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Marijuana Information
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Signs of
marijuana abuse:
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Rapid, loud talking and bursts of laughter in early stages of intoxication.
- Sleepy
or stuporous in the later stages.
- Lack of
concentration and coordination.
- Forgetfulness in conversation.
- Inflammation in whites of eyes.
- Odor
similar to burnt rope on clothing or breath.
- Distorted sense of time passage - tendency to overestimate time
intervals.
- Craving
for sweets.
- Increased appetite.
- Use or
possession of paraphernalia including roach clip, packs of rolling papers,
pipes or bongs.
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| How does marijuana
affect the body? |
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Some immediate physical effects of marijuana include:
- a faster
heartbeat and pulse rate
- bloodshot eyes
- dry
mouth and throat
- No
scientific evidence indicates that marijuana improves hearing, eyesight, and
skin sensitivity
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- Marijuana use increases the heart rate as much as 50 percent,
depending on the amount of THC.
- It can
cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart - and it
produces these effects more rapidly than tobacco smoke does.
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Scientists believe that marijuana can be especially harmful to the
lungs because users often inhale the unfiltered smoke deeply and hold it in
their lungs as long as possible. Therefore, the smoke is in contact with lung
tissues for long periods of time, which irritates the lungs and damages the way
they work.
- Marijuana smoke contains some of the same ingredients in tobacco
smoke that can cause emphysema and cancer. In addition, many marijuana users
also smoke cigarettes; the combined effects of smoking these two substances
creates an increased health risk.
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"Burnout" is a term first used by marijuana smokers themselves to
describe the effect of prolonged use. Young people who smoke marijuana heavily
over long periods of time can become dull, slow moving, and inattentive. These
"burned-out" users are sometimes so unaware of their surroundings that they do
not respond when friends speak to them, and they do not realize they have a
problem.
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How does marijuana
affect your mind?
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Laboratory studies have shown that animals exhibit symptoms of drug
withdrawal after cessation of prolonged marijuana administration. Some human
studies have also demonstrated withdrawal symptoms such as irritability,
stomach pain, aggression, and anxiety after cessation of oral administration of
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana's principal psychoactive component. Now,
NIDA-supported researchers at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and
Columbia University in New York City have shown that individuals who regularly
smoke marijuana experience withdrawal symptoms after they stop smoking the
drug.
Studies at Columbia University in New York City have
demonstrated that, in addition to aggression, marijuana smokers experience
other withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, stomach pain, and increased
irritability during abstinence from the drug. "These results suggest that
dependence may be an important consequence of repeated daily exposure to
marijuana," says NIDA. |
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