FREE ESSAY ON MARIJUANA

MARIJUANA

Marijuana Plant
Marijuana, also called hemp, bhang, and ganja, is used as an intoxicant in many parts of
the world, the leaves or dried flowers being either smoked or eaten. It has also been
used as a sedative and analgesic. Hashish, a resin obtained from the top of the flowering
plant, is five to eight times more potent than the leaves when smoked. 
Marijuana, mixture of leaves, stems, and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis
sativa, smoked or eaten for its pleasure-giving effects. The psychoactive ingredient of
marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is concentrated in the flowering tops; hashish, a
drug prepared from the plant resin, has about eight times more THC than marijuana.
Marijuana grows throughout temperate regions, with the more potent varieties produced in
dry, hot, upland climates. Except for limited medical purposes, cultivating marijuana is
illegal in all but a few countries.
Known in Central Asia and China as early as 3000 BC, marijuana was used as a folk
medicine. In about 1900 it started to be used as a pleasure-inducing drug, and by the
1960s and 1970s its use was widespread among students. Although marijuana has not been
proved to be physically addictive, and no physical withdrawal symptoms occur when its use
is discontinued, psychological dependence does develop. Many users describe two phases of
marijuana intoxication: initial stimulation, giddiness, and euphoria, followed by
sedation and pleasant tranquillity. Mood changes are often accompanied by altered
perceptions of time and space, and of one's bodily dimensions. The thinking processes
become disrupted by fragmentary ideas and memories. Many users report increased appetite,
heightened sensory awareness, and pleasure. Negative effects can include confusion, acute
panic reactions, anxiety attacks, fear, a sense of helplessness, and loss of
self-control.
Long-term marijuana users are said to develop an "amotivational syndrome" characterized
by passivity, decreased motivation, and preoccupation with drug use. The relationship of
this syndrome to marijuana use, however, has not been established. Like alcohol
intoxication, marijuana intoxication impairs reading comprehension, memory, speech,
problem-solving ability, and reaction time. The effects on the intellect of long-term use
are unknown. Consistent evidence that marijuana induces or causes brain damage does not
exist. Medical research has indicated that the drug is effective in relieving some of the
symptoms of glaucoma and in treating the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy and
radiation treatments.