Marijuana

A green or gray mixture of dried, shredded, flowers, and leaves marijuana comes from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. The most popular and common slang terms for marijuana are: pot, herb, weed, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, and chronic. Usually it is smoked as a cigarette, called a joint or a nail, or in a pipe or bong. “Blunts” have appeared on the scene in recent years. Cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, are what blunts consist of. Often the marijuana is combined with another drug such as crack. Marijuana is also mixed into foods or used to brew in tea by some users.

THC is the active chemical ingredient in marijuana.

Protein receptors contained in the membrane of certain nerve cells bind THC. A series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke, takes place once THC is securely in place. Problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking, and learning are short-term effect of marijuana use. Loss of coordination increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic attacks are also common short term effects of marijuana

Are the effects of marijuana hereditary?

Researchers have discovered that an individual’s positive or negative sensation after smoking marijuana can be influenced by heredity. Similar responses to marijuana use indicating a genetic basis for their sensations, have been reported that identical male twins were more likely than nonidentical male twins to experience the same sensations of a high. Fraternal twins share only about half of their genes and identical twins share all of their genes.

Environmental factors that would be different for identical twins would also have an important effect.  Twins’ who shared an environment or family environment before age 18 had no detectable influence on their response to marijuana.

How extensive is marijuana use?

After decreasing for over a decade, marijuana use among students appeared to be showing an increase in the early 1990’s. Becoming a continual trend in recent years marijuana use among 12th and 10th graders showed an increase. The rate of lifetime use among seniors’ is higher than any year since 1987. Since the late 1970’s and early 1980’s all rates remain well below those during that time period.

Figures suggesting the sharp increases of recent years may be slowing in all three grade levels. These figures indicate past year and past month marijuana use. For 12th graders daily marijuana use in the past month increased, but use among 8th graders decreased. The pattern of use among older student’s shows increases, but with the younger students the rate showed to be either stable or declining in a 1997 study.

In 10 cities emergency room mentions of marijuana related incidents increased from 1994 to 1995. Therefore, providing proof of resurgence in marijuana use, especially among adolescents. Minneapolis/St.Paul, have noted increasing treatment figures particularly among juveniles. A higher potency and the use of marijuana mixed with or in combination with other dangerous drugs are two factors that may be contributing to the significant leap in adverse consequences.

National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

The most commonly used illicit drug in the United States remains marijuana. In 1995 an estimated 2.4 million people started using marijuana. More than 68.6 million or 32 percent of Americans 12 years of age and older have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime, according to information gathered and reported by the 1996 NHSDA. Of these numbers almost 18.4 million or 8.6 percent had used marijuana in the past year. Americans that had tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime, reached 56.5 million or 29.4 percent in 1985. For that same time period 26.1 million and 13.6 percent had used marijuana within the past year.