2. Marijuana: The debate continues. How Everyday Drugs Affect Our Health.

The Effects of 5 Popular Drugs on Your Body and Brain

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Marijuana

Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant,Cannabis sativa. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related compounds. Extracts can also be made from the cannabis plant.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Its use is widespread among young people. In 2015, more than 11 million young adults ages 18 to 25 used marijuana in the past year. Rates of marijuana use among middle and high school students have dropped or levelled off in the past few years after several years of increase. However, the number of young people who believe marijuana use is risky is decreasing. 

Legalization of marijuana for medical use or adult recreational use in a growing number of states may affect these views.

How do people use marijuana?

People smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints) or in pipes or water pipes (bongs). They also smoke it in blunts—emptied cigars that have been partly or completely refilled with marijuana. To avoid inhaling smoke, some people are using vaporizers. These devices pull the active ingredients (including THC) from the marijuana and collect their vapor in a storage unit. A person then inhales the vapor, not the smoke. Some vaporizers use a marijuana liquid extract. 

People can mix marijuana in food (edibles), such as brownies, cookies, or candy, or brew it as a tea. A newly popular method of use is smoking or eating different forms of THC-rich resins (see "Marijuana Extracts").

How does marijuana affect the brain?

THC acts on numerous areas in the brain (in yellow).
Image by NIDA

Short-Term Effects

When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. The body absorbs THC more slowly when the person eats or drinks it. In that case, he or she generally feels the effects after 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals. These natural chemicals play a role in normal brain development and function. 

Marijuana overactivates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors. This causes the "high" that people feel. Other effects include:

• altered senses (for example, seeing brighter colors)
• altered sense of time
• changes in mood
• impaired body movement
• difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
• impaired memory

Long-Term Effects

Marijuana also affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may reduce thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Marijuana's effects on these abilities may last a long time or even be permanent. 

What are the other health effects of marijuana?

Physical Effects

• Breathing problems. 
• Increased heart rate. 
• Problems with child development during and after pregnancy. 

Photo by ©iStock/Adrian Hillman

Mental Effects

Long-term marijuana use has been linked to mental illness in some users, such as:

• temporaryhallucinations—sensations and images that seem real though they are not
• temporary paranoia—extreme and unreasonable distrust of others
• worsening symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Marijuana use has also been linked to other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among teens. However, study findings have been mixed. 

Upcoming: Opioids, Cocaine, Ecstasy.

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Praise for Healing the Brain

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