ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE
More on Marijuana
You may have heard it called pot, weed, grass, ganja or skunk, but marijuana by any other name is still a drug that affects the brain.
Did you know marijuana can cause some people to lose focus on events around them? It makes others more aware of their physical sensations, and it has still more effects on other people.
All these different changes are caused by chemicals that affect the brain. More than 400 chemicals are in the average marijuana plant. When smoked, heat produces even more of them!
Marijuana causes some parts of the brain - such as those governing emotions, memory and judgment -- to lose balance and control.
The chemical in marijuana that has a big impact on the brain is called THC -- tetrahydrocannabinol. Scientists recently discovered that some areas of the brain have a lot of THC receptors, while others have very few or none. These clues are helping researchers figure out exactly how THC works in the brain.
One region of the brain that contains a lot of THC receptors is the hippocampus, which processes memory. When THC attaches to receptors in the hippocampus, it weakens short-term memory.
The hippocampus also communicates with other brain regions that process new information into long-term memory. (That's how you can remember today's math lesson or a new friend's phone number.) In the brain, under the influence of marijuana, new information may never register - and may be lost from memory.
Maybe you've heard that in some people, marijuana can cause uncontrollable laughter one minute and paranoia the next. That's because THC also influences emotions, probably by acting on a region of the brain called the limbic system.
And don't forget this: THC can make something as simple as driving a car really dangerous.
10 Things Every Teen Should Know About Marijuana
- Marijuana is illegal. Using, holding, buying, or selling marijuana can get you suspended or expelled from school. This will hurt your chances of getting a job in the future, and may completely prevent you from getting certain jobs.
- Resist peer pressure. Marijuana may make you feel part of the crowd for a while -- but who needs friends who could self destruct at any moment?
- Keep on the right track. Marijuana reduces your ability to do things that require coordination and concentration, like sports, dancing, acting, and studying.
- Think twice about what you are advertising if you wear clothing that has anything to do with marijuana on it. Do you want to promote something that can cause cancer? Make you forget things? Or make it difficult to drive a car? Think about what you're doing if you wear T-shirts, hats, pins, or jewelry with a pot leaf/joint/blunt on them.
- Do the right thing. Using marijuana hurts your education, family ties, and social life.
- It's a risky business. Marijuana interferes with your thinking and judgment. Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, violence and car crashes are all possibilities when you use marijuana.
- Get with the program. Contrary to what you might hear in songs or see on TV or in the movies, smoking marijuana does not make you cool.
- You can get hooked. Many users report that, over time, they require more of the drug to get the same effect.
- Talk about your problems. Using marijuana won't help you escape your problems, it will only create more. Don't believe people who say that marijuana is no big deal, or that it will make your life better.
- You don't need it. If you think "everybody's doing it" you're wrong -- over 86 percent of 12-17 year olds have never even tried marijuana. Marijuana won't make you happy or popular or help you learn the skills you need as you grow up. You can do that with the help of friends, family, and other adults you trust.
