Just Think Twice. You've heard the fiction, now learn the facts.

Taking one drug may "sensitize" the brain to the pleasurable and rewarding effects of other drugs-animal research at least supports this possibility. In addition, MJ and tobacco tend to be more readily available to teen agers so its often the first drug they try. Further, using illicit drugs may put someone in contact with others who do the same, increasing the social acceptability of drug use, and perhaps the availability of other drugs. But the reality is that even if marijuana is not a "gateway" drug leading to the use of other drugs, it has its own risks including addiction--more than 4 million people in this country meet clinical criteria for abuse or addiction to marijuana.

Yes--it affects the skills you need to drive safely--reaction time, motor coordination, and attention; and has been shown in driving simulator and road tests to impair performance. Further, when combined with even a small amount of alcohol, the effects are worse than either drug alone. Approximately 14% of fatally injured drivers in car crashes test positive for marijuana (sometimes in combination with other drugs).

quick answer: no. and probably not on your second either.

Because its smoked it can cause lung problems, including bronchitis, cough, phlegm production; however, we don't know yet whether it also causes cancer. Marijuana is also addictive--about 9% of users; 1 in 6 among those who start young; and 25-50% of daily users. Those are the main ones that we are aware of, but it may also have a more general effect on overall health, mood, life satisfaction, etc--that is what long term marijuana users report.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S, with about 33% of 12th graders reporting using it in the past year. It is made up of dried leaves and other parts of the Cannabis sativa hemp plant. Short-term effects of marijuana use include euphoria, distorted perceptions, memory impairment, difficulty thinking and solving problems, loss of coordination. Some people who smoke marijuana get so they can't stop--they're addicted. In 2009, over 4 million persons aged 12 or older were classified as being addicted to marijuana. You'll find the basics and more about marijuana here: http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_mj1.php

Briefly, the short-term effects of marijuana use include euphoria, distorted perceptions, memory impairment, and difficulty thinking and solving problems. But visit our facts for teens for more information http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/Marijteens.htmlthanks and take care

So why don't we make tobacco illegal--I'm all for that! But marijuana does contribute to car wrecks--killing people indirectly; and it has other bad effects, including risk of addiction--9% among all users, 25-50% among daily users. That means that people can't stop even though they know that marijuana is having a negative impact on their life.

Nope.

Yes, marijuana has strong negative effects on driving. We know that marijuana significantly affects your odds for having an accident. The primary ways that marijuana affects driving are inability to stay within your lane, poorly judging the distance to the next car and the time it will take you to stop your car, and taking in all the information around you and evaluating what you need to do to avoid an accident. But the most important way that marijuana affects your driving is by reducing your ability to make good decisions based on the situation. Marijuana affects your ability to reason and the time it takes to make a decision. When you are doing anything at the time of smoking, you need to use more of your brain to function. So divided attention is the area where we see the most problems with marijuana. Do you know that when you have a simple test, marijuana users may score as high as people who are not stoned. It wasn't until we had brain imaging that we found out that although the test scores might have been the same, the marijuana users required much more of the brain to produce the same result. So when people who are high are faced with a difficult divided attention task, like driving, they are not able to react as well or as quickly as someone who is not stoned. For example, if a person is high and driving and a kid comes out of a side street on a bicycle, the marijuana smoker can not process all the information, staying in their lane, watching for other cars, traffic signals AND the kid on the bicycle. Do you know that as drunk driving has decreased thanks to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and other efforts, drugged driving has increased greatly. A recent drugged driving survey showed that more than 10% of evening weekend drivers had used cannabis recently. Marijuana definitely affects the ability to drive. You might find this website interesting: http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/driving.html.

The most commonly used illegal drug in the United States is marijuana, and the same is true for Maryland. In 2009, approximately 33% of 12th graders reported using marijuana in the past year. You'll find a lot of information about marijuana here: http://www.marijuana-info.org/

You might be interested to know that pot, marijuana or cannabis are drugs that build up in your body if you use them frequently. It turns out that pot is a drug that likes to be stored in fat. If someone is an occasional user, your urine is usually only positive for 1-2 days after your last use, but if you use it on a daily basis, you build up a large amount of the drug that is excreted over weeks. This residual drug also continues to affect you while it is in your body, including your brain. Our research has found that your urine, blood and saliva can be positive for weeks after last use. You might find this website of interest: http://www.marijuana-info.org/.

Its recreational use remains illegal in all states--California would have been the first state to legalize it, but Prop 19 failed in the recent election. Some states have legalized its use with a prescription for various medical conditions; however, that is not something the Federal government recognizes, since all other medicines must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on their safety and efficacy--marijuana has not met these standards.

The worst thing that can happen to you is getting hurt or killed, not directly from the drug, like the way that alcohol or opioids can stop your breathing, but by getting into a car wreck or having some other consequence of altered judgment and perception from being high. The biggest danger has to do with marijuana's effects on judgment, perception, reaction time....Studies have found that 4 to 14 percent of drivers who were injured or died in traffic crashes tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Learn more on the Sara Bellum blog at http://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/know-the-scene-4-tips-to-avoid-drinking-drugs-and-driving/.

Research is so far inconclusive on the association between marijuana use and depression, but because of the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating mood, it seems likely that there is some kind of effect. Marijuana use is associated with a diminished or absent drive to engage in typically rewarding activities, which sounds similar to one of the hallmarks of depression. So its hard to imagine that marijuana is good for someone with depression. But we need more research to answer this definitively.Here is some general information about depression: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml.Want to know more about Depression in Children and Teens? See: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/depression-in-children-and-adolescents.shtml

Terrific question! The anwser to pot + pregnancy= bad news. Marijuana may slow the growth of the baby during pregnancy and increase the risk of premature delivery (which puts the baby at risk for a lot of different health problems). Research has shown that women who smoked marijuana while pregnant sometimes have children who may have problems focusing their attention and solving problems. If a woman smoked before she realized she was pregnant, she shouldn't panic but she should make an appoinment to see a practitioner as soon as she can.

Marijuana may alleviate symptoms of certain diseases (nausea, severe wasting, pain), but that is not the same as saving lives. It does contain ingredients that may have potential as medicines and scientists are working furiously to develop those, but because marijuana is smoked, it is not an optimal delivery system. Further its a plant containing some 400 or so different chemicals with unknown effects on health and inconsistency from one plant to another. Would you want to take a tylenol if I told you that I didn't know the dose was or what other ingredients might be in the pill. Further marijuana acts like a sledgehammer on the "endocannabinioid" system--scientists are interested in ways to tweak this system rather than hammer it in order to exploit its medicinal potential.

Yes, one and the same.

You might be interested to know that the fastest way to get weed out of your system is to stop smoking it. Marijuana builds up in your body with daily use as it is stored in many tissues especially fat. If you use daily, you may be positive for marijuana in your urine for many weeks. Despite what you may hear, you can't really eliminate the drug more quickly by drinking or eating specific foods. Don't believe the internet products that tell you that they remove the drug more quickly. In most cases, just drinking a lot of liquids will help reduce the concentration of drugs in your urine, but it doesn't help remove it more quickly. For additional information, check out: http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_mj1.php

good question.actually, we don't call it a neurotransmitter but an "active ingredient" that mimicks a natural neurotransmitter. The active ingredient in marijuana is called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, if you must know) and it mimicks the actions of an endogenous (natural) neurotransmitters called cannabinoids.stay healthy and tru to your goals!

Each has its own set of problems associated with it. We know a lot about the adverse health effects of smoking cigarettes--cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc. Marijuana's long term effects on health are less well known--it certainly causes some lung problems, like cigarettes--e.g., bronchitis; but its not clear whether or not marijuana also causes cancer (and many people smoke both). Weed can be a factor in car wrecks--some 14% of people in car crashes test positive for marijuana (possibly in combination with other drugs). And marijuana can affect a person's ability to learn and remember things--crucial for someone in their teen years especially. Using both can lead to addiction and when you try and stop either! So, its kind of pick your poison.

Hi! Interesting question...hard to answer exactly because marijuana is generally not toxic in the sense that if you smoke it, it is going to kill you. But, if you were to get high and then drive, have unprotected sex, or do something else that could be dangerous, the consequences could be serious...even deadly. Approximately 14% of fatally injured drivers test positive for marijuana (sometimes in combination with other drugs)

good question, The answer is that the agency in charge of making those decisions (the Drug Enforcement Administration) has decided to keep this particular substance illegal. In making this decision the DEA evaluates the potential medical benefits and the addiction potential. thanks and take care

The active ingrediant in marijuana is THC, which acts on specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors. THC causes cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. This is why some 'weed' smokers experience problems with memory, concentration and coordination. And some marijuana users, about 9%, get addicted. Want more info on marijuana? Click on www.teens.drugabuse.gov.

Certainly, marijuana use can cause addiction, a particularly difficult disease to treat. Also, it has been reported that people with an underlying risk of developing schizophrenia could increase their risk of developing a full blown psychotic disorder or exacerbate their symptoms if they smoke pot regularly.thanks for the great question

To begin with, it is very likely thay you'll become addicted to it. marijuana addiction is very difficult to treat. Beyond the addiction, the cognitive effects of daily marijuana use could be quite severe, and impact your academic and life long achievement.If you are already in that situation, I would strongly encourage you to seek professional help. To find general information on substance abuse prevention and treatment a good place to start is the Web site of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. www.samhsa.gov; be safe and stay healthy

Yes...but probably in a car wreck or some other accident. It also has effects on the heart, and has been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and bad outcomes from heart attacks--although this is probably most relevant to someone who is older or anyone with a heart condition.

Marijuana is not an FDA approved medication at this time--meaning that it has not met the safety and efficacy requirements that all medicines must meet. That said, ingredients in marijuana clearly have an anti-nausea effect; an appetite stimulating effect; and some anti-pain effects. In fact, scientists are very excited and invested in developing medications that work through the same system (the endocannabinoid system) that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, works on. But the hope is to develop medications with less of the side effects associated with marijuana--and one that is not smoked, as this is obviously an unhealthy delivery sysstem.

Yes--it affects the skills you need to drive safely--reaction time, motor coordination, and attention; and has been shown in driving simulator and road tests to impair performance. Further, when combined with even a small amount of alcohol, the effects are worse than either drug alone. Approximately 14% of fatally injured drivers in car crashes test positive for marijuana (sometimes in combination with other drugs).

Hi--good question! The answer is that neither is healthy. Many studies have shown that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens and is an irritant to the lungs. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which further increase the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke. Marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections.

Yes..but probably in a car wreck or some other accident. It also has effects on the heart, and has been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and bad outcomes from heart attacks--although this is probably most relevant to someone who is older or anyone with a heart condition.

smoking weed is worse than making weed brownies(unless you eat the brownies too)

I like this question. Here is some of what we know, but the exact nature of what "high" is still "up in the air." The active ingrediant in marijuanna is THC, which acts on specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors. THC causes cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. This is why some 'weed' smokers experience problems with memory, concentration and coordination. And some marijuana users, about 9%, get addicted. Want more info on marijuana? Click on www.teens.drugabuse.gov.

Numerous studies have shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens and to be an irritant to the lungs. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which further increase the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke. Marijuana smokers show poorly regulated growth of epithelial cells in their lung tissue, which could lead to cancer; however, a recent study found no positive associations between marijuana use and lung, upper respiratory, or upper digestive tract cancers. Thus, the link between marijuana smoking and these cancers remains unproven at this time. We do know marijuana smoking can cause other problems in your lungs, especially if you smoke it regularly.You can find a lot of information on marijuana at http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html

I'm assuming you mean the bad stuff. Basically, it doesn't kill you outright, but it reduces your mental functioning like memory. You're not all you could be mentally, and you might also have reduced motivation to do activities that are useful. And if you drive while under the influence, you increase your risk of being in an accident. Did you know that vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among young people age 15 to 24? Evidence from both real and simulated driving studies indicates that marijuana can negatively affect a driver's attentiveness, perception of time and speed, and ability to draw on information obtained from past experiences. check out our research report at http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/default.html

Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, binds to the same receptors in the brain as a naturally-occurring cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) that we produce ourselves. These receptors are found in places in the brain that are known to increase appetite. For more information on marijuana, go to http://www.marijuana-info.org/.

Tricky question! We do know that boys and girls have different rates of drug use, and that has changed over time. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more boys than girls ages 12-17 use marijuana but more girls use psychotherapeutics to get high than boys. There is a lot we still don't know about how a drug will affect someone when they first use it, who becomes addicted and why, and after how much drug exposure. We do know that each person is different, so it's a little like playing "Russian Roulette" if you choose to use drugs. But, if you do, the earlier you stop, the more likely you will be to avoid addiction and the harmful brain changes that lead to it. We know that for both boys and girls, smoking marijuana can often lead to the same kinds of breathing problems that cigarette smokers have: coughing and wheezing. They tend to have more chest colds than non-users. They are also at greater risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia. Marijuana can affect judgment and decision making. If you smoke it, you might do things you regret later such as engaging in risky sexual behavior, which can result in exposure to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking or is high on marijuana. Get the facts and make your own decisions by checking out this link: http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_mj1.php.

Hello, You could get addicted physically and mentally to marijuana. This means that someone can't quit even though marijuana is having a detrimental effect on their lives. There is also a withdrawal syndrome--similar to what happens in tobacco smokers. Symptoms include irritability, sleep and appetite problems, and craving--which often prompts relapse. Also, in a young person especially, its memory impairing effects can interfere with your ability to function --or to be at the top of your game, even if you are not using the drug while you are in school. Marijuana's effects on learning can persist for days or even weeks after last use. Thus, you may not reach your full potential if you use it, and this is something that long term marijuana users self report looking back on their lives. Also, findings so far show that regular use of marijuana or THC may play a role in some kinds of cancer and in problems with the respiratory and immune systems. For more info. check out: http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/Marijuana.html

Medical marijuana...marijuana that is used for medical purposes.

It could be bad. Brain studies of kids who use marijuana show that their brain activates differently when the person is trying to solve a mental problem. They can sometimes get it done, but the brain is probably trying to get it done using circuits and connections in the brain that are not the most efficient. Teens who use pot typically have problems with remembering things and staying on tasks. It probably won't kill you (unless you are driving under the influence and then it could), but you're not going to be all that you can be mentally, or with your motivation. We have lots of MJ info at http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/marijuana.html

Marijuana effects our brain in some interesting ways...one is to cause euphoria. And, for some people, therefore, things seem funny.

Your position is very understandable actually. You are looking at the issue from the point of view of a teenager who's just having fun. The truth of the matter is that marijuana may be fun but it is just not a benign drug, no matter how you measure it. This must be our perspective as public health officials, to which you may relate better (perhpas) once you had a young son or daughter in school, performing at 50 or 60 points below their academic potential because of their heavy or regular marijuana use. So, take it easy, it's all a matter of perspective.and thanks for the great question.

The truth is that marijuana is not a benign drug, but it is not the most dangerous drug that humanity has seen either. You will probably not die of a marijuana overdose, but marijuana can cause addiciton, and seriously diminish your academic achievement and life long potential.Thanks for the thoughtful question.

They are different substances that affect the brain a little differently, but the results are somewhat similar. Evidence from both real and simulated driving studies indicates that marijuana can negatively affect a driver's attentiveness, perception of time and speed, and ability to draw on information obtained from past experiences. Kind of sounds like drunk driving.Did you know that vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among young people age 15 to 24?

That's a tough question. The answer is yes for now, and maybe in the future. Right now alcohol is responsible for a much greater proportion of health problems and car accidents than marijuana. Some of that is due to the differing effects of the drugs, but some of it is because many more people use alcohol and do so for their entire lives, so we know about a lot more about its long term effects than we do for marijuana. If marijuana were to become legal, we risk seeing more of its adverse health effects in more of the population--e.g., addiction, lung infections.

yes it is possible, provided you are close enough and it's not too windy.

Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, binds to the same receptors in the brain as a naturally-occurring cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) that we produce ourselves. These receptors are found in places in the brain that are known to increase appetite. This drug also produces euphoria and affects systems involved in attention. For more information on marijuana, go to http://www.marijuana-info.org/.

most likely. The effects in a regular user tend to persist for days and sometimes weeks after last use. So you are probably not functioning at your full potential--do you really want to limit yourself in that way?

It's tough to directly compare the effects of alcohol and marijuana on the brain because they are so different. For teenagers, both drugs interfere with how the brain develops and grows. The brain is changing in very important ways during the teenage years and alcohol can interfere with brain development. Research tells us that drinking lots of alcohol during the teenage years can make the part of the brain called the frontal lobes smaller. The frontal lobes help us make decisions, think about things and pay attention. Teenagers who drink a lot have problems with these things. Alcohol also can shrink the hippocampus, the area of the brain area that helps us learn and remember things. Teenagers who drink a lot also have trouble with learning. We do not know yet whether these problems go away if the teenager stops drinking. Drinking at a young age makes it much more likely a person will develop alcoholism later in life. It's really important to wait as long as possible to drink alcohol, or to avoid it altogether.

yes