MARIJUANA

What Is Marijuana?

Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. It is the most commonly used drug in the United States, with 35.4% of all young adults, 18-25 reporting using it within the past year. Marijuana is either smoked or ingested.

Smoking

People smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints) or in pipes or water pipes (bongs). They also smoke it in blunts—emptied cigars that have been partly or completely refilled with marijuana. To avoid inhaling smoke, some people are using vaporizers. These devices pull the active ingredients (including THC) from the marijuana and collect their vapor in a storage unit. A person then inhales the vapor, not the smoke. Some vaporizers use a liquid marijuana extract.

Edibles

Marijuana can be made into almost any type of edible or drinkable form. Commonly found are brownies, cookies, candy & gummies, or in butters. In more recent years, drinkable forms of THC have emerged including infused waters, teas, juices, and alcoholic beverages.

Dabs

Smoking THC-rich resins extracted from the marijuana plant is on the rise. People call this practice dabbing. These extracts come in various forms, such as:

• hash oil or honey oil—a gooey liquid
• wax or budder—a soft solid with a texture like lip balm
• shatter—a hard, amber-colored solid

These extracts can deliver extremely large amounts of THC to the body which can lead to dangerous outcomes especially for first time or occasional users.

Effects Of Marijuana On The Brain And Body

When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. The body absorbs THC more slowly when the person eats or drinks it. In that case, they generally feel the effects after 30 minutes to 1 hour, which can lead to over-consumption when an individual believes they "don’t feel it" and take more. THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals. These natural chemicals play a role in normal brain development and function.

Short Term

• altered senses (for example, seeing brighter colors)
• altered sense of time
• changes in mood
• impaired body movement
• difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
• impaired memory
• hallucinations (when taken in high doses)
• delusions (when taken in high doses)
• psychosis (risk is highest with regular use of high potency marijuana)

Long Term Effects Of Consistent Use

• Thinking, memory, and learning functions of the brain
• Lost mental abilities that do not fully return even after use stops, especially when use starts during teenage years

Signs Of Use

• Red eyes
• Eating or excessive eating outside of regular meal or snack times
• Diminished performance in school, at work, and/or in meeting responsibilities at home
• Withdrawing from friends, family, coworkers, and/or classmates
• Spending time with people who use marijuana or other drugs
• Buying certain products, such as bongs and rolling papers, in order to smoke marijuana
• Doing online research on different types of marijuana and highs (e.g., waxes, tinctures, edibles, etc.)
• Using slang terms for marijuana, such as weed, pot, bud, trees, cannabis, kush, and mota

Marijuana & Teens

The teenage brain is still actively developing and marijuana use during adolescence and young adulthood may harm long term brain development including:

• Difficulty thinking or problem solving
• Problems with memory and learning
• Reduced coordination
• Difficulty maintaining attention
• Problems with social, school, and professional life
• Increased risk of mental health issues, especially anxiety and depression
• Potential for addiction
• Increased thoughts of suicide