Marijuana Argumentative Essay

Improved Essays
At least 38% of adults whom smoke marijuana will move to worse drugs like cocaine. Marijuana has proven to worsen school performance. Marijuana can also worsen a person’s IQ. Marijuana can cause anxiety and depression. These are just a few consequences of using marijuana. Long-term use of the drug could result in many long-term problems. Recreational marijuana should be illegal because it worsens, mental health, it could worsen a person’s IQ, and has a negative impact on school performance.

Marijuana is a popular drug in the USA. Many people have tried the drug and liked it. Marijuana was brought to the US by Mexican immigrants in the 1920s. People disliked the drug because it was associated with Mexicans. Many people feared the drug until the 1960s. Marijuana use became popular at this time. Recently, marijuana has become legal in several states.

Marijuana can affect school performance. “Marijuana use impairs critical cognitive functions, both during acute intoxication and for days after use” (Smart Approaches to Marijuana). This provides good evidence that weed will impact
…show more content…
“Marijuana’s effects on brain development may last a long time or even be permanent. For example, a study showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38” (Marijuana Ruins Brain Development). This shows that weed will kill your KNOWLEDGE. Whom’d’ve ever smokes this drug will lose their intellect. As previously said, “A NIDA-funded brain imaging study has shown that regular users of marijuana have less gray matter than nonusers of the drug” (Regular Marijuana Use is Associated with Differences in Brain Gray Matter and Connectivity). If users have less gray matter than non-users then it is fine evidence that marijuana kills brain cells. These are very scary facts. Summarizing this paragraph, marijuana will kill your brain cells and reduce your

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Learning, behavior and coordination, emotions, memory and intelligence are all affected when an individual continues to use marijuana. Marijuana use has been shown to negatively effect ones school performance and IQ (even into adulthood), driving ability, it also has the potential to be a gateway in relation to the use of other substances and can increase the risk for mental health problems. Marijuana use among teens doubles the risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety, has the potential to make the using individual three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts as compared to peers who do not smoke marijuana, as well as can create an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in later teen years. The risk for developing serious mental health problems, such as psychosis, schizophrenia, anxiety and depression is 2 to 5 times greater for individuals who start using marijuana before the age of 16 years. In all, continued exposure and use of marijuana among adolescents and young adults generates effects that are often times life-long.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Blunt Truth In Rick James’s song “Mary Jane”, he sings "And when I 'm feeling low, she comes as no surprise / Turns me on with her love, takes me to paradise." This song teaches us about how cannabis can get us from a state of low to a state of high. The government forbids the usage of cannabis, but permits the usage of alcohol. On one side of the legal spectrum, nearly 88,000 people died from drunk driving every year.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Typically, it is smoked or mixed with food. The article states that constant use of cannabis can damage the brain and lungs. Children that are born to mothers that consumed cannabis when pregnant face poor memory and a low level of attentiveness. Even young people that use cannabis often lose interest in school and drop out. Many of the strong supporters of legalization believe that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, helps with pain associated with AIDS, cancer, and other diseases.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Even though marijuana does not contain long-term effects with adults, it does however impact an adolescent's brain when used. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 44% of high school seniors have smoked pot at least once in their lifetime whereas 6% smoke on a daily basis. During the adolescent stage, or young adulthood, the brain is undergoing many important changes as it is maturing and transitioning from concrete to abstract thinking. The marijuana, when used by an adolescent, is interfering with the brain's growth, it is stopping the necessary changes for the person to transition from childhood to adulthood. Studies have shown that the interference can cause permanent issues with the child’s memory and ability to learn, and…

    • 164 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neonatal Morbidity Essay

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Risks of Neonatal Morbidity on Infants Exposed to Marijuana Most abusive drugs have the potential to alter a person’s thinking and judgment. The use of illicit drugs can lead to potential health risks. Most drugs have the capability to harm a fetus; pregnancy-related issues are noted to be caused from tetragons while pregnant. The most commonly used illicit drug among women of reproductive age or by women who are pregnant is Marijuana. It is difficult to be positive about the precise effects of marijuana on the developing fetus and the lasting effects that it produces.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marijua Research Paper

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Marijuana has many qualities which help with the boosting of the brain. It also combats oxidative stress, protecting your cells, tissues, and DNA from damage. (Delilah Butterfield,…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Early Onset Marijuana

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The most commonly reported problem associated with the early onset use of marijuana, is verbal memory deficits. These deficits can last up to six weeks after an individual stops using marijuana (Schweinsburg et al., 2008). The researchers conducting this study were trying to prove a connection between learning inefficiencies, and the memory deficits due to early onset marijuana use. The researchers believe that the verbal memory deficits are due to learning inefficiencies brought on by early onset marijuana use. Marijuana is believed to disrupt the neuronal firing and long-term potentiation processes which are required for learning and memory (Hampson & Deadwyler, 2000).…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Medical Marijuana for Children During the past few decades, the United States has been in limbo on the idea of using marijuana as a medicine. Over time, acceptance of medical marijuana by the public has changed. Currently, there are 25 states that have some form of medicinal marijuana. In these states, doctors can prescribe it for a variety of symptoms, ranging from insomnia to cancer.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marijuana has become more of a popular drug lately as a result of of the huge debates over legalizing it for medical use. Although several people are for this idea, they have no idea of what marijuana can do. Marijuana should be illegal being its usage can negatively affect your health, future, and those who use it are at a higher crime rate. Marijuana usage has been proven to have a negative impact on one’s health. Marijuana…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States.(Insert source). In general people believe that marijuana is less damaging than other drugs. Recently, there has been a push to legalize cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes. In order to be informed should this issue come to a vote, citizens should be aware of the effects marijuana can have on the brain. This paper will review empirical studies examining these effects; specifically concerning memory, decision making, attention, impulsivity, and risky sexual behavior.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marijuana Debate Essay

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The fact that at eighteen the brain is still in development at 18, is not. Steinberg (2012) writes that in the last 15 years incontrovertible evidence has come into legal, political, and popular culture discussions. Brain anatomy and activity have been found to take place far longer than previously thought. Reward sensitivity in the brain and risky behavior peak between 16 and 17 (Steinberg, 2012). Hardin and Ernst (2009) suggest the use of marijuana may exacerbate the already enhanced brain development causing maladaptive connection of brain systems.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Additionally, veterans with PTSD use cannabis due to its great calming effect. In fact, according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical corespondent for CNN, cannabis is significantly less likely to be abused and have dangerous side affects than alcohol, tobacco, or heroin. Its non-adictive nature is a major improvement from current drugs such as tobacco, where nicotine causes a near irrepressible urge to smoke and cause severe lung damage. When the brain stops to develop wrinkles on the outer surface, its development begins to slow down, and cannabis’s effect becomes irrelevant, creating a safe pain reliever and anxiety suppressor. Furthermore, critics state that not enough medical research about cannabis has been conducted to ensure that it’s safe to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Like any other drug that people smoke it will have a big impact on the respiratory health, causing lung disease and even lung cancer. Marijuana can also damage someone's mental health for things like memory or problem solving it can also lower their IQ. People who have smoked marijuana have a higher chance of getting diagnosed with psychosis or schizophrenia than people haven't smoked marijuana. Psychosis is a mental disorder that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, and feelings. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects a person's ability to tell the difference between what is real and what…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Smoking, the first thing that comes to mind is cigarettes. Most people are not noticing the rise of other types of smoking. The public has seen the effects of smoking cigarettes but there is a hidden killer out there that used to be illegal in all states, Marijuana. Everyone has seen what tobacco use can cause, cancer and premature death, that they forget that the effects of smoke on your lungs and the toxins in the smoke cause that. Not just the cigarettes do that, any kind of smoke or toxins that we let into our lungs can cause cancer and premature death.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Political Marijuana

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages

    He references an article that talks about a study done by Northwestern University. Within this study, they found that “marijuana users have abnormal brain structure and poor memory and that chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia. The study also reported that the younger the person starts using marijuana, the worse the effects become” (Bennett). This point is one point that I can side with Hawkins. After doing thorough research, there have been numerous studies by a handful of universities and organizations that are similar to the findings of this Northwestern University…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays