According to The National Institute of Drug Abuse scientific studies of the active chemicals in marijuana are called cannabinoids has led the FDA to develop two approved medicines and is leading to develop pharmaceutical that control the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids while diminishing the harmful side effects which includes the high either eating or smoking the leaves. Currently, there are two main cannabinoids that are therapeutically of interest which are (THC) Tetrahydrocannabinol and (CBD) Cannabidiol which are found in various ratios within the marijuana plant. THC stimulates ones appetite and reduces nausea (which there are other approved THC medications for that purpose), and it may decrease pain, spasticity and inflammation. The CBD is considered a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that may also be useful in decreasing pain, inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures and it may treat psychosis and addiction. A June 2014 article in the New England Journal of Medicine has presented research that supported the existence of short and long term consequences in marijuana use.
• Short-term: marijuana users may have experienced impaired short term memory, impaired motor skills that interfere with driving, altered judgement that has increased risk of engaging in sexual behaviors and high induced paranoia and psychosis.
• Long-term: addiction, altered brain development, cognitive impairment, poor educational outcomes, diminished life satisfaction and achievements, severe chronic respiratory symptoms and increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia.
Criminal Justice drug policy making and drug law enforcement
According to the National Drug Control Strategy of 2014, President Barack Obama introduced a n...
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...are bad short term memory, apathy, lack of motivation and depression. Most findings do conclude after smoking marijuana for periods of time cause them afterwords to be disconnected from social activities and have noticeable differences in memory. But, most surveys or studies don’t usually ask the marijuana smoker to be clean for a year. This would probably prove more of the long term effects. It is somewhat disturbing that with all of the new technology, we cannot exactly prove that marijuana has long term effects. Short term effects have been pretty much proven.
Thesis: Despite its legal status cannabis and CBD has been recognized as being beneficial in many ways. After all, cannabis and CBD has been medically beneficial when treating pain, seizures, and cancer.
Although this is typically seen with recreational marijuana. Although some effects of patient’s using marijuana, can be that they lose motivation to participate in activities, and they may become tired, because the effects can cause your body to slow down. Marijuana mainly affects the neurons in the brain and the pathways, and when a patient uses marijuana they are inhibiting the normal brain development and the normal function. Effects of medical marijuana will be decreased because it is less potent than recreational marijuana, but may still affect the person. Some short term effects can be impaired memory, inability to problem-solve, and altered sense of time. Long term effects can be learning dysfunction from abnormal brain development, especially in teenagers. Studies have shown that although tobacco is usually the drug that leads to lung complications and problems, patients who smoke medical marijuana can also have lung issues because the drug is irritating to the alveoli. (Morrow,
Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...
While cannabis still has its own risks, it’s overall a much safer option to treat chronic pain. Plus, when patients take the correct strain and dose, it doesn’t get them high. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the non-psychoactive elements of cannabis that balances out THC—the psychoactive component. Many strains are meant to help relieve pain as well as improve mental clarity so patients can go about their daily lives. Compared to recreational users, patients need miniscule amounts of medical cannabis to obtain relief.
Wingerchuk, Dean. "Cannabis for Medical Purposes: Cultivating Science, Weeding Out the Fiction." The Lancet 364.9431 (2004): 315-16. Print.
Illicit drug use and the debate surrounding the various legal options available to the government in an effort to curtail it is nothing new to America. Since the enactment of the Harrison Narcotic Act in 1914 (Erowid) the public has struggled with how to effectively deal with this phenomena, from catching individual users to deciding what to do with those who are convicted (DEA). Complicating the issue further is the ever-expanding list of substances available for abuse. Some are concocted in basements or bathtubs by drug addicts themselves, some in the labs of multinational pharmaceutical companies, and still others are just old compounds waiting for society to discover them.
Marijuana while illegal on a federal level has been legalized in 18 states and the District of Columbia for medical use and also for personal use for anyone over 21 in Washington and Colorado. 48% of Americans admit to using marijuana according to a 2013 survey conducted by Scientific America. With the change in public opinion concerning marijuana the need to understand the effect and consequences associated with its use are vitally important. What are the effects on the brain and the rest of the body? Does it matter when you start using marijuana? Also what is the effect marijuana use has on a person’s life, to include school, work, family and friends.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The Nagative consequences of Marijuana Use." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 34-44. Print
It reduces the IQ of an individual. People who smoke marijuana do not have a normal brain structure, and their memory is poor. According to a study at Northwestern University, the marijuana user’s brain has changes that make it look like schizophrenia. Marijuana has worse effects on the brain when people start using it while young. The cannabis destroys the neurocognitive performance of youth. It leads to psychological problems, increased moods, and anxiety. Marijuana impairs people’s judgment and leads to high crime rates. People who smoke marijuana are also less successful in life than people who don’t smoke. Many of them drop out of schools and even loose relationships because other people don’t want to be associated with people who smoke it (Hawkins,
Kaufman, Stephen. "Obama Drug Strategy: Prevention to Reduce Demand." America - Engaging the World - America.gov. 12 May 2010. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .
The Effects of Marijuana Marijuana is a mood altering or psychoactive drug that has many nicknames, such as pot, weed, ganja, sensi, herb, and. others. The. It is an ancient drug that dates back to hundreds of years to the Asia. Many cultures have used it during meditation, religious.
Gandey, Allison. “New National Drug Control Policy Includes More Prescription Monitoring.” Medscape Today. Web MD, 7 May 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. .
Scientists have found that smoking marijuana can cause you to lose your memory. Marijuana has many psychological and physical effects. People usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it can also be mixed with food and beverages. The short-term effects of marijuana include both psychological and physical reactions. These reactions usually last for three to five hours after a person has smoked marijuana.
5. One long-term effect is the possibility of lung cancer, and many experts say that marijuana use leads to use of other more potent and dangerous drugs.