Nearly 45% Of High School Students Try Marijuana. Source: NIDA Infofacts: High School and Youth Trends
TEEN MARIJUANA ADDICTION
Teens think Marijuana is harmless because they say it does not give you a hang-over. They think it is not worse than smoking cigarettes and teen believe marijuana is not addictive. WRONG! In 2007, the majority of youth (age 17 or younger) entering drug abuse treatment reported marijuana as their primary drug abused. Marijuana increases dopamine, which creates the good feelings or “high” associated with its use. A user may feel the urge to smoke marijuana again, and again, and again to re-create that experience. Repeated use could lead to addiction – a disease where people continue to do something, even when they are aware of the severe negative consequences at the personal, social, academic, and professional levels.
TEEN MARIJUANA ADDICTION TREATMENT
If your teen is suffering from the addiction of marijuana Inspirations for Youth and Families, a licensed residential treatment center for troubled teens ages 14 to 18 and their families is here to help. Inspirations provide a team of qualified and caring teen addiction treatment professionals, offering a Treatment Program for Adolescents/Teens, who are demonstrating destructive, rebellious, and defiant behaviors, resulting in personal and family dysfunction. Our goal is to treat the disease, build the teen’s self confidence and reunite the family.
Cannabis sativa L. is a plant that grows wild throughout most of the tropic and temperate regions of the world. Three drugs that come from cannibis – marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil – are distributed on the U.S. illicit market. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is believed to be the main chemical ingredient that produces the psychoactive effect.
Marijuana is a dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves from the Cannabis sativa plant. The mixture typically is green, brown, or gray in color and may resemble tobacco. Hashish is collected, dried, and pressed into a variety of forms, such as balls, cakes, or cookie-like sheets. Hashish oil is a viscous liquid ranging from amber to dark brown in color.
MARIJUANA ABUSE EFFECTS ON THE MIND:
When marijuana is smoked, the THC passes from the lungs and into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the organs throughout the body, including the brain. In the brain, the THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Many of these receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. The short-term effects of marijuana include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem-solving, and loss of coordination. The effect of marijuana on perception and coordination are responsible for serious impairments in driving abilities. Long-term chronic marijuana use is associated with Amotivational Syndrome, characterized by apathy, impairment of judgment, memory and concentration, and loss of motivation, ambition and interest in the pursuit of personal goals. High doses of marijuana can result in mental confusion, panic reactions and hallucinations. Researchers have also found an association between marijuana use and an increased risk of depression; an increased risk and earlier onset of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, especially for teens that have a genetic predisposition.
MARIJUANA ABUSE EFFECTS ON THE BODY:
Short-term physical effects from marijuana use may include sedation, blood shot eyes, increased heart rate, coughing from lung irritation, increased appetite, and decreased blood pressure. Like tobacco smokers, marijuana smokers experience serious health problems such as bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Extended use may cause suppression of the immune system. Because marijuana contains toxins and carcinogens, marijuana smokers increase their risk of cancer of the head, neck, lungs and respiratory track. Withdrawal from chronic use of high doses of marijuana causes physical signs including headache, shakiness, sweating, stomach pains and nausea, as well as behavioral signs including restlessness, irritability, sleep difficulties and decreased appetite. There has been no reported death from overdose of marijuana.
OTHER NAMES FOR MARIJUANA:
Some common names are: “pot,” “grass,” “herb,” “weed,” “Mary Jane,” “widow,” “hash,” “St.Nicholas,” “reefer,” “skunk,” “boom,” “gangster,”kif,” “chronic,” and “ganja.”