Marijuana Essay Essay, Research Paper

Cannabis Sativa (marijuana) has been thought to

be an illegal and very harmful drug for many years. But as

you read this report you will learn that marijuana has been

around for many years (most years legal) and isn’t as

harmful as some people may think. Marijuana has been

used for many things in the past, including medicine, hemp

rope, crude cloth and enjoyment. Now it is mainly used as

a narcotic. Marijuana is an illegal weed that grows up to

eighteen feet tall with little or no cultivation. The plant has

many branches that extend with large, hairy, pointed leaves

with saw tooth edges. Marijuana grows wild all over the

world and in some states and countries it’s legal. Cloth and

rope are made from the stem which contains a tough fiber

called “hence.” The mind-altering drug in marijuana is called

“Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannibinol,” or THC. The mildest form

of marijuana contains between zero to three percent of

THC. Most of the THC is contained in the resign, which is

secreted around the flowers, seeds, and topmast leaves.

Until recently it was thought that only the female plant

contained the drug. But it is now known that both the

female and the male plants contain THC. THC stays in the

body for about 28 days. Marijuana can be prepared many

different ways therefore it has many different ways of

entering the body. When smoked the THC goes into the

lungs, directly into the bloodstream and to every cell in your

body. The effects depend upon the level of potency and

how much is consumed. The main effects of smoking are:

the heart rate may increase from 80 beats to 150 beats a

minute, the bronchial tubes enlarge and become relaxed

allowing extra oxygen to enter the body, giving a “High” like

feeling. There are no immediate physiological effects. The

feeling usually lasts from one to three hours. Marijuana can

also be ingested as a drink, cakes, brownies or many other

foods. When consumed in foods the effects start after one

half-hour and last from three to four hours. The potency of

Marijuana has increased at least ten times or 275% since

the 1960’s. Marijuana can be measured by it’s “therapeutic

ratio,” (the difference between the size of the dose needed

for the desired effect and the! size that produces

poisoning). The therapeutic ratio in marijuana has yet to be

found. The negative long term effects of heavy marijuana

use are, possible lung cancer, heart attacks in juveniles,

strokes in people under forty, and it depletes the brain of

serotonin and the user may lose his sense of well being or

may become depressed. The user may lose his short-term

memory, but after a week of not using it is usually regained.

“High Times Magazine.” Marijuana contains about 400

chemicals that break down into 2000 or more. One joint

contains as much tar as fourteen cigarettes. “Human

Relations Media” The traditional medications used to treat

AIDS sufferers cause a wide range of side effects. Virtually

the only medicine capable of treating the entire spectrum of

side effects without causing harm to the user is marijuana.

There are now 30 diseases listed under the condition

known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS.

Most AIDS sufferers will contract several of these 30

during the course of their illness before finally succumbing

to one of them. The traditional medications used in both

their treatment and as prophylaxis–or prevention–cause a

wide range of side effects, including loss of appetite,

nausea, headaches, depression, pain, disorientation and

fevers. Virtually the only medicine capable of treating the

entire spectrum of side effects without causing harm to the

user is marijuana. Naturally, it remains illegal. Provided by

the “High Times” website. Marijuana is one of the oldest

and widely used drugs in the world. It is the second most

popular intoxicant, next to alcohol. There are two hundred

million users in the country, and sixty million say that they

have tried it. Only 40% of high school students graduated

in 1995 without ever trying it. Approximately 33% of

people who try it become regular users within three to five

years. Smugglers traveling to the U.S.A. from Columbia,

Jamaica, and Mexico bring in five billion dollars worth each

year. Recently a large ship was spotted off of the U.S.

coast unloading thirty-three tons of marijuana onto

American soil. There have been over 9 million arrests for

marijuana-law violations in the United States since 1965,

with another arrest every 2 minutes. Over 80% of these

arrests are for possession for personal consumption,

according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports. Many of

the 20% that are labeled “sale/manufacturing” in the FBI’s

report actually involve cultivation for personal use or

possession of an amount large enough (usually over an

ounce) that the police infer possession with “intent” to

distribute, even though it might actually have been for

personal consumption. But in Singapore and Malaysia it’s

another story. There, the death penalty is handed out to

anyone in possession of drugs. In twenty years two

hundred and fifty people have been hung for possession.

Marijuana can be used for more than just the illegal use of

getting high. As you have read, it helps in medicine and the

stem can be used to make clothes or rope. Marijuana is

one of the mildest drugs out there and the one of the only

drugs that serves another purpose besides a “trip” or a

“high”.