ll information is provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health
Following a troubling increase in marijuana abuse in the 1900s among U.S. teens,recent finding have shown more encouraging trends. For example, part-year use has fallen significantly among students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades since 2001:it has dropped by 24% among 8th-graders,23% among 10th-graders,and 15% among 12th-graders.Perceived risk of harm from smoking marijuana regularly remained stable for all three grades from 2005-2006 and perceived availability of marijuana fell significantly among 10th-graders , from 72.6% in 2005 to 70.7% in 2006. Even with these encouraging trends,marijuana is still the illegal drug most often abused in the United States. Its continued high prevalence rate,particularly among teens, indicates that we still have a long way to go. In addition, because many parents of present-day teens used marijuana when they were in college, they often find it difficult to talk about marijuana with their children and to set strict ground rules against it. This conversation must begin early, as marijuana use today often starts at a young age-with more potent forms of the drug now available to these children and adolescents. Parents need to recognize that marijuana use is a serious threat, and they need to tell their children not to use it.
Q: What is marijuana? Are there different kinds?
A: Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant. It is the most often used illegal drug in the United States. Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Strong forms of cannabis include sinsemilla, hashish and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering drugs; they all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahyfrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana. They also contain more than 400 other chemicals.
Q: What are the current slang terms for marijuana?
A: There are many different names for marijuana. Slang terms for drugs change quickly and they vary from on part of the country to another. Terms from years ago, such as pot, herb, grass, week, Mary Jane and reefer are still used. You might also hear names like Aunt Mary, skunk, boom, gangster, kif, or ganja. There are also street name for different strains or "brands" of marijuana such as "Texas tea," "Maui wowie," and "chronic."
Q: How is Marijuana used?
A: Most users roll loose marijuana into a cigarette called a joint or smoke it in a pipe or a water pipe, sometimes referred to as a bong. Some users mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea. Another method is to slice open a cigar and replace the tobacco with marijuana, making what's called a blunt. Joints or blunts sometimes include other substances as well, including crack cocaine called "primos" or "woolies." Joints and blunts sometimes are dipped in PCP and are called "happy sticks," "wicky sticks," "love boat," "dust," "wets," or "tical."
Q: How many people smoke marijuana? At what age do children generally start?
A: A recent government study tells us that marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the U.S. Nearly 98 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once. Over 14 million had used the drug in the month before the survey. The Monitoring the Future Survey, which is conducted yearly, included students from 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. In 2006, the survey found that 15.7% of 8th-graders have tried marijuana at least once, and among 10th-graders, 14.2% were "current" users (in the past month). Among 12th-graders, 42.3% have tried marijuana at least once and about 18% were current users. Other researchers have found that the use of marijuana and other drugs usually peaks in the late teens and early twenties, then declines in late years.
Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana?
A: there are some signs you might be able to see. 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. the user than can become very sleepy. Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends. Also, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in sports or other favorite activities and chances in eating or sleeping habits could be related to drug use. In addition parents should be aware of signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers, odor on clothes and in the bedroom, use of incense and other deodorizers, use of eye drops and clothing, posters, jewelry, etc. promoting drug use.
Q: why do young people use marijuana?
A: Children and young teen start using marijuana for many reasons. Curiosity and the desire to fit into a social group are common reasons. Certainly, youngsters who have already begun to smoke cigarettes and/or use alcohol are at high risk
Q: Does using Marijuana lead to other drugs?
A: Long-term studies of high school students and their patterns of drug use show that very few young people use other drugs without trying marijuana, alcohol, or tobacco. Though few young people use cocaine, for example, the risk of doing so is much greater for youth who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it. Although research has not fully explained this association, growing evidence suggests a combination of biological, social, and psychological factors is involved.
Q: What are the effects of marijuana?
A: The effects of marijuana on each person depend on the type of cannabis and how much THC it contains, the way the drug is taken, the setting where the drug is used and the use of other drugs and/or alcohol. Some people feel nothing at all when they first try marijuana. Others may feel high (intoxicated and/or euphoric). It is common for marijuana users to become engrossed with ordinary sights, sounds or tastes and trivial events may seem extremely interesting or funny. Time seems to pass very slowly so minutes feel like hours. Sometime the drug causes users to feel thirsty and very hungry-an effect called "the munchies."
Q: What happens after a person smokes marijuana?
A: Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana smoke, the user will likely feel, along with intoxication, a dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and balance, and a slower than normal reaction time. Blood vessels in the eye expand, so the user's eyes look red. For some people, marijuana raises blood pressure slightly and can double the normal heart rate. This effect can be greater when other drugs are mixed with marijuana, but users do not always know when that happens. as the immediate effects fade, usually after 2 to 3 hours, the user may become sleepy.
Q: How long does marijuana stay in the user's body?
A: THC in marijuana is readily absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. Generally, traces of THC can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. In heavy, chronic users, however traces can sometime be detected for weeks after they have stopped using marijuana.
Q: can a user have a bad reaction?
A: Yes. Some users, especially those who are new to the drug or in a strange setting, may suffer acute anxiety and have paranoid thoughts. This is more likely to happen with high doses of THC.These scary feeling will fade as the drug's effects wear off. In rare cases, a user who has taken a very high dose of the drug can have severe psychotic symptoms and need emergency medical treatment. Other kinds of bad reactions can occur when marijuana is mixed with other drugs like PCP or cocaine.
Q: How is marijuana harmful?
A: marijuana can be harmful in a number of ways, through immediate effects and through damage to health over time. Marijuana hiders the user's short-term memory and he or she may have troubling handling complex tasks. With the use of more potent varieties of marijuana, even simple tasks can be difficult. Because of the drug's effects on perceptions and reaction time, users could be involved in auto crashes. Drug users also may become involved in risky sexual behaviors, which could lead to the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Under the influence of marijuana, students may find it hard to study and learn. Young athletes could find their performance is off, timing, movements and coordination are all affected by THC.
Q: How does marijuana affect driving?
A: Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, concentration, coordination, and reaction time. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road. Studies have shown that approximately 4-14% of drivers who sustained injury or died in traffic accidents tested positive for THC. In many cases, alcohol was detected as well. When users combine marijuana with alcohol, as they often do, hazards of driving can be more severe than with either drug alone. In a study conducted by the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a moderate dose of marijuana alone was shown to impair driving performance; however the effects of even a low dose of marijuana combined with alcohol were markedly greater than those of either drug alone. In one study conducted in Memphis, Tennessee, researchers found that 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33% tested positive for marijuana and 12% tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine. Data also show that whole smoking marijuana, people display the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had too much to drink.
Q: What are the long-tern effects of marijuana?
A: A group of scientists in California examined the health status of 450 daily smokers of marijuana, but not tobacco. They found that the marijuana smokers had more sick days and more doctor visits for respiratory problems and other types of illness than did a similar group who did not smoke either substance. Finding so far show that the regular use of marijuana may play a role in cancer and problems of the immune and respiratory systems.
Cancer
It is hard to find out whether marijuana alone causes cancer, because many people who smoke marijuana also smoke cigarettes and use other drugs. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per day may be taking in as much cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day. Tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke may work together to change the tissues lining the respiratory tract. Marijuana smoking could contribute to early development of head and neck cancer in some people.
Immune system
It is not certain whether marijuana damages the immune system of people. But both animal and human studies have shown that marijuana impairs the ability of T-cells in the lungs' immune system to fight off some infections.
Lungs and airways
People who smoke marijuana regularly may develop many of the same breathing problems that tobacco users have, , such as a daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent chest colds, a heightened risk of lung infection, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. marijuana smokers usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer, which increases the lungs' exposure to toxic chemicals and irritants.
Q: What about pregnancy? Will smoking marijuana hurt the baby?
A: Doctors advise pregnant women not to use any drugs because they may harm the growing fetus. Although one animal study has linked marijuana to loss of the fetus very early in pregnancy, two studies in humans found no association between marijuana use and early pregnancy loss. More research is necessary to fully understand the effects of marijuana use on pregnancy outcome. Some scientific studies have found that babies born to women who used marijuana during pregnancy display altered responses to visual stimulation, increased tremors, and a high-pitched cry, which may indicate problems with nervous system development. During preschool and early school years, marijuana-exposed children have been reported to have more behavioral problems and difficulties with sustained attention and memory than non exposed children. Researchers are not certain whether any effects of maternal marijuana use during pregnancy persist as the child grows up; however, because some parts of the brain continue to develop into adolescence, it is also possible that certain kinds of problems will become more evident as the child matures.
Q: What happens if a nursing mother uses marijuana?
A: When a nursing mother uses marijuana, some of the THC is passed to the baby through breast milk. This is a matter for concern, because the THC in the mother's milk is much more concentrated than that in the mother's blood. One study has shown that the use of marijuana by a mother during the first month of breastfeeding can impair the infant's motor development. This work has not been replicated, although similar anecdotal reports exist. Further research is needed to determine whether THC transmitted in breast milk has harmful effects on development.
