Up In Smoke
Marijuana has been around as long as 2700 B.C. There is evidence that the Chinese used the drug for treatment of rheumatism, malaria, and absent-mindedness, among other things. The Spanish brought marijuana to America in the 1500’s, and the English brought it to Jamestown in 1611. After the English bought the crop over, it was considered a principle crop. They primarily started growing the crop for the use of hemp rope. The English were uncertain of the hallucinogenic properties the crop produced when first brought to America. The recreational use for marijuana has been on the rise since the early 1900’s in America.
The botanical name for marijuana is Cannabis. The cannabis is the plant that is used in order to form marijuana. Most people use this drug for recreational uses, however there are some people who use marijuana for medical purposes.
What physical affects does marijuana have on the body during intoxication of the drug? A few minutes after inhaling the first puff of marijuana, an individual’s heart rate speeds up, the bronchial tubes began to relax and enlarge, and blood vessels in the eyes began to enlarge to make the eyes appear red. The heart rate—normally 70 to 80 beats per minute—may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute, or may even double in some cases. The drug can impair your short-term memory, balance, coordination, and your psyche. These are just a few things that can happen during the intoxicated stages of marijuana use.
What ways can marijuana can affect your physical body after intoxication? Long term affects on the body from marijuana can begin with addiction to the drug. The consistent use can cause chronic cough and bronchitis. The risk of anxiety and depression are also an increas...
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...ce of marijuana the first thing to be altered is his or her short-term memory. Marijuana's damage to short-term memory occurs because THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) alters the way in which information is processed by the hippocampus, a brain area responsible for memory formation. Because it is a steroid, THC acts on the hippocampus and inhibits memory retrieval. When a person ingests a large amount of marijuana new information does not register in their brain. There is also a decrease of activity of nerve cells. Because of these affects on the brain, you could become complacent in your high and it could lead to other drug use. If you are a person who feels the use of marijuana is ok, you must be aware of the affects it can have on your body. So remember, the next time you light up your blunt, remember that this can and will affect your central nervous system.
Cannabis is a Plant, scientifically called Cannabis Satvia L., which is also called Marijuana or (the Hindi name) ?ganja?, as well as common street names such as pot, weed, and skunk, which is a drug, derived from Cannabis which is about two and a half times stronger than traditional cannabis. Cannabis is a psychoactive drug, which is ...
...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.
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,
One of the most common illegal drug in the United States is marijuana. There are mixed views about this drug, some people want it legalized, other people don't. In this essay, I hope to display the facts about this illegal narcotic, and explain many vie
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 ...
According to Grinspoon (2005) marijuana, may have been a crop farmed as many as 10,000 years ago. The first evidence discovered that attests to the use of medicinal cannabis dates back to the Chinese Emperor, Chen Nung, who lived five-thousand years ago when this plant was recommended for malaria, constipation, and rheumatic pains, as well as, the inability to concentrate and pains in relation to the female body (Grinspoon, 2005; Guterman 2000). Even Queen Victoria had a physician recommend that she use marijuana as medicine for ailments such as “insomnia, migraines, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms” (Guterman, 2000, p. A21). Evidence of the power of marijuana as a medicine can be found in almost any culture on Earth. For example, some tribes in Africa use marijuana to treat snake bites and to reduced the intense pain of child-birth and in India, cannabis is used to “quicken the mind, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, relieve headaches, and cure venereal disease” (Grinspoon, 2005, p. 1). Marijuana has been proven as a powerful medicine by people of many ethnic backgrounds and countries over the entire world, time and time again.
First of all, some people feel smoking marijuana can get hyper, which providing them the emotion of happiness, and helping them to see the world from a different perspective. However, marijuana will cause a lot of healthy problems to human’s body. Marijuana has many physical effects on human such as rapid heart rate, red eyes and dry mouth. Because the chemical THC will enter into the body when people are smoking it, THC will enter through the bloodstream to the brain. The chemical affects them to feel ecstasy and unreality; therefore, THC will make them feel more confused if people smoke marijuana for a long time. According to, “ Treat marijuana abuse like a health problem” (McMillan, 2007, July 17), it shows using marijuana can cause more serious health issues on human’s body such as bronchitis, emphysema, and cancer. In addition, using marijuana has also been linked to lung damage and affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. For example, if marijuana ...
Most people think that smoking marijuana will not hurt you, but they are wrong. In the article “This is your brain on drugs” by Abigail Sullivan Moore, she tells us what marijuana actually does to your body. One of the ways marijuana affects the body is by messing with your brain. It cause you to lose I.Q. points and lose memory. Those who start smoking around the age of 18-25, by time they reach the age of 35 will lose on average 8 I.Q. points and have a hard time remembering things. Marijuana also affects the heart. It slows down the person’s heart rate, which could cause them to die from a heart attack. As you keep reading the article it tells us that the amount of people going to the hospital for drug related symptoms. For example, I was watching the news and a month or two after marijuana was legalized, 59 people had died from either overdose or a heart attack. Even though it can help heal a lot of people, if using it too much it can kill
When marijuana is used starting from early age it affects the brain development and its function. a) Use of the drug impairs memory, thinking and learning process by affecting connection between the neurons of the brain necessary for these functions. III. Marijuana use could also have a physical effect on the person. 1.
O'Shaughnessy introduced medicinal marijuana to the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria used marijuana for dysmenorrhoea during the same time period (Carter et. al., 2003). Smoking marijuana recreationally began to spread in the United States in the 1920's. It began to spread from Mexico and New Orleans up the Mississippi river.
Before Americans can make accusations that marijuana can only be used for the sole purpose of euphoric pleasure, they should first become knowledgeable of cannabis’s original and highly valuable uses that gave the plant its primary popularity. The herbal plant was actually a food source around 6000 BC, and it was used as a fiber two thousand years later. Another couple thousand years later was when cannabis obtained its first medical record in China and soon traveled to India and North Africa where cannabis began its use as a “recreational hallucinogen.” When Europe greeted marijuana at about 500 BC, users began classifying in what methods the plant can treat various medical conditions. The Americas were first introduced t...
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana causes the user to feel euphoric by acting on the brain’s reward system. The euphoria is caused by the release of dopamine it to the user system. Other effects can include heightened sensory perception (e.g., brighter colors), laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite. Marijuana also inhibits the formation of new memories and causes coordination and balance to be degraded. These reactions are caused by binding the receptors in the cerebellum and base ganglia. The effect is similar to the impairments that are normally associated with consuming alcohol. Habitual users can also develop acute psychosis, a fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The IQ level of a marijuana users also decreases over time according to a Duke University study conducted by clinical psychologist Madeline Meier “people who bega...
Marijuana has an immediate effect during and for about 2 hours after smoking. With alcohol, users feel slight effects after just one drink, and recover depending on the amount the person drank, how much they weigh, and how much they had to eat before ingesting the alcohol. Immediate effects of use are slurred speech, decreased inhibitions, poor judgment, and lack of motor coordination. Marijuana causes red eyes, dry mouth, increased appetite, slowed reaction, paranoia, hallucinations, decreased social inhibitions, and memory loss. Drinking heavy amounts of alcohol can lead to a coma or even death. A person would have to smoke 40,000 times the amount to get high to overdose, so it is practically impossible. Alcohol is responsible for over 100,000 deaths per year. Marijuana kills less than 10,000 per year.
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.
4. Some short-term effects of marijuana include distorted perception, increased heart rate, and a loss of motor coordination.