The TRUTH about Marijuana

Marijuana is the center of one of the hottest debates in psychology, medicine, politics, pretty much everywhere. Everyone has their own opinions about marijuana and it seems everyone has their own data and statistics proving their side is correct. It is the most popular and widely used drug in America, and many people argue how harmful, if at all, this drug really is.

Well, sadly, the truth is we really don't know what affect marijuana has on the brain.

I know what side I'm on when it come to marijuana arguments, but I'm not trying to force my ideas on you. All I want to do is give you some true facts and let you decide.

Does Marijuana cause respiratory problems?
Many people have heard crazy things like a joint of marijuana hurts your lungs as much as 50 cigarettes. Obviously this is an exaggeration, but really any kind of smoke that enters your lungs will have negative effects on your lungs and/or throat. Therefore, even if marijuana does not affect the brain heavy use would still be discouraged because of the damage it does to a person's lungs.

Does Marijuana weaken your immune system?
Studies have been done on this with animals, and theoretically cannabis could slightly suppress the body's immune system. However, when studies were done the data found that smokers did not catch substantially more infectious diseases than nonsmokers. Although this does complete wipe the idea that marijuana has an effect on the immune system, research has shown that the amount of influence it has is minimal and probably not enough to base any strong argument on.

Does Marijuana really have negative long-term effects on the brain and cognitive functioning? Obviously, smoking cannabis has a negative effect on attention, cognitive ability, judgment, and a whole list of other mental activities. But is this a permanant effect or does it just wear off? Well, it is very unlikely that marijuana could have no affect on the brain. The question is whether the effects are prominent enough to really make a difference in a person's thought and thinking. The Yurhelun-Todd experiment tested 3 different groups; those that did not smoke, short term smokers (only smoked for about a week or a few days), and heavy users. The results on the Auditory Verbal Learning Test they were given seemed to be consistent with popular belief. The marijuana-free subjects did the best, although the short term smokers scored only about 5% lower. However, the heavy users' scores were way lower, about 15%. This does prove that marijuana can have a big impact on learnig. Intrestingly, however, after the heavy users stopped smoking for about a month the deficits vanished!

These back and forth results seem to favor both sides, and it seems that since marijuana is already seen by siciety as harmful, it would have to be proven as harmless for people to accept it. As you can see from the results, this will be extremely difficult, and instead of trying to persuade others what to think, make a decision for yourself and do what you feel is right.