One of the common signs of adolescence is peer pressure. Many teenagers are attracted to taking drugs by their friends and close relatives of the same age (Benschop et al., 2015). At that age, they think that the drugs are a positive influence on them and it helps them feel better when faced with cumbersome situations. The brain is at the peak of development and is transitioning from childhood to adulthood which makes the effects of abusing cannabis even worse. It means a higher risk of addiction and irrational decisions such as unprotected sex. The implications of the vice are discussed below.
First, bhang reduces the cognitive development of an individual compared to alcohol which is also a commonly abused drug (The American Journal of Psychiatry, 2018). The rising popularity of the drug has also made it more cumbersome to sensitize the youth against it. Many teenagers think that taking part in drug use is a means to gain popularity among their peers. They try to impress their age mates by selling them the drugs. The effects are felt in the hippocampus which is responsible for form memory (Moscovitch et al., 2016). Besides, it also impairs concentration which reduces the academic performance. In some instances, they even drop out of school due to the inability to focus and concentrate on what is being taught.
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Furthermore, marijuana use results in a decrease in IQ of an individual (The American Psychological Association, 2015). Continued use results in the drop of the intelligence quotient by up to six points. In teenagers, the drop happens more drastically compared to adults because their brains are still underdeveloped. It implies that the adverse effects show faster compared to adults. Though there may be some recovery after some time without cannabis, the chances are very minimal in adolescents compared to adults.
In conclusion, the best means to curb with the vice is by sensitizing the teenagers about the effects using real-life examples. In most institutions, the teachings are only theoretical which makes it harder to convince the students. By giving them chances to go to rehabilitation centers, the students learn about the effects more vividly and cease their traits. It helps resist peer influence on them because they know the impact. In considering this review, an organization gets the proper means to curb the issue of marijuana abuse. The technique of offering more vivid examples using real life situations creates a better impression than the theoretical teachings that are offered by other agencies.
References
Benschop, A., Liebregts, N., van der Pol, P., Schaap, R., Buisman, R., van Laar, M., ... & Korf, D. J. (2015). Reliability and validity of the Marijuana Motives Measure among young adult frequent cannabis users and associations with cannabis dependence. Addictive Behaviors , 40 , 91-95.
Moscovitch, M., Cabeza, R., Winocur, G., & Nadel, L. (2016). Episodic memory and beyond: the hippocampus and neocortex in transformation. Annual review of psychology , 67 , 105-134.
The American Journal of Psychiatry. (2018). A Population-Based Analysis of the Relationship between Substance Use and Adolescent Cognitive Development | American Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved from https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18020202
The American Psychological Association. (2015). Marijuana and the developing brain. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/11/marijuana-brain
