Argumentive Essay

Marijuana Aint So Dope

            I remember it like it was yesterday. I was walking home one afternoon from a friend’s house.  My mind was blank, everything seemed so calm.  Then I was in for a big surprise.  I made a mistake that I still regret today.  I tried marijuana for the first time.  My friends think I’m crazy because I act as if I committed a crime, but my parents expected way more from me.  There are a lot of myths about marijuana; my favorite one is “Marijuana cures cancer”.

            When gathering all this information, I was shocked; to be honest, I thought marijuana was safe, and had no impact on your body whatsoever.  People can argue that marijuana is the safest drug because no deaths have ever been reported.  That’s all they usually have to back up their point on why it should be legalized.  Teenagers should really invest their time to research what you’re inhaling.  You have to remember that our bodies are still developing and some chemicals found in marijuana could stop our brain from developing correctly.  Therefore, marijuana should not be legalized due to the harmful effects it could cause to your brain in the long term.

            Marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, stem, seeds, and leaves that come from the plant Cannabis Sativa.(NIDA2)   The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , or THC for short.  THC binds to a receptor in the brain that triggers an event in the cells, causing a change in the cell’s activity, its gene regulation, or the signals that it sends to neighboring cells (NIDA 3-4).  THC is no good for the brain.  It finds brain cells, or neurons, with specific kinds of receptors called cannabin receptors.  Then, it binds to these receptors.  When it attaches to a neuron, THC interferes with normal communication between neurons (NIDA 4).

Marijuana is not the same drug it was 20 years ago.  Special fertilizers, plant hormones, steroids, carbon dioxide and advanced indoor horticulture techniques are used by the grower to “push” the plant to produce the highest grade, and better variety of marijuana (Greene 8).  Marijuana also contains toxins and cancer- inducing chemicals, which are stored in your fat cells for a long period of time. This can lead to lung cancer.  As with any inhaled smoke, it can also damage the heart.` In the article “Why marijuana should remain illegal” by Stephen H. Greene, it states that scientific research relates marijuana use to damaged brain cells and respiratory systems, decreased hormone production in both sexes, and acute memory loss.

Most people can also become addicted to marijuana, you crave that high feeling.  Most students who smoke marijuana are most likely to drop out of high school.  I’ve also noticed that most of my friends who are “pot heads” they always look so lost, and stutter their words a lot.  So Is marijuana really harmless? After this given information I really hope to inform teens on how risky marijuana can really be.  Even though the effects happen in the long term, you should still be cautioned with the choices you make.  Before I knew any of this I was ignorant to anyone who said marijuana was risky.  After all you could be putting not only your future in danger but health without even knowing it.

My documentary

Marijuana effects on the body

Article 3 : "Does heavy Marijuana use impair Human cognition and Brain Fuction"

In the article "Does heavy marijuana use impair human cognition and brain funciton?" The authors talk about how frequent marijuana users  ,  show imparliments in mental flexibility.  The target organ for marijuana is the brain , its is remarkable that there is so liitle scientific information to communinicat about adverse effects of chronic marijuana use (par.2) "Despite the many contradictory reports , concern about cognitive impairments asscociated with heavy marijuana use appears justified , based on the impairments observed in severa of the methodologicall stronger studies (par.3) This article is good for my topic because it shows that not much studied has gone into marijuana use , but the fact that it has became so popular with teens , provides motivation for conducting these studies.

I, Robert. "Does Heavy Marijuana Use Impair Human Cognition and Brain Function?" Does Heavy Marijuana Use Impair Human Cognition and Brain Function? New York times, Jan.-Feb. 1996. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/hemp/medical/block.htm>.

Long term effects of marijuana

Article 2: "Marijuana should remain illegal"

In my article "Marijuana should remain illegal" the author argues that legalinzing marijuana would allow regualtion of it potencty. He says that marijuana is not the same drug it was 20 years ago. Special fertelizers , plant hormones and steroids have been added to this plant. He claims that if cultivation of marijuana were leagal 8 rowers would not be pressed to produced the strongest possible product.  As health regulators distributed the lesser drug, illegal growers would be punishing their high potency marijuana.  Lastly the author states " Marijuana isnt a drug we want to put our stamp of approval on , no matter what the THC level is... and we should beware of those who say There is nothing new about dope".

"Why Marijuana." The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 Feb. 1994. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/>.