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By: David Paulson
OPINION: I no longer smoke marijuana, but I can remember the first time I experienced it. My parents were upstairs sleeping and my older brother had recently arrived home, it was late. He had a mischievous grin on his face and signaled me to follow him into his bedroom whispering that he wanted me to see something. He pulled out a home made gravity bong~ (a device usually used to inhale large amounts of marijuana smoke) and showed me how to smoke out of it. I had never inhaled so much smoke in my life. I exhaled choking on the smoke accompanied with coughing spasms and then soon found myself with my head in his paper trash bag in a hallucinogenic trance and hysterically laughing. I thought it was wonderful! Years later I was still smoking marijuana. I never realized how much animosity towards my life and others it had brought upon me until I was forced to quit smoking because I enlisted in the military. There may be many of you out there that can relate because you took the first step in recovery. You quit smoking the drug that seemed to take away so much pain because you realized it was in fact adding to your pain psychologically.
Despite the myth that using marijuana is harmless it is in fact the opposite. I am writing this article to give you an open-minded viewpoint to the negative side effects of using marijuana. I have done a thorough investigation to give you the details:
1. Smoking marijuana on a habitual basis wreaks havoc on the brain just as drinking alcohol regularly kills brain cells and your liver. The natural chemical balance of the brain is disrupted effecting the pleasure centers and regulatory systems, and the ability to learn, remember and adapt quickly to changes is impaired by marijuana use. Also using marijuana speeds up the heart, blood and breathing rate despite common belief that it doesn’t. The body becomes taxed more and this speeds up the aging process just like met amphetamines do. The marijuana side effects from this extra exertion on the body include a higher risk for lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes.
2. When consuming a larger dose at once, for example eating marijuana, it is easier to experience toxic psychosis. The side effects result in hallucinations, delusions and loss of self-identification. Recent studies show that more than 11 million people last month smoked marijuana and 6 to 11 percent of fatal accidents each year are contributed by marijuana usage. Depression often occurs with marijuana use as with any other drug when used to escape reality, which feeds into the cycle of more drug use to treat the psychological pain created by drug use.When I smoked marijuana, I didn’t realize I used it to escape reality and that I was becoming depressed with life. When I was placed into the world alone and away from all my friends and family, I soon realized that I had a harder time coping with reality than those who hadn’t smoked marijuana. Who was I? And, where was I going?
3. This cycle of addiction used to treat depression or pain is very powerful and users soon find they cannot stop using the drug even if they want to. Addiction is identified as a compulsive, uncontrollable craving for the drug even with pending negative consequences. This describes being enveloped by a disease that has taken control and needs to be treated. Some of the more external side effects include legal problems, work availability, financial problems, and troubles at home. Many companies require drug screening and many marijuana users will smoke it until mere hours before their drug test.
Marijuana addiction is a progressive disease including withdrawal and obsessive thoughts when not made available. I will admit that I have no prejudices against marijuana, because I believe if used responsibly, it can be enjoyable. I believe that marijuana is as detrimental to the self as alcohol, it is a matter of self control and amount of consumption. Alcohol can be used as a perfect example… if you are not endangering peoples lives by drinking and driving, it is safe to others. It is your decision to decide if you want to drink. The facts I have given are based on short and long term effects. If you see a friend abusing alcohol and you know they are drinking too much where it is becoming harmful, you should tell them to quit drinking. Marijuana is no different.
My personal belief is that marijuana should be made legal but have laws regulating its usage. Less criminal activity would arise due to availability and a universal respect would follow to use it safely. If our views on marijuana were shaped by acknowledging it as a drug that can escalate into problems, then we will come to respect the laws that guide its usage for our safety. I don’t favor the effects marijuana has had on my life, so before you try marijuana, please keep in consideration the devastating side effects it can lead up to if not handled properly.
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