Marijuana Effects On Teens

As the Nation moves forward and advances Marijuana continues to take the nation by storm as 23 states have legalized the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States (NIDA). Regardless of political views marijuana has astonishing effects, specifically on young adults or teens. Marijuana, also known as weed, pot, herb, bud, Mary Jane, grass, MJ, chronic, ganja and more derives from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa. Whether the plant is dried and smoked or mixed into an edible form the user attempts to attain the active chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in order to get high. Through research many questions about the effect of the popular drug on teens may be answered including, trends in teenage marijuana use, the effect of marijuana
The brain of the average human is not done developing until the age of 25 or 26 therefore teen smokers risk directly affecting the process of their developing brain (URMC). According to NIDA for Teens (NIDAT) chronic use of the drug can lead to damage in the hippocampus, a key component of the brain as well as an 8 point drop in IQ in recent studies. By damaging the hippocampus one may affect the ability to learn and can also damage memory as these are two of the main functions of the hippocampus. Analyzing the effects of THC which alters information received in the hippocampus can also explain the difficulty to create memories while high. With steady use these difficulties in memory can become long lasting and also bring along troubles in judgement as well as cognitive impairment. The American Psychological Association (APA) states that short term effects of marijuana on the brain include impaired functions such as attention, memory, learning and decision-making. With the brain under construction during teen years any cessation to development can crucially impact the final outcome as being high can be considered a cessation of brain development. Since the brain is developing the short term affects can last longer in an adolescent’s brain slowing reaction time even days after being high. Furthermore according to Health Line (HL) there may be a link between depression and anxiety to the use of Marijuana. Previous generations argue that their brains were not dramatically affected while growing up on Marijuana however according to the Trusted Teen Treatment (TTT) versions of Marijuana today contain more THC than those available in the 1970’s, containing up to 10% THC. With this said the effects of the higher THC can only be hoped to be prevented as the result are in the