FREE ESSAY ON EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA

EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA

Essay Question: Outline the use of marijuana and identify the acute and chronic harmful
biological and psychological effects of marijuana on individuals.
The use of marijuana is widespread by all classes, races, and cultures. Marijuana has
been used for a multitude of purposes over thousands of years, and is still, today, is
being used for many of the same purposes. (Hawks 1982) It is some of the possible
outcomes of the usage of marijuana, and a brief history of marijuana that will be
discussed in this paper. The outcomes associated with the use and abuse of marijuana is
the major focus of this paper, and will be discussed and will be divided up in two
groups. These groups include Medicinal/therapeutic users, and recreational users.
Recreational users will then be divided into 2 groups; acute (experimental) users, and
chronic (habitual) users. The topic of marijuana use is very broad and has an intricate
effect on society as a whole, however, for the purpose of this paper, the literature
review is based on a very narrow fraction of the topic of marijuana, namely, the harmful
biological and psychological effects of the drug.
Marijuana is a naturally occurring plant with several species. Cannabis indica and
cannabis sativa are the two most common types of marijuana in the developed world. These
two species can be prepared for the use of people in a number of ways. The plant may be
dried and used for intoxication, or as resin can be collected from the plant by
compressing the plant into a brick. Also by drying the plant and boiling it in alcohol
and filtering the matter to make hash oil is a way of preparing the plant for human
consumption. The potency of the marijuana substances depends on the climatic conditions,
soil nutrients of the environment in which the plant is grown (Listin 1998)
(Marijuana can be administered in many ways (Hawks 1982). These ways include inhaling the
fumes by smoking the plant, or by eating the plant baked into biscuits. The levels of
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in marijuana consumed from the
different methods of administering varies, and hence, so does the effect of the
administered amount.
THC is lipid soluble and is stored readily in fatty tissues in the body. As a
consequence, traces of THC can be detected in the urine up to 2 - 3 months after
marijuana use. The reason for the extended period of time that THC stays in the body is
that unlike alcohol, which is excreted through the kidneys, THC very slowly seeps out of
the fat cells. Therefore, a trace of THC in the urine of a person is not necessarily an
indication of recent marijuana use (Hall, Solowij and Lemon 1994).
Medical/therapeutic use of marijuana is largely concealed because of the known fact that
marijuana is an illegal drug in Australia and most countries. However, history shows that
marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes for over 3000 years. Medical uses of
marijuana include pain management, as an antispasmoic, as an antimeric and for
constipation, and epilepsy. (Mathre 1997)
The recreational use of marijuana is one area where harmful biological and psychological
effects occur. Recreational can be divided into the 2 above-mentioned groups;
experimental and habitual. According to the National Drug Strategy (1994) experimental
use of marijuana is statistically the most prevalent in Australia, with an estimate of
80% of marijuana users being experimental users. Regular users of marijuana are those who
use marijuana on a weekly basis, the prevalence of regular users is 15% of users in
Australia. Chronic habitual users are those users who have used marijuana on a daily
basis for a number of years. Prevalence of habitual users is 5% of the total amount of
marijuana smokers in Australia. The main focus of this paper is on the 2 last mentioned
groups classified as 'chronic' users.
The effect of marijuana is varied from individual to individual. This is because of the
variables in route of administration, the mood of the user, the environment in which
marijuana is smoked, the amount smoked, the body's ability to absorb, previous use, and
the potency of the drug (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services 1995).
The human body has cannabinoid receptors, which respond to THC and absorb and distribute
THC to the nervous system. THC is rapidly distributed throughout the body starting with
the brain, liver, and kidneys, and later distributes right through to the extremities
with less blood flow (Liston 1998). THC levels peak at 30 - 40 minutes after smoking
marijuana, and within 2 - 3 hours if ingested orally. The THC will have a half-life of 20
- 30 hours for daily (chronic habitual) users and a half-life of 50 - 70 hours in
occasional (recreational acute) users. This slower release of THC and it's metabolites is
due to their high fat solubility and the consequent slow release back into the blood from
the 'storage' areas, namely the fat supplies, of the body. (National Health Strategy
1994).
Harmful effects of Marijuana can be divided up into 2 groups: biological and
psychological effects. Both the biological effects and the psychological effects can be
divided into short term and long term damage. In other words, from the use of marijuana
short term, and long term damage has been found in individuals. This damage is
psychological damage, physical damage, or both. Short-term damage is only temporary, and
the individual will recover some weeks after cessation of taking marijuana. Long term
damage, on the other hand, will last a lifetime (Mathre 1997).
Initially, within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana smoke, users likely experience dry
mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination, a decreased sense of balance, and
slower reaction times. Blood pressure is likely to increase and, in some cases the heart
rate can double the baseline rate. (www.nida.nih.gov)
Marijuana smokes regularly encounter many of the same biological respiratory problems
that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may have daily coughs and phlegm, symptoms
of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds than non-smokers. Continuing to
smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of the lungs and airways
(www.nida.nih.gov). Nahas (1992) agrees with this, and elaborates further on the harmful
biological effects of marijuana use. Chronic use of marijuana can (by inhalation) causes
some mutagenic effects, and hence, be of possible danger to having carcinogenic
properties. Hence, it can be concluded that chronic use of marijuana can have the harmful
biological effect of causing lung cancer (Nahas 1992). Also, on the topic of mutatious
damage from the effect of marijuana on human genetics, chronic use may also lead to
decreased testosterone concentrations (M.mol/L in the blood stream) and cause
impermanent, or inhibition of spermatocytes. Nahas (1992)
Furthermore, THC suppresses the neurones in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part
of the brain responsible for information processing, learning, memory, and the
integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivation (www.nida.nih.gov).
McCance and Huether (1998) state that the neurones of the hippocampus are suppressed in
chronic schizophrenics as opposed to in control groups of studies where the neurones are
considered 'normal' and not suppressed. So, assuming that the facts of the American
National Institute of Drug Abuse are correct, the suppressed neurones of the hippocampus
caused by marijuana use, and McCance and Huether's (1998) research into the suppressed
neurones of the hippocampus the following can be concluded. Presence of suppressed
neurones in schizophrenia patients clearly links the common theory of a cause of drug
induced schizophrenia as being contributed to by marijuana use/abuse. According to
Continuing Medical Education, Inc. (www.mhsource.com) this is the reason as to why
marijuana had the harmful psychological effect of contributing to drug induced
schizophrenia on some individuals who are chronic smokers of marijuana.
(www.mhsource.com)
Chronic abuse of marijuana is also associated with the harmful psychological effects of
impaired attention span and memory (www.nida.nih.gov). Prenatal exposure to marijuana has
been associated with the psychological effects of impaired verbal reasoning and memory in
preschool children. (www.nida.nih.gov). Of possible relevance are findings from animal
studies showing chronic exposure to THC, biologically affects the animals because THC
damages and destroys nerve cells and causes pathological changes in the hippocampus. This
form of damage is irreversible and long term. This illustrates the theory that the same
damaging biological effect that marijuana has had on these animals' nerve cells probably
also occur in human beings. Hence, it can be reasoned that marijuana had the harmful
biological effect of destroying nerve cells which, in turn, causes the psychological
damage of impaired memory, and attention span of individuals using marijuana
(www.nida.nih.gov).
According to the Central Coast Area Health Service (1998) (CCAHS) the main effects of
initial marijuana use is on cognitive functioning. CCAHS (1998, P.2) states that these .
. . effects are exerted through cannabinoid receptors that are located in both the
hippocampus and cortex of the brain. High densities of cannabinoid receptors also appear
in the basal ganglia and cerebellum. Furthermore, CCHAS (1998) also believes that this is
consistent with the findings that cannabinoids absorbed from marijuana consumption has
the harmful short-term effects of interfering with coordination.
Another chronic harmful effect of marijuana use is the psychological effect that cannabis
has on motivation. Particularly in adolescents, chronic use of marijuana interferes with
developmental tasks such as academic achievement, separation from parents, formation of
peer relationships, the making of life choices and goal setting. THC simply affects
individuals in such a way that from chronic use individuals loose all of the mentioned
wants, goals, and relationship strengths (Baumrind and Moselle 1985).
The acute harmful effects of marijuana, also referred to as a high, or 'altered state of
consciousness'. (Hall, Solowij and Lemon 1994) This state is characterised by emotional
changes, and increased sensory experiences such as increased perception of listening to
music, sexual intercourse, or eating food. As stated earlier in the paper, each
individual's perception of a 'high' differs greatly. Some common unpleasant experiences,
however, include anxiety, panic attacks and depressed mood. Hall, Solowij and Lemon
(1994) state that these effects are mostly found in the inexperienced user. Are these
effects of marijuana consumption psychologically harmful? Hall, Solowij and Lemon (1994)
describe these acute effects as harmful if marijuana is used often, however, this seems
quite subjective, considering these are very short term effects. If the user continues
smoking, it could definitely be considered harmful, however, as a single case experience
for an individual, it is not considered harmful by Hall, Solowij and Lemon (1994).
Biologically, the acute effects of marijuana may be short term, and immediately not
necessarily damaging. An increase in heart rate will occur, when marijuana fumes are
first inhaled, and the increased heart rate is likely to last up to 3 hours (Hall,
Solowij and Lemon 1994). This is not of any concern to young healthy individuals,
however, it may have an adverse effect on older users with illnesses such as ischaemic
heart disease, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease. Apart from the fact that
cannabis causes an increased heart rate, which obviously can cause some problems for some
people, cannabis can cause severe harm to other patients (Hall, Solowij and Lemon 1994).
Cannabis acts on the body to increase catecholamine production, which may cause
arrhythmias and result in angina.
This paper has merely touched the surface of the topic of marijuana. The acute and
chronic harmful biological and psychological effects of marijuana on individuals has been
thoroughly discussed. Further, the topic of marijuana is perpetual and complex, and,
hence, purposely the question answered in this paper has been very narrow for the purpose
of focusing in detail on a very narrow part of the marijuana issue. It has been
documented in this paper that the use of marijuana is widespread by all classes, races,
and cultures. It has been discussed in that marijuana has been used for a multitude of
purposes over thousands of years, and is still, today, is being used for many of the same
purposes. Some of the outcomes of the usage of marijuana have been discussed with a major
focus on the biological and psychological harm that marijuana causes on individuals. A
brief history of marijuana was been reviewed in order for the reader to comprehend the
circumstances of the place marijuana has in society. The outcomes associated with the use
and abuse of marijuana, have been discussed and were divided up in two groups for the
purpose of simplifying the issue for greater understanding. Finally, this paper has
achieved the aim of outlining the use of marijuana and has identified the acute and
chronic harmful biological and psychological effects of marijuana on individuals.
Bibliography
Reference list.
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Australia.
Hawks, R. L. 1982. The analysis of cacaninoids in biological fuuids. Department of health
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http://www.mhsource.com:80/expert/exp1052796d.html (19/04/2000)
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