Marijuana and its negative effects

Legalising Marijuana is one of the greatest social and medical debates that have been raised since the past decade. The argument in legalising it has accelerated since the progress of medicine which has bought about the advantages of using Marijuana as a prescription drug.

To understand the consequences of legalising Marijuana let us first try to understand what the drug Marijuana actually is.

Marijuana is considered as the most harmful, illegal drug of the United States. It is also the most widely used illicit drug. At present, there are approximately 20 million illicit drug users in the United States alone, not counting in any of the third world countries such as Pakistan and India. Out these 75% uses marijuana. Marijuana comes from hemp plant, also known as Cannabis sativa plant. The drug is usually presented as “a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).” Marijuana and other drugs coming from Cannabis sativa are collectively called Cannabis. Other examples of Cannabis include names like sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil.

All form of Cannabis are “psychoactive” drugs affecting the brain functions.  “The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) “which binds to specific receptors located on membranes of nerve cells. This causes a cascade of sequential reactions producing the desirable or undesirable effects. The effects can be observed immediately and lasts for 3-4 hours.

Immediately upon entering the blood, THC raises the heart rate by increasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The heart rate can increase from 20-50 beats per minute and can even double in some instances.. The blood vessels are dilated especially of the eyes, making the eyes appear red. Another response will relax and dilate the bronchiole passage depressing the respiratory system.

The “high” feeling is produced when the THC reaches the brain. THC directly acts on the reward center of the brain and stimulate the brain cells to produce dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter more prominent in the midbrain neurons. The mouth begins to get dry and the person feels extremely thirsty and hungry.  The hands get cold and may start to tremble. The “high” feeling disappears after a while and is replaced by a more depressing and sleepy state.

Some long-term effects are produced if a person smokes marijuana regularly. A wide range of respiratory problems including chronic coughs, infections of the respiratory tracts, bronchitis, emphysema and carcinomas of head, neck and lung are observed. Marijuana promotes lung and respiratory tract carcinomas because its smoke contains carcinogenic hydrocarbons that are more potent than the normal tobacco smoke. It depresses the immune system and destroys the antioxidants that protect the cell against damage leading to lung and cardiac failure.

Another long-term damage is produced on the memory. Memory is formed in a small area of the brain known as the hippocampus. THC directly affects the hippocampus and “alters the way in which information is processed.” It leads to brain function changes mainly producing depression. Depression is one of the major causes of suicide deaths in the United States and all over the world. Marijuana has it economical effects as well. Employee productivity, public health care costs and accidents are lost due to illicit drug users. Money is spent on purchasing an illegal drug crashing the economy of the country.