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Marijuana is a mixture of leaves, stems, and seeds that come from the cannabis sativa plant, (pronounced "can-E-bus sa-TEE-va"). There are over 400 chemicals in marijuana. The chemical that makes the human mind work incorrectly is called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (pronounced "tetra-hi-dro-CAN-nab-a-nol") (THC). This is probably the chemical that makes people addicted to marijuana, also. Here is what scientists know about marijuana. They know marijuana use can cause people to forget things and interfere with learning. It can make you see and hear things that aren't there or distort the way you see and hear. Using marijuana makes it harder for you to think and solve problems. Also, if you use marijuana, you can become very uncoordinated. Marijuana can also increase your heartbeat and make you feel paranoid. Basically, being high on marijuana makes you do stupid things that could either embarrass or hurt you. Teens who use marijuana and also play sports or perform in other school activities will notice that they don't do as well. And, they risk losing friends who don't approve of using marijuana (and remember, most teens don't!) |
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Lungs |
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Marijuana affects your lungs the same way cigarettes do, and worse. Click here to see how cigarettes harm your lungs. Remember, some people say that someone who smokes marijuana (in joints) five times per week might be bringing in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes every day. People who smoke marijuana over a long period of time are also more likely to get chronic bronchitis or pneumonia (pronounced "na-MOAN-ya") than people who don't smoke. |
Brain |
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It's true, girls. Marijuana affects the brain. In fact, marijuana clouds the brain and makes it hard for the cells inside the brain to send messages to each other. This is bad because that is how different areas of the brain communicate with each other. It also makes it hard for messages to travel from the brain to the rest of the body. Here's what happens: The chemicals in marijuana travel through the body (in the blood, actually) and gather on nerve cells in the brain called receptors (pronounced "ree-SEPT-ors). The chemical THC changes the way the receptors work, and my teacher said it's definitely a change for the worse. One area of the brain that is most harmed by THC is the hippocampus. It is the hippocampus's job to help us remember things on a short-term basis, like the name of this Web site (It's Girl Power!, of course) or what you had for breakfast this morning. So basically, when THC gets to the receptors of the hippocampus, our short-term memory suffers, and that is not fun. The chemicals in marijuana (including THC) also damages the cerebral cortex (pronounced "sa-REE-brill core-tex"), the part of the brain that controls thinking and concentrating. I don't know about you, girls, but, marijuana is something I know I am going to stay away from. |
Immune System |
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Girls, this is one of the most important systems in our bodies. This is the system that keeps our bodies free from harmful things. For example, I am allergic to cats. Well, my health teacher told me today that I am really allergic to the skin cells on cats, and not the whole cat. Anyway, cats shed their skin cells all the time, and they are so tiny we can't recognize skin cells from regular house dust. When I walk into a house where cats live, I start to sneeze immediately. This is my body's immune system going into action. My immune system knows that my body sees the skin cells of cats as foreign and that I shouldn't breath them in. So, my body reacts by creating mucus. The skin cells that my immune system doesn't want in my body stick to the mucus and then I sneeze. You see, it is my immune system's job to keep my body clean and free from things that are harmful. When you smoke marijuana, you make your immune system weaker. When it is weaker, it is not as able to stop allergies, pollens, bacteria, or viruses from making you very sick. The bottom line is that marijuana isn't cool; it's harmful, just like all of the other drugs my health teacher told me about. Being a teen today is tough enough without adding alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs into the mix. |
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