Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Self-improvement | Addictions


Learn About Marijuana Usage

By: Jonas Smith

There are a lot of people who are of the opinion that marijuana is not a harmful drug and that it should be as legal to buy and use as alcohol. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. Besides alcohol, marijuana is the most commonly used drug by young people.

Marijuana is a dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. It might also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea.

As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. Some people think that the smoke smells like burning rope.

There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash, as well as terms derived from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum, Northern Lights, Fruity Juice, Afghani #1, and a number of Skunk varieties.

The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana.

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.

In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement4.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Learn about tv addiction and games addiction at the Addiction Facts site.

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent Addictions Articles

  • Ways To Safe Detox By: Jonas Smith - Drug detox is the most important part of becoming free from addiction, and because of this drug detox should be handled with great care. Drug detox is a medical procedure. Drug detox should be handled in a medical facility under great supervision.The reason for this is because drug detox can be fatal.
  • The Twelve Steps Program By Alcoholics Anonymous By: Jonas Smith - The original 12 step formula was developed by Alcoholics Anonymous as a way for people to deal with their powerlessness over alcohol. Since then, other 12 step programs have evolved for a variety of addictions including Narcotics Anonymous, Gambler's Anonymous, and Al-Anon. All 12 step programs follow similar patterns. Members meet regularly to discuss their experiences, strength, and hope.
  • The Recovery Process After Quitting Drugs By: Jonas Smith - One of the first things that will happen to you when you quit drugs is detoxification. This is where all traces of the drug are removed from your body. You should not try to detox without the help of a doctor, and the rehab center will have medical staff to help you through.
  • Meditation And Addiction By: Jonas Smith - Meditation can be a very effective way to overcome the powerful reactions that occur in your mind during drug withdrawal. Your inner voices will be telling you all sorts of different things when you are trying to get off drugs. If you recognize these damaging inner voices and take steps to calm them, your chance to successfully recover is significantly increased.
  • Learn About Rehabilitations Centers By: Jonas Smith - Short-term residential programs were originally developed to treat alcoholism, but expanded to include drug addiction with the rise of cocaine use in the mid-1980s. Since then, they have been applied to a variety of drug addictions. They are set up to be intense, but relatively brief programs of between 3 and 6 months.
  • How To Identify Your Drug Problem By: Jonas Smith - When you use drugs, they can quickly become a problem. Addiction can happen before you know it. You need to really take a look at your drug use and be honest with yourself when evaluating whether or not that drug use has become a problem. Start by asking yourself one simple question: "Do you sometimes think you have a drug problem?
  • How To Build Self Esteem By: Jonas Smith - It is nearly impossible to effectively journey down the path to recovery without realizing that you deserve to be drug-free. Building your self-esteem requires effort on your part, and, just like during your self-assessment, it also requires personal honesty. Building self esteem helps not only with personal acceptance, but with staying strong during your recovery as well.
  • Ideas About Alcohol Problems By: JohnJamespnp - The first day is never the worst in an alcohol treatment center. That day comes a bit later when the withdrawal symptoms begin to set in. That is when the orderlies really go to work on you. Most patients break then, but if you pull through, the only way back is deliberate sabotage on your own self.
  • Articles About Substance Abuse By: JohnJamespnp - Cry and rant all you want but all you will get from a rehab orderly is polite but strict professionalism. And why? They'd lose their jobs anyway else. And they are trying to help you.
  • Marketing and PR can be more effective than advertising? By: PalviBhagta - Following a recent article on planning successful business events, a reader contacted me about New Product Development (npd) launches for help visit www.create-video-product.com. They had a unique product - new and very different - and asked for my thoughts on their overall marketing strategy generally. Here was my reply: You have an interesting challenge, or should I say "opportunity", here.

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.