Definition: Marijuana is a drug extracted from the dried flowers, stems, and leaves of hemp plant, biologically known as Cannabis sativa. The psychoactive or the mind-changing ingredient in this drug is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol(THC). It is also called as weed, pot, reefer, or grass in United States.
Abusive properties of Marijuana:
The effects of Marijuana use is severe and several. They result in lot of physical and mental problems. The adverse effects of marijuana are:
Short-term effects and immediate physiecal effects of Marijuana:
The short term effects include increased heart beat and pulse, dry mouth, dry throat, loss of coordination, blood shot eyes, decreased blood pressure.
The long-term users of marijuana develop psychological dependence on it. They face problems in controlling the use of marijuana. They will start wanting for more of the drug to get the same effect.
Effects on brain: The THC in the marijuana acts on the cannabinoid receptors on the nerve cells of the brain which is in charge of the coordination, memory, pleasure, concentration, and perception movements.
Effect on heart: The effect of marijuana use is quicker than the effect of tobacco use. It increases the heart beat and also causes chest pain in persons with problem in blood supply to the heart.
Effect on lungs: Marijuana is most of the time is inhaled. The smoke affects the lung tissues and damages them which may result in many disease conditions like lung cancer and emphysema.
Medical properties of Marijuana
Contrary to the above, Marijuana is known to have medical properties. It is reported to be an effective analgesic and anticonvulsant. Marijuana is also used as medicine to many disease conditions. Some of them are anorexia, asthma, hypertension, insomnia, depression, glaucoma, and migraine. A recent study has also shown that marijuana is effective in controlling the nausea when one is exposed to chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Those who are guilty of THC abuse might try to pass THC drug test. There are several home drug tests for marijuana and THC drug screen is not as complicated after the coming of the marijuana drug testing which you can do on your own.