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Cannabis is the most widely illegal drug used by teens today. Around 60 percent of the kids who use drugs use only cannabis. Of the 14.6 million cannabis users in 2002, about 4.8 million used it on 20 or more days in any given month.
The cannabis that is available to adolescents today is much stronger than the cannabis that was available in the 1960’s. Occasionally, it is also laced with other, more potent substances. Cannabis is physically addictive. Annually, 100,000 adolescents are treated for marijuana dependence. Youths who smoke cannabis heavily experience much the same symptoms of withdrawal as users of nicotine.
The University of Michigan’s monitoring the Future research, which assesses drug and alcohol consumption among American youth, reported substantial increases among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders from 1992 to 1997. These statistics demonstrate a disturbing national trend in the raise of marijuana use by teenagers.
Between 1991 and 2001, the percentage of eighth graders who consumed cannabis doubled from one in ten to one in five. Children are using cannabis at an earlier age. Study demonstrates that the earlier teens start using marijuana, the more likely they are to become dependent on this or other drugs later in life. Of adolescents admitted for treatment for cannabis dependence, 56 percent had first used the drug by fourteen years of age, and 26 percent had begun by twelve years of age.
According to the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), cannabis was the most commonly used drug of choice by teens. The NHSDA also revealed that teens using cannabis on twelve or more days during the past year, 58 percent of them had one problem that they related to their cannabis use, 41 percent had two problems, and 28 percent had at least three problems that they related to their cannabis use. From age 12 to age 13, the proportion of teens who admit they could buy cannabis if they wanted to more than triples, from 14 to 50 percent. Also the percentage of adolescents who admit that they know a student at their school who sells drugs almost triples, from eight percent to 22 percent.
There are several reasons why some teens start smoking cannabis. Several kids start consuming because their older siblings or friends are consuming it in front of them. Frequently peer pressure plays an important role. Adolescents think it’s cool to use cannabis; they see their favourite movie stars smoking it in movies and their favourite bands sing songs about it. The issue becomes more important when teens start relying on marijuana and think that they need it to escape from problems at school, home life, or with friends.
Certain of the indicators that teenagers exhibit when using cannabis are: dizziness and trouble walking, red bloodshot eyes, trouble remembering things that just happened, and they often appear silly and giggly for no apparent reason. The way marijuana affects each teen depends on several factors including:
• How strong the cannabis is;
• What the individual expects to happen;
• Whether the individual is drinking alcohol or consuming other drugs;
• The individual’s previous cannabis consumption;
• Where the substance is used
Certain teens feel no effects from cannabis the first few times they smoke it. Others might feel relaxed and a little giddy. Quite frequently, cannabis makes the teen feel very hungry and thirsty. Others can occasionally experience bad effects from cannabis. They might become extremely paranoid or have feelings of anxiety or dizziness.
Regular cannabis users frequently develop breathing problems, such as chronic coughing and wheezing. Cannabis contains the same chemicals causing cancer as tobacco. The quantity of tar inhaled by cannabis smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed by those who smoke marijuana are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers.
The active ingredient in cannabis is THC (tetrahydrocannabinal). The behaviours exhibited by bringing THC to the brain are similar to those demonstrated by alcohol use. Cannabis can induce numerous emotional responses such as relaxation, introspection, feeling “in tune” with the world, and irrationality.
The teen drug abuser try to reconcile his basic urges with the demands of reality through the use of cannabis and other drugs. This behaviour is directed toward the pursuit of pleasure and diminution of pain. If and when the adolescent seeks treatment, they are frequently underdeveloped emotionally, academically, and vocationally.
The consumption of cannabis by teens can affect school, sports, and other activities; cannabis also affects memory, judgment, and perception. Adolescents who smoke cannabis on a regular basis start to lose interest in their appearance and how they are doing in school, at work, and at home.
The short-term effects of cannabis are memory problems, distorted perception, trouble problem solving, and loss of motor coordination. Cannabis has a strong odour that clings to teens’ hair and clothing and can remain on their breath in spite of efforts to mask it. The reactive properties of cannabis aren’t like other substances. Not much is proven about the physical mechanisms of addiction and withdrawal. Certain claim that cannabis is totally non-addicting, while others say that it is just as addicting as other substances.
Since the reasons for cannabis addiction among adolescents are unclear, it is impossible to assess whether or not they may become hooked until it has already happened. Study has now demonstrated that cannabis is addictive. Every year more adolescents enter treatment with the diagnosis of cannabis dependence than for all other illicit substances combined. Sixty percent of adolescents admitted for drug treatment say cannabis is their primary drug of choice.
Researchers have discovered that heavy cannabis use impairs teenagers’ ability to retain information and concentrate. Regular cannabis use has been demonstrated to be associated with poor academic performance. This is of an important concern during adolescents’ peak learning years, as their brains are still developing. There is a relation between an increase in cannabis use and a decrease in the likelihood of attaining at least a high school education. Students who smoke cannabis are more than twice as likely to cut class that those who don’t.
Adolescents get a mixed message about cannabis, but the message needs to be clear. It is an illicit substance that affects teens in many harmful ways. It is very important to start taking with children about it by at least twelve years of age. Magazines or newspaper articles are frequently a good place to start your discussion about narcotics. Adolescents need to be told clearly and frequently that using cannabis and other illegal substances carries significant health, safety, and legal risks.
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