drug users get off the streets and learn the harsh lesson about drug abusing. Authorities are also trying to prevent long-time users to introduce the drug to younger mindless teens. When a younger teen is introduced to marijuana and is convinced that it is a “cool, fun drug that will not harm the body,” all their minds are thinking is exactly what they were told. Once somebody begins the drug young and gets hooked, it is a very likely chance that that young person will be in trouble with the law multiple times throughout their adolescence and will also probably not give the drug up. They will be abusers of the drug for as long as they can.
Being affiliated with the drug by smoking it or by any other means can potentially disable a person trying to score a job. The THC is absorbed by most tissues and organs of the body, but is mostly found in fat tissues and this can result in failure to pass a drug test. Many people do not realize that the THC that gets absorbed into tissues and organs will trace back to when you smoked marijuana. The stronger the THC is in the cannabis being smoked, the longer it will take to evacuate the body system. If a user needed to take a drug test in order to be considerably hired, promoted, or evaluated for a new job or a job already held by the person, and the person has smoked marijuana frequently or recently, then the test will show positive for drugs and the employer will either fire the employee and put them out of work or not hire that person and keep them out of work. Being intoxicated and feeling good for a half hour to an hour is not worth getting fired or not getting hired over.