What are the real effects of smoking marijuana both long term and short term?
Question by addison: What are the real effects of smoking marijuana both long term and short term?
I am 16 years old and many of my friends smoke marijuana. I have been offered the drug several times and I must admit I wanted it every time but did not accept. The reason is not becase I want to fit in or anything social like that. The reason has to do with my own anxiety. I have a diagnosed issue with anxiety and depression and I have heard that marijuana has helped many people like me. I’m not stupid though, so I would never use this sort of mind altering drug unless I know everything it does and that could happen. I’m really tired of looking online and finding only sensles rantings by pot heads who say it’s “cool…” and extremists who say tha marijuana burns your soul. What is real??? Below are some examples of the thing I want to know about. If you have any piece of what I’m asking then please tell me what you know even if all your knoledge is based on personal experience. I want to see some actuall medical studies by respectable institutes with real citations (that means links).
-effects on lungs (keep in mind that I’ve never smoked)
-mental effects
-long term brain effects
-short term brain effects
-effects teeth and mouth tissue
-bad weed (laced or mold or other) Vs. good weed and how to tell the difference
-heart/blood issues?
-lentgh of short term mental effects
-addiction causing? dependancy causing?
-worse or better ways of smoking? (rolling paper,pipe, etc…)
-effects on youth (specifically someone my age- 16)
-conflicts with other drugs?
-How much weed does it take to get high? Can you smoke to much at once?
-What is THC and what does it do?
Best answer:
Answer by John
I’m 17, and i’ve been smoking weed for over a year. I’ve done a lot of research, and I’ve found that through reading and experience that the worst effect of marijuana to the body is the lifestyle that goes with it. I can function normally when I’m high, but weed often makes you want to not do as many activities. Also, stoners are frowned upon in society due to weed being illegal. THC is the active ingredient in weed, and when smoked or cooked into a fatty material (i.e. peanut butter, cooking oil), it will get you high. You can’t really be “too high” when smoking weed, you’ll find that there is a point when smoking more weed will not get you any higher. It does not cause long-term brain damage. Yes, it is harmful to your lungs due to the fact that you are inhaling the smoke from a plant. This problem can be avoided by using a vaporizer, allowing the user to inhale only the THC without burning the weed. However, most people use items such as joints, blunts, bongs, bubblers, and pipes to smoke. If you are smoking alone, one bowl or joint (about 0.5 grams) of good weed will get you very high if you are not a frequent user. Weed is almost never laced where I live (northern California, pot country), but it is hard to tell. The smell should be skunky and flowery. It may be laced if it smells vinegar-y or something looks wrong with the weed. Mold should pretty easy to spot. It has not been shown to be a “gateway drug”, but people that use harder drugs very often smoke weed as well, and it is usually the first drug that is experimented with.
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