The legal status of marijuana is shifting in several places who are attaching it an herbal use. Researchers and health practitioners must carry more study to ascertain the effects of the drug on the health of individuals. Its legalization is some nations should only be considered once the value of humanity is regarded. Its medicinal use must be extensively established and defined. This paper is going to explore the addiction component of marijuana, warning signs of marijuana use and medical and social troubles associated with addiction.
The Addiction Component of Marijuana
Even though marijuana is not as addictive as several other illegal drugs, about 10 percent of people who have utilized cannabis progressed to a dependence mode, as per a 2016 analysis printed in “Addiction Science and Clinical Practice (Volkow, Swanson, Evins, DeLisi, Meier, Gonzalez, & Baler, 2016).” It has been a controversial matter whether marijuana is addictive or otherwise. Some smokers of marijuana have denied that no one can ever addicted to weed, while other maintain that other ingredients of marijuana can be categorized as addictive components.
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Marijuana’s active component is THC, which is more addictive presently than it was in the past. This is submerged to a larger group that disregards the aspect of addiction and supports its medicinal use. Majorly, addiction to marijuana can only be viewed as a personal experience, since it may not have similar addictive aspects on some individuals than it happens on others. Nonetheless, times have changed, and marijuana is in fact more addictive now that it was before. Sevigny, Pacula, and Heaton (2014) support this fact by highlighting that the major active component is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC has the same chemical makeup called anandamide that is present in the brain and attaches itself to cannabinoid receptors. Consequently, it leads to dependency on the drug.
The Warning Signs of Addiction
Marijuana is an addictive drug like any other illicit drug. The warning signs of addiction are connected to mental, behavioral, and physical changes in the individual that is abusing the drug. The warning signs include a person having red eyes, excessive eating beyond the regular taking of meals, acquiring some products like rolling papers or bongs, spending time with addicts, withdrawing from people especially friends and family, poor performance and among others (Volkowet al., 2016). You will only love your associate to be marijuana smokers if you are beginning to be addicted or you are one already. Some of the signs would also include loving slang terms that are associated to marijuana like weed, bud, cannabis, kush, trees, and mota (Hutchison & Bryan, 2015). The individual would be so keen on things that are associated with the drug. In some moments, a person would have a challenge in sleeping with a series of nightmares. He or she may also appear or sound depressed and demonstrates a yearning to use marijuana each time.
Medical and Social Troubles Associated with Addiction
Marijuana influences our perception and judgment and is linked to low attainment in life. It cause memory and learning challenges that can particularly affect the people in school. As a result, there would be low performance, and individuals would tend to withdraw from the company others and sometimes totally isolate himself. Marijuana use would lead to an individual involving himself in delinquent behaviors, showing aggression and rebellion. These attitudes will lead to poor relationships with family and friends, especially parents (Hutchison & Bryan, 2015) . In fact, Sevigny, Pacula, and Heaton (2014) suggest that the person would feel hopeless and helpless in actions. He will be less motivated to engage with others and do things together with them. Someone using marijuana would be demoralized to participate in relationships and life activities. Continued use of marijuana will create problems in schools, workplaces, sports and someone cannot sustain healthy relationships.
As far as medical trouble is concerned, some constituents of brain performance totally after sometimes after someone ceases to use marijuana. However, in some cases people continue to experience problems when they stop marijuana use (Volkowet al., 2016) . Some of the brain process that is negatively impacted includes decision making, forming an idea and being able to plan.
In conclusion, the impacts of marijuana are most probably experienced among individuals who started using marijuana regularly and involved heavily in the drug for a long time. Daily or continual use of marijuana at intoxicating levels can cause chronic challenges like in social functioning. The use of marijuana to correct someone’s mood can attract many problems like frequent relapses.
References
Hutchison, K., & Bryan, A. (2015). Acute Responses to Marijuana: Effects of a Strain High in Cannabidiol. In NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY (Vol. 40, pp. S609-S610). MACMILLAN BUILDING, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON N1 9XW, ENGLAND: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.
Sevigny, E. L., Pacula, R. L., & Heaton, P. (2014). The effects of medical marijuana laws on potency. International Journal of Drug Policy , 25 (2), 308-319.
Volkow, N. D., Swanson, J. M., Evins, A. E., DeLisi, L. E., Meier, M. H., Gonzalez, R., & Baler, R. (2016). Effects of cannabis use on human behavior, including cognition, motivation, and psychosis: a review. JAMA psychiatry , 73 (3), 292-297.