Marijuana: Facts For Teens
Marijuana Fact: Most teenagers do not use marijuana. Fewer than one in
four high school seniors is a current marijuana user.
Q: What is marijuana? Aren't there different kinds?
A: Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves,
stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. You may hear marijuana called
by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster,
or chronic. There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana.
Sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah; it's a Spanish word), hashish ("hash"
for short), and hash oil are stronger forms of marijuana.
All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. In other words, they change
how the brain works. They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol),
the main active chemical in marijuana. They also contain more than 400
other chemicals. Marijuana's effects on the user depend on the strength
or potency of the THC it contains. THC potency of marijuana has increased
since the 1970s but has been about the same since the mid-1980s.
Q: How is marijuana used?
A: Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint or a nail)
or in a pipe or a bong. Recently, it has appeared in cigars called blunts.
Q: How long does marijuana stay in the user's body?
A: THC in marijuana is strongly absorbed by fatty tissues in various
organs. Generally, traces (metabolites) of THC can be detected by standard
urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. However, in
heavy chronic users, traces can sometimes be detected for weeks after
they have stopped using marijuana.
Q: How many teens smoke marijuana?
A: Contrary to popular belief most teenagers have not used marijuana
and never will. Among students surveyed in a yearly national survey, only
about one in five 10th graders report they are current marijuana users
(that is, used marijuana within the past month). Fewer than one in four
high school seniors is a current marijuana user.
Q: Why do young people use marijuana?
A: There are many reasons why some children and young teens start smoking
marijuana. Most young people smoke marijuana because their friends or
brothers and sisters use marijuana and pressure them to try it. Some young
people use it because they see older people in the family using it.
Others may think it's cool to use marijuana because they hear songs about
it and see it on TV and in movies. Some teens may feel they need marijuana
and other drugs to help them escape from problems at home, at school,
or with friends.
No matter how many shirts and caps you see printed with the marijuana
leaf, or how many groups sing about it, remember this: You don't have
to use marijuana just because you think everybody else is doing it. Most
teens do not use marijuana!
Marijuana Fact: Marijuana can mess you up. Your performance
in school, sports and other activities will suffer if you're high.
Q: What happens if you smoke marijuana?
A: The effects of the drug on each person depend on the user's experience,
as well as:
- how strong the marijuana is (how much THC it has);
- what the user expects to happen;
- where (the place) the drug is used;
- how it is taken;
- and whether the user is drinking alcohol or using other drugs.
Some people feel nothing at all when they smoke marijuana. Others may
feel relaxed or high. Sometimes marijuana makes users feel thirsty and
very hungry - an effect called "the munchies."
Some users can get bad effects from marijuana. They may suffer sudden
feelings of anxiety and have paranoid thoughts. This is more likely to
happen when a more potent variety of marijuana is used.
Q: What are the short-term effects of marijuana use?
A: The short-term effects of marijuana include:
- problems with memory and learning;
- distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch);
- trouble with thinking and problem-solving;
- loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety.
These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with the marijuana;
and users do not always know what drugs are given to them.
Q: Does marijuana affect school, sports, or other activities?
A: It can. Marijuana affects memory, judgment and perception. The drug
can make you mess up in school, in sports or clubs, or with your friends.
If you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to make stupid mistakes
that could embarrass or even hurt you. If you use marijuana a lot, you
could start to lose interest in how you look and how you're getting along
at school or work.
Athletes could find their performance is off; timing, movements, and
coordination are all affected by THC. Also, since marijuana use can affect
thinking and judgment, users can forget to have safe sex and possibly
expose themselves to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Q: What are the long-term effects of marijuana use?
A: Findings so far show that regular use of marijuana or THC may play
a role in some kinds of cancer and in problems with the respiratory and
immune systems.
Cancer
It's hard to know for sure whether regular marijuana use causes cancer.
But it is known that marijuana contains some of the same, and sometimes
even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Studies
show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as
many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes
every day.
Lungs and Airways
People who smoke marijuana often develop the same kinds of breathing problems
that cigarette smokers have: coughing and wheezing. They tend to have
more chest colds than nonusers. They are also at greater risk of getting
lung infections like pneumonia.
Immune System
Animal studies have found that THC can damage the cells and tissues in
the body that help protect people from disease. When the immune cells
are weakened, you are more likely to get sick.
Q: Does marijuana lead to the use of other drugs?
A: It could. 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. For example, the risk of using cocaine is 104
times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have
never tried it. 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 drugs.
To better determine this risk, scientists are examining the possibility
that long-term marijuana use may create changes in the brain that make
a person more at risk of becoming addicted to other drugs, such as alcohol
or cocaine. While not all young people who use marijuana go on to use
other drugs, further research is needed to predict who will be at greatest
risk.
Q: How can you tell if someone has been using marijuana?
A: If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might
- seem dizzy and have trouble walking;
- seem silly and giggly for no reason;
- have very red, bloodshot eyes;
- and have a hard time remembering things that just happened.
When the early effects fade, over a few hours, the user can become very
sleepy.
Q: Is marijuana sometimes used as a medicine?
A: There has been much talk about the possible medical use of marijuana.
Under U.S. law since 1970, marijuana has been a Schedule I controlled
substance. This means that the drug, at least in its smoked form, has
no commonly accepted medical use.
THC, the active chemical in marijuana, is manufactured into a pill available
by prescription that can be used to treat the nausea and vomiting that
occur with certain cancer treatments and to help AIDS patients eat more
to keep up their weight. According to scientists, more research needs
to be done on marijuana's side effects and potential benefits before it
is used medically with any regularity.
Marijuana Fact: Marijuana and driving do not mix. Users
often have delayed responses to sights and sounds drivers need to notice.
Q: How does marijuana affect driving?
A: Marijuana has serious harmful effects on the skills required to drive
safely: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and the ability
to react quickly. These effects can last up to 24 hours after smoking
marijuana. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and
react to signals and sounds on the road.
Marijuana may play a role in car accidents. In one study conducted in
Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were
tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana,
and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine. Data have
also shown that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of
coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who
have had too much to drink.
Q: If a woman is pregnant and smokes marijuana, will it hurt the baby?
A: Doctors advise pregnant women not to use any drugs because they could
harm the growing fetus. One animal study has linked marijuana use to loss
of the fetus very early in pregnancy.
Some scientific studies have found that babies born to marijuana users
were shorter, weighed less, and had smaller head sizes than those born
to mothers who did not use the drug. Smaller babies are more likely to
develop health problems. There are also research data showing nervous
system problems in children of mothers who smoked marijuana.
Researchers are not certain whether a newborn baby's health problems,
if they are caused by marijuana, will continue as the child grows. Preliminary
research shows that children born to mothers who used marijuana regularly
during pregnancy may have trouble concentrating.
Q: What does marijuana do to the brain?
A: Some studies show that when people have smoked large amounts of marijuana
for years, the drug takes its toll on mental functions. Heavy or daily
use of marijuana affects the parts of the brain that control memory, attention,
and learning. A working short-term memory is needed to learn and perform
tasks that call for more than one or two steps.
Smoking marijuana causes some changes in the brain that are like those
caused by cocaine, heroin, and alcohol. Some researchers believe that
these changes may put a person more at risk of becoming addicted to other
drugs, such as cocaine or heroin. Scientists are still learning about
the many ways that marijuana could affect the brain.
Q: Can people become addicted to marijuana?
A: Yes. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when
a user begins to seek out and take the drug compulsively, that person
is said to be dependent or addicted to the drug. In 1995, 165,000 people
entering drug treatment programs reported marijuana as their primary drug
of abuse, showing they need help to stop using the drug.
According to one study, marijuana use by teenagers who have prior serious
antisocial problems can quickly lead to dependence on the drug.
Some frequent, heavy users of marijuana develop a tolerance for it. "Tolerance"
means that the user needs larger doses of the drug to get the same desired
results that he or she used to get from smaller amounts.
Q: What if a person wants to quit using the drug?
A: Up until a few years ago, it was hard to find treatment programs specifically
for marijuana users.
Now researchers are testing different ways to help marijuana users abstain
from drug use. There are currently no medications for treating marijuana
addiction. Treatment programs focus on counseling and group support systems.
There are also a number of programs designed especially to help teenagers
who are abusers. Family doctors are also a good source for information
and help in dealing with adolescent marijuana problems.
Reference: "Marijuana: Facts For Teens," National Institute
on Drug Abuse. Printed November, 1998. Feel free to reprint this publication
in any quantity you wish.
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