Marijuana
Knowing that his first hour teacher didn't care if he was tardy, Jason casually walked off campus against the flow of everyone hurrying to their classes. As he walked to the alley where he went every day, he had already begun breaking up the big pieces of dried cannabis in his hand. When his friends ask if his teacher cares, he replies that he's sure his entire first period knows he walks in stoned, but they don't care. Jason is just one of the 27% of high school seniors who have used marijuana in the last month. Marijuana, whose use predates modern civilization, has become the most controversial drug of our time and may have greater adverse effects on the mind than once believed. "The first solid evidence of hemp use...comes from the Yang-shao culture of China (about 4500 BC)..." (Hermes and Galperin, 29). Granted it was used primarily for rope and making nets, "THC (as well as nicotine and cocaine) was recently identified in an Egyptian mummy from approximately 950 BC." (Kuhn et al., 125). Virginia and Massachusetts were the first places to grow the plant in North America in the early 1600's. But what began as one of the most essential crops for the colonies became the target of public concern near the start of t
Which leads us to the next point. Light smokers still bother themselves with keeping up appearances. This include staying friends with the people they met at those events they attended. The only connections to the real world a heavy user has are the people he smokes with. They stop attending those events where they met most of their friends and never call any of them unless they have pot to smoke or would want to smoke with him. A lot of light smokers continue to have a girlfriend in their life. But in a heavy smokers life, the only significant other is marijuana. This being another clue that he has become a heavy smoker, when his girlfriend dumps him because she never sees him. Jason continued to think, "I can hang out with her next weekend, I'm gonna get stoned." This rationalization worked until he used it every weekend and she broke up with him. In the end, the differences between light and heavy smokers all lead to the major one. If this main difference could be seen by the heavy smokers, most would quit cold turkey, and the light users too to keep from making that shift. The difference is their "lives." Heavy smokers' lives lead nowhere. There are no exceptions. Sure a couple get lucky as rock stars or artists. But still, where have their lives gone? Jason thinks he's having a life full of more fun than the student sitting next to him in his first hour. If his life continues the way it is now, he will end up flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant and won't even be able to remember thinking that. Ironically, the reason he won't remember thinking that, in his first hour, on that day, is because of the "fun" he had before class. What used to be thought of as simple brain cell destruction like all the other drugs commit, is actually a very different story. In fact, there is really no evidence that the amount of marijuana smoked today destroys any brain cells at all. "THC embraces specific sites on cells called receptors and launches a series of reactions that lead to the drug's side effects." (Ariniello 1). These cannabinoid receptors are a very recent discovery compared to how long people have been using THC to activate them. These receptors are only found in certain parts of the brain. For example, none are found in the brain stem, which controls breathing. "That may be why it's virtually impossible to take a fatal overdose of marijuana." (Kuhn et al., 132). The only good things these receptors have been found to do are suppress pain and increase appetite. Jason cannot identify why he began using marijuana. It is probably the result of multiple influences-psychological, biological, and social conditions-that caused him to be prone to abuse and addiction. "Adolescents who regularly use drugs tend to harbor unconventional beliefs and attitudes...may feel that their parents don't love them...or may suffer from depression or emotional distress." (Connolly, 33). This generation is becoming more and more amotivational by nature, relying on technology and cheating to get around the work involved in success. A lot of teens simply don't care to put in the effort to achieve long-term goals, and avoid the stress of not achieving anything by turning to drugs. All we can do is continue to encourage these teens through education and fun and motivational alternative activities for them to engage in; Show them how their current lifestyles can lead them into the future and there is no success that stems from drugs. To give into any addiction is to lose hope, which nobody should ever be without. Second, light smokers will work very hard to keep up that image of the non-smoker they had before they started. Many people who begin experimenting with drugs will continue to hold student council or community positions in order to look like they have their time all tied up. People tend to look favorably on those who are involved and naturally slight those who are not. As users slowly shifts to being h
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Approximate Word count = 2749
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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