Essay About Marijuana Users And Society Today

Marijuana
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My hopes of doing this research project were to specifically determine what effects
marijuana in combination with different substances had on the body. I also decided to determine
the differences between marijuana and tobacco, due to the high misconceptions about both of
them in society today.
First of all, I had begun to due research specifically on the subject “should marijuana
be legalized” but due to the lack of information, I had to broaden my topic. I now understand
which one is more dangerous and, for the most part, the long term affects. Through both animal
and human testings, it has been proven that marijuana impairs lung functions to a greater extent
than tobacco cigarettes do. But, this does not necessarily mean that marijuana users are putting
themselves at more risk . Actually, a typical marijuana user will smoke it maybe two times a
day, whereas a typical tobacco-user will smoke between forty and sixty cigarettes in the same
period. Now, the effects of the two have changed roles. Marijuana may have more tar in it, but at
the usage rate in society today, tobacco-users put themselves at a much larger risks. Also, there is
a chemical called benzopyrene that is 70% more abundant in marijuana than tobacco. This
chemical is believed to cause and produce cancer. Tobacco has the same dangerous chemicals in
it, yet the main one that it lacks that marijuana has is THC. THC, more specifically known as
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is the drug that produces the “high” feeling that so many marijuana
users become accustomed to. Marijuana usually does not contain more than 1 percent of THC.
There are stronger drugs related to THC, such as “hash oil”, which can contain up to a 28 percent
THC level. There have been some cases where “street” marijuana has been found to contain up to
5 percent THC content. That is very potent for normal marijuana, and is probably very hard to
come by in the United States. Other countries seem to use different forms of THC related drugs
such as hashish, and hemp. Both of these contain more THC than marijuana. As far as long term
effects of tobacco and marijuana go, they are about the same. Cancer should appear in the lungs
of a tobacco-user earlier due to the amount the tobacco-user smokes in relation to a normal
marijuana smoker. There have been many assumptions that marijuana will cause long term brain
damage and so on, but, clinically, none of this has ever been proven. In fact, in a college survey,
the students who use the drug regularly possessed a higher GPA than those who do not use. This
is an entire different subject, but it was interesting to learn.
Both tobacco and marijuana contain tar. Marijuana contains a little more and will
actually “feel” heavier on the lungs after smoking. Tar has been found to produce tumors on the
skin of animals that it is applied to. Cancer has definitely been related to smoking and is the
largest killer in the United States today. Thus, marijuana contains more of the dangerous cancer
causing chemicals than tobacco does. Although this would constitute marijuana as being more
“dangerous,” in the society we live in today and the amount of tobacco that tobacco-users
consume, this belief is on the contrary. Due to the smaller frequency use of product by marijuana-
users, tobacco has definitely been proven the “killer” in todays society. Additionally, one of the
predominant mixes of today is the use of both marijuana and alcohol in combination. Alcohol has
already proven to be a “lethal” drug, especially when driving, but together with marijuana, the
effects are much greater than either drug alone.
As in a comparison between both of them, alcohol has many more damages to the human
body and mental psyche than marijuana. Both drugs can become dependent upon, and the effects
can be life destroying. Alcohol, as a physical harm places stress upon the body that could make it
react by not eating. Alcohol depletes the body of certain vitamins and minerals, causing an
unsteady diet. It also wreaks havoc on the bowel movements! As far as marijuana goes, there
may be a little redness in the eyes and gaining in weight. The gaining in weight is due to the
conception of the “munchies” as many marijuana smokers experience after usage of the drug.
Reasons for both