Marijuana Addiction – Do You Know Marijuana Well Enough?

We live in a world of chemicals, some naturally occurring and some manufactured, and many such as antibiotics, necessary for our well-being. It is also a world of stress and turmoil from time to time, and in that state we often look to some of those chemicals to provide a shortcut to feeling better. In fact, many of the chemicals “work” for at least a short time we feel better, more alive, and happier.

So what is the problem? The problem is real and has many levels:

- All drugs have potentially undesirable and dangerous side effects.

- All drugs can be abused, overused, used destructively.

- All mind-altering chemicals can cause dependence (psychological or physical), and many can lead to serious addictive disorders.

- Chemicals never solved anyone’s problems.

- Even if chemicals work for a while, the effects are always short-lived and can become a crutch. Even if they make us feel better, they fool us into believing the we cannot do without them, and worse, that we cannot solve our problems on our own.

Some say that marijuana is dangerous and addictive, others not. Some say it is as addictive as cocaine. Unfortunately all are wrong. Marijuana, a potentially destructive substance, is not addictive. Cocaine, an extremely destructive substance, is definitely addictive. Has this confused you? Let me try to clarify.

An addictive substance is one that causes the cells of the body to develop an actual physiological need for the drug, which must be taken in increasing doses to produce the same physical and emotional effect, and, finally, that causes a severe and potentially dangerous bodily reaction when it is abruptly stopped in an addicted individual (abstinence syndrome). Substances that do not meet all these criteria are not considered addictive.

However they can still be dangerous. Marijuana causes some physical changes and can develop a kind of psychological dependency in certain vulnerable and needy individuals. These people become apathetic and withdrawn, and their schoolwork and relationships can suffer. Cocaine is one of the most destructive substances around and is very expensive. It induces an extraordinary craving and dependence in many susceptible users. It creates the illusion of well-being and power while providing just the opposite.

In fact, all of these (and other) drugs, when abused, allow the user to escape from a painful reality in an unrealistic and ultimately destructive way.

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Author: Jonathan Hanson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital economy, mobile technology

Marijuana Addiction – How it Affects Your Health

Marijuana is the third most common drug used by young adults. Tobacco and alcohol rank the first and the second respectively. Light users smoke it once per week or less; a heavy user smokes it two or more times per week.

The negative effects of marijuana use vary with the amount used and the frequency of use. The list of marijuana’s ill effects is extremely long. Common short-term problems include irritation of the eyes, nose and lungs; decreased memory, coordination, and ability to learn; and, for some people, emotional effects such as depression or panic. A very serious effect is that hours after the high is gone, one’s ability to drive is still badly impaired. Obviously, this can be extremely dangerous.

Consistent heavy use can also interfere with your body’s ability to fight infection, although this effect appears to resolve once you stop using it. Long-term effects can persist as long as the abuse continues. These include poorer performance on tests that measure learning and thinking, loss of motivation, and chronically irritated lining of the lungs.

Risk of lung cancer increases for long term marijuana smokers even more than it does for those who smoke cigarettes. The cancer causing agents are 70 percent more concentrated in marijuana than in tobacco.

Marijuana is not known to affect a woman’s ability to bear children or to damage her chromosomes or genes. This is, however, evidence that smoking five or more joints per week during pregnancy may cause subtle changes in a baby’s nervous system. The effects are suggested by the baby’s tendency to startle when tested shortly after birth. These babies also tend to be smaller than those born to non-marijuana users.

Heavy users who are male, however, do show changes in their reproductive systems, although these effects resolve approximately one month after stopping smoking. The changes include decreased size of the testicles and decreased production of normal sperm.

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Author: Jonathan Hanson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital economy, mobile technology