The Negative Effects Of Marijuana In Schools

Marijuana, while possibly enjoyable, has negative effects on a student’s school life if smoked daily. This can be seen in their poor academic performance during school. After-school, it is also reflected in their participation in sports. Pot can also drive a wedge between an adolescent and their loved ones. Research and personal stories have shown links between marijuana and grades.
Smoking marijuana everyday does not boost one’s grade, it only decreases it. Students who smoke marijuana daily tend to earn lower grades. One girl named Heather, from Chicago, had been a straight A student at the beginning of her freshman year. But “by the end of Heather’s freshman year, her grade-point average had plummeted from 4.0 to 1.2” (d’Aulaires 20). She had lost her straight A status and had began earning Cs, Ds, and Fs in its place. It is also difficult to be very efficient while high. This is because the main chemical in marijuana, THC, “may suppress the neurons of the hippocampus -- where short term memories are
processed and sent to other brain areas for storage. As a result, the ability to learn and to remember recent events may be hampered” (d’Aulaires). Daily users most likely will not learn as much during a high as their sober peers. Everyday usage of marijuana can lead to high amounts of absences, making it even more difficult for that student to learn. Also at the end of Heather’s first year of high school, “she’d tallied up a staggering 39 absences” (d’Aulaires 20). The otherwise always punctual Heather, had now found herself absent from school in excess due to her marijuana habit. Marijuana does not only reduce a teen’s academic skills in school, it reduces their athletic skills as well. Marijuana has no benefits in regards to sports.
In fact, marijuana negatively alters performance. THC disrupts one’s playing abilities by interfering “with the normal functioning of the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for balance, posture, and coordination of movement” (ForReal.org). It also “impairs skills requiring eye-hand coordination and a fast reaction time” (ESPN). Therefore, someone who is currently stoned could seriously injure themselves and/or others if they were to play a game like football or baseball, which requires eye-hand coordination and a fast reaction time. Marijuana is not a one and done drug. These skills could be altered for “up to 24 to 36 hours after usage” (ESPN). So even if a student athlete were to smoke a day in advance of a practice or game, their abilities may still be diminished when it’s needed the most. Dropping grades and an inability to play at their best can cause a teenage pothead to lose several
relationships.
Teens that smoke marijuana everyday begin to only care about the drug. This was the case with Heather, who “no longer cared about anyone or anything -- except her next high” (d’Aulaires). Marijuana smokers tend to put in little effort to maintain relationships that were once important. Teenagers especially become much more devious and likely lie to the ones they love to avoid the repercussions of their bad habit. The trust that was once had in their relationship is ceased. And it is very difficult to rebuild. Marijuana is a rising epidemic that has plagued high schools. Nowadays, more and more teenagers think it is okay to smoke pot. The reality is that marijuana can ruin several different aspects of a young teenager’s life. And once those pieces are broken, they are strenuous to reassemble. In order to be a successful adult, teenagers need to do well in high school. And it’s almost impossible to do that if they are smoking marijuana everyday.