MARIJUANA ADDICTION
"I smoked a couple joints a day and never thought once that I was addicted"
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Marijuana is a mixture of leaves, stems, and flowering
tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa smoked or eaten for its hallucinogenic and pleasure-giving
effects. The psychoactive ingredient of marijuana,
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is concentrated in the
flowering tops; hashish, a drug prepared from the
plant resin, has about eight times more THC than
marijuana. Marijuana grows throughout temperate
regions, with the more potent varieties produced in
dry, hot, upland climates. Except for limited medical
purposes, cultivating marijuana is illegal in all but a
few countries.
Known in Central Asia and China as early as 3000
BC, marijuana was used as a folk medicine. About
1900 it started to be used as a pleasure-inducing
drug, and by the 1960s and '70s its use was
widespread among students, becoming, after alcohol,
the second most popular drug. Although marijuana
has not been proven to be physically addicting, and
no physical withdrawal symptoms occur when its use
is discontinued, psychological dependence does
develop. Many users describe two phases of
marijuana intoxication: initial stimulation, giddiness,
and euphoria, followed by sedation and pleasant
tranquility. Mood changes are often accompanied by
altered perceptions of time and space and of one's
bodily dimensions. The thinking processes become
disrupted by fragmentary ideas and memories. Many
users report increased appetite, heightened sensory
awareness, and pleasure. Negative effects can
include confusion, acute panic reactions, anxiety
attacks, fear, a sense of helplessness, and loss of self-
control.
Chronic marijuana users are said to develop an “amotivational syndrome” characterized by passivity,
decreased motivation, and preoccupation with drug
taking. The relationship of this syndrome to marijuana
use, however, has not been established. Like alcohol
intoxication, marijuana intoxication impairs reading
comprehension, memory, speech, problem-solving
ability, and reaction time. The effects on the intellect
of long-term use are unknown. Consistent evidence
that marijuana induces or causes brain damage does
not exist. Medical research has indicated that the drug
is effective in relieving some of the symptoms of
glaucoma and in treating the nausea induced by
cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Marijuana, like any other illicit drug, has devastating effects on people and society.
One of the most important things to know about marijuana is that it is far more potent than the 'pot' and 'weed' that was smoked 20 or 30 years ago.
In fact, in recent years, the potency of marijuana has increased dramatically. Concentrations of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC - the psycho-active ingredient in marijuana that makes people high) have increased from between 1% and 4% to as high as 39%. That's an increase of about 1000% or more!
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