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The Dark Side of Weed and Reasons to Enter into a Marijuana Detox Program |
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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In recent years marijuana has become a point of contention in the United States as its side effects have been weighed against its medicinal benefits and citizens have warred with the government in an attempt to change its illegal status. What many of these citizens do not realize is that, possible benefits aside, marijuana is still a drug. Marijuana can strongly affects the user’s short term memory. A fish named Dory captured the hearts of men, women and children in “Finding Nemo”; however, the idea of a human with said condition as an after-effect of drug use is not quite so appealing.
While the end results of marijuana use typically are not this drastic, users may find themselves becoming more “absent minded” as their daily intake increases. Marijuana also speeds up the aging process. Despite its reputation as a “wind down” drug, weed actually causes the heart and respiratory rate to increase, taxing the body and causing it to wear down, or age, well before its time. In addition, a chronic user will find themselves falling prey to many of the same harmful respiratory effects as cigarette smokers: increased chance of lung infection, such as pneumonia, and a daily cough, possibly accompanied by chronic bronchitis. Users of both marijuana and cigarettes in large quantities have been found to be at a greatly increased risk of lung cancer as compared to individuals who only used one or the other. While most marijuana users are congenial enough of their own accord, the drug can negatively affect their social skills. It has been shown that chronic marijuana use can lead to depression, equaling an increased dependence on the drug as the user withdraws from their external support network. Marijuana users have also been shown to be more prone to deviant behavior and acceptance of such behavior as normal. The possible consequences of smoking marijuana and driving are innumerable. Although marijuana is not a relaxant it can greatly slow down the body’s reflexes, alter its perception and cause the user to have a much slower reaction time than they would under different circumstances. All of these factors add up to equal a greatly increased risk of injury or death every time that a smoker gets behind the wheel of a car. For all of these reasons and more chronic marijuana users are strongly urged to enter into a detoxification center and new users are encouraged to quit while they are still in control of the drug and before the drug takes control of them and brings them over to the dark side. |
