Marijuana

lighting up a cigarette

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Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used by teenagers and adults around the world. Nearly a third of high school students in the United States report smoking it, and most high schoolers say they have access to the drug.

 

To many people, smoking pot is no big deal. They cite reasons such as: “it isn’t dangerous or addictive” and “everybody is doing it.”

Denise Walker, co-director of the University of Washington’s Innovative Programs Research Group, disagrees.

“It’s not a risk-free drug,” she said. “Lots of people who use it do so without problems. But there are others who use it regularly – almost daily – and want to stop but aren’t sure how.” [continue reading…]

Does Marijuana Really Trigger Psychosis?

Many in the media have speculated that Jared Loughner’s heavy use of marijuana could have been in some way behind his recent rampage in Arizona that cost six people their lives, and left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded. Is this claim just media hype or based on real science?

The experts over at BigThink take a look at this question: Link to read more

Source: BigThink

Marijuana Worsens Schizophrenia

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Marijuana gives people with schizophrenia a quick rush but worsens their psychotic symptoms within a few hours, a new study reveals.

Researchers in the Netherlands recruited 48 psychiatric patients and 47 healthy people to record what they were doing and how they felt 12 times a day for six days. All the study participants were regular pot smokers. The results showed that schizophrenia sufferers were more sensitive than healthy individuals to both the positive and negative effects of marijuana, or cannabis. continue reading
Source: Live Science

The Straight Dope

Studies Suggest Parental Monitoring Can Help Decrease Adolescent Marijuana Use

Photo Credit: iStockphoto

Photo Credit: iStockphoto

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by adolescents, with almost 42% of high school seniors admitting to having experimented with it. Continued marijuana use may result in a number of serious consequences including depression, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer. As such, it is critical to prevent marijuana use by adolescents and numerous behavioral and medical scientists have been trying to establish the best means of prevention. [continue reading…]