User:Sstokesi

Introduction

Everyday there are many arguments about drugs in today’s society and of course the big talk is about marijuana, a substance used by millions of people daily. For my upcoming research paper topic I chose my topic “the influence and effects of marijuana.” Why choose a topic that has been widely discussed and argued? I wanted people to understand that it’s just deeper than people arguing legalization of this drug. I want to show and tell that this illegal substance which causes so much controversy was once legal. In my paper I’ll go deep into the history of marijuana and talk about the history behind this drug, the effects of this drug on people’s lives, the media views, the legal views, the legal marketing of marijuana and products, and the drug run on the streets. This is an important topic to discuss because from now to the next five years this drug may be legal, also marijuana has been in and out of our history for years even in our history books today. Marijuana is one of our political issues, which of course means that the health care industry is a big part too. This 7 billion dollar drug operation even affects our economy, not even in a bad way. In fact we spend more money trying to shut down the industry when easily we can decriminalize it. But little does anyone know that it was one of the most useful plants in the world. Marijuana plants created “Hemp,” a fiber-like substance which created 25,000 products used in the United States. Hemp was once legal, meaning marijuana was once legal, also the largest agricultural crop in the world. Long ago, marijuana was once thought to be a dangerous drug but that was only a few years ago, now it’s a totally different story the rate of buyers shows that the need is steadily increasing.

Numbers And Satistics

Technology in the past showed that this plant had many uses: for clothing, eating, paper, and thousands of other uses. But the most common use was smoking it, in doing so you experience being high. In 1937 it was recorded 55,000 people smoked marijuana, today it’s 10 times of that in the past. 50,000,000 marijuana users exist today, which shows that this drug has made breakthroughs in history. The increase in users makes the need of the drug rise which increases the number of drug dealers. It’s all a big underground industry, which starts at the grower, then to the dealer and out to the streets. This industry is making billions in a year, all this money being made by these people can’t help but to inspire other people to sell drugs, because everybody knows today it’s all about the money. But let’s think of this, America fights the drug industry while other places legalize it. Amsterdam for example where marijuana is legal, notice that the economy there is pleasant and they have many tourists so they have constant money flow. People come from all corners of the world to spend money on marijuana in Amsterdam. Just think about if America had its own place like Amsterdam, how much money would be flowing threw and think, how many people would be there?

Younger Generations Affects

This drug has spread outrageously through the last 70 years, people of all ages use this drug and yes that is a bad thing, peoples of all ages shouldn’t smoke, in fact more kids are in rehab for marijuana more than any other drug. Many young people are introduced to marijuana by their peers usually friends, sisters, and brothers. People often try drugs such as marijuana because they feel pressured by peers to be part of the group. Children must be taught how to say no to peer pressure to try drugs. Parents can get involved by becoming informed about marijuana and by talking to their children about drug use. This shows that the drug is easy to acquire for minors, marijuana can deeply affect a youth’s life which it can be quite addicting to a younger person. The affects of this drug on a younger person life can lead to extreme procrastination which can turn the normal good “jimmy” into the emo kid that’s too lazy. One major concern about marijuana is its possible effects on young people as they grow up. Research shows that the earlier people start using drugs, the more likely they are to go on to experiment with other drugs. In addition, when young people start using marijuana regularly, they often lose interest and are not motivated to do their schoolwork. The effects of marijuana can interfere with learning by impairing thinking, reading comprehension, and verbal and mathematical skills. When marijuana is smoked, its effects begin immediately after the drug enters the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If marijuana is consumed in food or drink, the short-term effects begin more slowly, usually in 1/2 to 1 hour, and last longer, for as long as 4 hours. Smoking marijuana deposits several times more THC into the blood than does eating or drinking the drug. Research shows that students do not remember what they have learned when they are "high". The influence of marijuana has on the younger generation has caused major cultural activity in society, younger generation even created slang for naming it, such as Pot, Green , Trees, smoke, and Fire.

Culture

People also have cultural things they do with marijuana such things called: sessions which is when a group of people form a circle and pass the marijuana around in what they call “the rotation.” another cultural activity they have is when someone makes “Hash Brownies,” which is made just like regular brownies but marijuana is put in with the mix and baked. A “Hot Box” is when people find a place such as a car or shower even a enclosed room, and fill it up with marijuana smoke and zero oxygen, the users stay in this “Hot Box” till they are higher than the moon. These cultural activities are performed every day by the common marijuana smoker; even music has a marijuana culture in it.

Immediate Effects

Some immediate physical effects of marijuana include a faster heartbeat and pulse rate, bloodshot eyes, and a dry mouth and throat. No scientific evidence indicates that marijuana improves hearing, eyesight, and skin sensitivity. Studies of marijuana's mental effects show that the drug can impair or reduce short-term memory, alter sense of time, and reduce ability to do things which require concentration, swift reactions, and coordination, such as driving a car or operating machinery.

DUI: Marijuana

Driving experiments show that marijuana affects a wide range of skills needed for safe driving thinking and reflexes are slowed, making it hard for drivers to respond to sudden, unexpected events. Also, a driver's ability to "track" through curves, to brake quickly, and to maintain speed and the proper distance between cars is affected. Research shows that these skills are impaired for at least 4-6 hours after smoking a single marijuana cigarette, long after the "high" is gone. If a person drinks alcohol, along with using marijuana, the risk of an accident greatly increases. Marijuana presents a definite danger on the road. since marijuana can affect judgment and decision making, using it can cause you to do things you might not do when you are thinking straight—such as risky sexual behavior, which can result in exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; or getting in a car with someone who’s been drinking or is high on marijuana.

Effects On Health

It’s also difficult to know how marijuana will affect a specific person at any given time, because its effects vary based on individual factors: a person’s genetics, whether they’ve used marijuana or any other drugs before, how much marijuana is taken, and its potency. Effects can also be unpredictable when marijuana is used in combination with other drugs. The most common negative health impact of regular cannabis smoking are lung and throat problems including: coughing, increased frequency of throat and lung infections, and reduced lung capacity. There are concerns about possible long term effects of cannabis smoking, but the results are still somewhat controversial. It can be safely said, however, that health risks increase with frequency and duration of smoking anything. Marijuana has many possible medical uses, Chemotherapy used in the treatment of cancer causes nausea resulting in an inability to keep down food. Marijuana's healing nature for these two illnesses is a result of its ability to increase a person's appetite as well as relieving nausea allowing a patient to regain weight. Marijuana reportedly helps glaucoma patients by reducing occular pressure which can cause damage to the eye. There are no confirmed, published death reports from cannabis poisoning. Especially given the wide use of cannabis, it appears that fatal reactions are approximately unheard of. There are a small number of people who report serious cannabis allergies which cause unexpectedly intense reactions, throat and lung problems. One study found that cannabis use increased the risk of heart attack in men over 40, but its findings were weak and based on a very small number of individuals, in a large study of 65,000 individuals in California.

Police effects

The law enforcement officers are experiencing a number of marijuana encounters daily, a number of them say that the marijuana operation is nearly unstoppable; it’s a constant flowing operation. Even though cops like The L.A.P.D. and D.E.A. make the biggest drug bust finding pounds even tons of marijuana, but stings aren’t even putting a dent the operations. Marijuana is a renewable resource so it makes it nearly unstoppable. In fact Marijuana’s spread on the U.S. has increased the crime rate throughout the nation, especially the main states of the east and west coast like California, Michigan, Texas, Florida, and many more states which constantly have to deal with the drug. Its impact created tons of new laws and controversy between people and the Government. Police often find these drugs in cities with higher crime Rates, the push of this drug on society is causing too much of a stress for the law enforcement so the law constantly creates more rules against it.