Adolescent Development, Should Marijuana Be Thesis

In other words, it makes users less rather than more able to cope with life stressors and less socially functional and engaged with the world. Rather than reaching out for help when they need it, marijuana smokers are more likely to drop out of life.

The type of marijuana available today is 'not your parent's marijuana' either. From 1980 and 1997, the amount of THC, the active chemical in marijuana that produces the marijuana high, rose dramatically. Marijuana is far more potent than it has ever been in the past: and so are its effects upon your daily life and your long-term future. Even if you just use it on weekends, marijuana's effects on memory and learning can last for days or weeks because of how long the drug is stored in the body. "A study of 129 college students found that among heavy users of marijuana - those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days" showed significantly impaired attention, memory, and learning" (Volkow, 2005, p.7). Also, "a recent study compared current and former long-term heavy users of marijuana with a control group who reported smoking cannabis at least once in their lives, but not more than 50 times" (Volkow, 2005, p.7). Despite the fact that both groups had similar parental levels of education and income, and came from similar social demographics, fewer users completed college and more had household incomes of less than $30,000 (Volkow, 2005, p.7).

Yes, some people have called for the legalization of medical marijuana for individuals with terminal illnesses. But just because some people may use medical marijuana doesn't mean it is safe for you to use it recreationally -- no more than any other prescription medication. Marijuana is not a joke, and using it doesn't make you mellow, cool, or even chill you out -- it can have a significant impact upon your life and future.

References

Volkow, Nora et al. (2005). Research report: Marijuana abuse.

National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Retrieved February 16, 2010 at http://drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/default.html

The Surgeon General's warning on marijuana. (1982, August 13). MMWR. Published by the Center for Disease….....