Marijuana Addiction
No illegal drug in the United States is used more frequently by more people than marijuana. Next to alcohol and tobacco, it is the most consumed mind-altering substance in the world. In the Canadian province of British Columbia, where marijuana laws are more lax than in the United States, it is a $6 billion a year cash crop. A significant movement has taken hold in the United States over the last few decades to legalize marijuana. Advocates point to the number of pot users incarcerated as a sign that America’s War on Drugs has been a complete failure. Should this powerful plant be legalized? Let’s take a closer look at what marijuana is and what it does to the human body.
A marijuana cigarette is made up of certain leaves, seeds, and flowers from the hemp plant. Throughout most of the United States, it is either illegal to farm hemp or you need a special permit, even though the majority of the plant can only be used to make fabric and paper and is not psychoactive. According to researchers, the THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) levels of today’s pot are significantly higher than what was being used even 20 years ago. THC is actually a mild hallucinogen that can cause mild auditory and visual hallucinations. When using marijuana, a person will likely experience a feeling of light headedness, a dry mouth and eyes, blood shot, red and itchy eyes as well as a faster heartbeat. If you have poor circulation or if you have heart problems, using marijuana can cause chest pain and other discomfort. The idea that smoking marijuana, or ingesting it, is harmless is false. A recent study showed that when combined with tobacco use, marijuana users are four times as likely to get lung cancer.
Most of the impact that pot usage has on a person is well documented and has become a part of today’s pop culture landscape. Pot is often referred to as a drug that mellows you out, calms you down, and slows the mind. If enough marijuana is consumed, the user often feels hungry after a period of time and users claim that food tastes either better or different while under the influence of the drug. Things like music, television, or even books can seem strange, and new and simple facts are often interpreted in a new way when using marijuana. One fact that even dedicated pot users will admit to is that continued or daily use of the drug saps one’s energy and makes one completely lethargic. However, legalization advocates point to the fact that other drugs, such as alcohol, make people angry, loud and aggressive, all symptoms that they see as less harmful than the ones caused by marijuana, and that drug is completely legal. There is also said to be significant benefits when it comes to killing pain, relieving symptoms from certain diseases, and providing comfort to chronically ill patients, although other studies have shown that marijuana use provides the same pain relief as codeine, but causes increased instances of depression.
Since marijuana is most often smoked, it is somewhat easy to pick out someone who is a habitual user simply from the way their clothes and hair smell. Chronic users tend to appear lethargic and in a daze for long periods of time. Many frequent pot users are overweight due to the lack of motivation and constant bouts of the “munchies” but other chronic pot users also partake in other drugs that kill the appetite. You may also notice a lack of short term and long term memory from people who smoke on a regular basis.
It is difficult to use broad definitions to generalize about the consequences of pot use. Probably the most significant consequence of using pot in the United States is risking getting arrested. Many jurisdictions take a very dim view of marijuana, and the fines and jail time can be significant. There is also a financial impact, as well, even though many drug users consider marijuana to be somewhat affordable. The biggest fear that most parents have towards pot is that it will lead to experimentation with other drugs that are even more dangerous.
