TABLE OF CONTENTs

Introduction What is Marijuana? History of the Drug How Is It Used? Effects on the Body Effects on the Brain Effects on the Heart Effects on the Lung Effects on Daily Life Marijuana and Menatal Health Conclusion Acknowledgement Bibliography

introduction
A drug is any substance or chemical that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, changes the way the body work. That is it modifies normal physical function. Drugs can enter the body in many ways. Some ways of use include it being injected, swallowed, snorted, or smoked.Generally when people talk about using drugs they usually mean abusing or using illegal drugs. In pharmacology, a drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or finding of disease or used to otherwise improve physical or mental well-being. These legal drugs may be prescribed for a limited period, or on a regular basis for long-lasting disorder. Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens. They may be used for seeming beneficial effects on perception, awareness, personality, and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and/or habituation. Illegal drugs are usually made or grown at home by the user or dealer, made or grown in internal labs or greenhouses, stolen or sold from valid sources such as chemists, or imported from producer nations or from transit countries. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally. The focus of this project is on the drug Marijuana. We will discuss its history, chemical make-up and how it affects the body and daily life of the abuser.

MARIJUANA
Loose Marijuana

Marijuana Leaf

Marijuana Plant with flower

What is Marijuana?
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. You may hear marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic. There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive or mind altering drug. The word marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word, marihuana. According to the United Nations, cannabis "is the most widely used illicit substance in the world." The more concentrated resinous form of the drug is known as hashish (or merely 'hash'). The chemical in this plant that produces the altered states of consciousness is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Cannabis contains more than 400 different chemical compounds, including at least 60 other cannabinoids (CBD), and tetrahydrocannabivari (THCV), which can result in different effects from those of THC alone.

HISTORY
Cannabis is native to Central and South Asia, it has been used as an agent for achieving euphoria (high) since ancient times. Evidence of the inhalation of cannabis smoke can be found in the 3rd millennium B.C, as indicated by burnt cannabis seeds found in a ritual fire at an ancient burial site in present day. Romania Cannabis is also known to have been used by the ancient Hindus and Nihang Sikhs of India and Nepal for thousands of years. Cannabis was also known to the ancient Assyrians, using it in some religious ceremonies, they called it Qumbu (meaning "way to produce smoke"), a probable origin of the modern word "cannabis". Cannabis was also introduced by the Aryans to the Scythians and Thracians, whose shamans (the kapnobatai"those who walk on smoke/clouds") burned cannabis flowers to induce a state of trance. Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and is found in pharmacological cults around the world. The earliest evidence for its medicinal use comes from China during the reign of the legendary emperor Chen Nung. Marijuana was recommended for malaria, constipation, rheumatic pains, "absentmindedness" and female disorders! In modern times the drug has been used for entertaining, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes.

How Is It Used?
Marijuana is usually smoked like a hand rolled cigarette (called a joint or nail), in a pipe or water pipe or bong. It can also be cooked into baked goods like brownies or cookies or brewed in tea. THC is also contained in hash which is usually smoked in a pipe. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor.

Joint

Bong

Pipe

Brownie

Effects on the Body

A high is the feeling that drug users want to get when they take drugs. There are many types of highs, including a very happy or spacey feeling or a feeling that someone has special powers, such as the ability to fly or to see into the future. Abuse of this illegal drug can cause negative effects and damage the brain, heart, and other important organs. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. Effects on THE BRAIN Marijuana interacts on the central nervous system by attaching the brain's neurons and interfering with normal communication between the neurons. These nerves respond by shifting their original behavior. For example, if a nerve is supposed to assist one in recovering short-term memory, cannabinoids receptors make them do the opposite. So if one has to remember what he did five minutes ago, after smoking a high dose of

marijuana, he has trouble. THC is the main active ingredient in marijuana because it affects the brain by binding to and activating specific receptors, known as cannabinoid receptors. These receptors control memory, thought, problem solving, concentration, time and deepness, and coordinated movement. Therefore marijuana intoxication causes distortion or impairment of these functions. Hippocampus is the part of the brain that is important for memory, learning, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivation. When a user has a high dose of marijuana, new information does not record into their brain and this may be lost from memory and they are not able to retrieve new information for more than a few minutes. Chronic abuse of the drug causes personality disturbances, depression and chronic anxiety. Marijuana also impairs emotions. When smoking marijuana, the user may have uncontrollable laughter one minute and paranoia the next. This instant change in emotions has to do with the way that THC affects the brain's limbic system. The limbic system is another region of the brain that governs one's behavior and emotions. High dose of marijuana (THC) can cause increased heart rate, gross motor disturbances, and can lead to panic attacks. THC can make something as simple as driving a car really dangerous.

 EFFECTS ON THE HEART Marijuana increases heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to 3 hours. In study it was shown that marijuana users have a substantial increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug. This may be due to increased heart rate as well as the effects of marijuana on heart beats, causing palpitations and arrhythmias. This risk may be greater in aging populations or in those with existing heart vulnerabilities.

EFFECTS ON THE LUNGS Numerous studies have shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens (cancer causing agents) and to be an irritant to the lungs. Marijuana smoke contains above 50 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Users of this drug usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which further increase the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke. Marijuana smokers show deregulated growth of epithelial cells in their lung tissue, which could lead to cancer. Marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough, wheezing, frequent colds and more frequent acute chest illness, and a higher risk of lung infections.

EFFECTS ON DAILY LIFE

Drugs don't solve problems, and using drugs often causes other problems on top of the problems the person had in the first place. Somebody who uses drugs can become dependent on them, or addicted. This means that the person's body becomes so accustomed to having this drug that he or she can't function well without it. This causes many bad results on a persons daily life.

Heavy marijuana abusers usually show reduction in several important areas of life achievement, including physical and mental health, perceptive abilities, social life, career status and trouble with the law. That means a users personal life choices; family life, friends and work will all be influenced. In work situations marijuana smoking leads to increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job loss. Users also cause damage to home life and social interactions with family and friends. In school kids this drug use leads to them being less able to do well in school, sports and other activities. It is harder to think clearly and make

good decisions. People can do dumb or dangerous things that could hurt them or other people when they use drugs.

MARIJUANA and MENTAL HEALTH

A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be an important risk factor, where early (during brain development) use reflects an indication of increased vulnerability to later problems. Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses, including addiction, stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as poor home situations with exposure to stress or violence. High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the start or relapse of schizophrenia in individuals with personal or a family history. Study also show that abuse of this drug increases the risk of this disorder in persons with no prior history.

Teens with self-esteem issues and depression who smoke marijuana to feel better about themselves are more likely to be addicted. This abuse of the drug and addiction then leads to suicidal thoughts and tendencies.

CONCLUSION
While many people consider the effects of marijuana to be fun, marijuana does have serious side effects that must not be ignored. Studies have shown that marijuana kills brain cells, can lead to depression, loss of sex drive, loss of motivation, loss of energy, loss of testosterone and increased irritability. These are the long term effects that are difficult to prove. The immediate short term effects are upfront and can be very negative and limiting to the individual. Marijuana damages the person coping abilities, and effects family life. It also causes a negative effect in society when individuals become addicts and can no longer be productive citizens. In combination with this, abuse of marijuana increases the potential for abuse of other drugs. Therefore the problem is compounded with additional drug related issues. Drug free is definitely the way to go, for personal health, family and societal wellbeing.

DRUGS

MARIJUANA

Bibliography
1. www.kidshealth.org/kid/grow/drugs_alcohol/know_drugs.html 2. www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html 3. www.serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1808 4. www.theantidrug.com/drug-information/marijuana-facts/howmarijuana-affects-learning 5. www.wiki.answers.com 6. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)