Marijuana During Adolescence: A Case Study

What is the huge hype about Marijuana that makes individuals question the effect it has on the human body. Some individuals even argue why it should or should not be legalized. Unlike modern day technologies, which are completely built before ever being turned on, the human brains begin operating long before they are completely developed. As individuals, we began to experience the world and develop our sense of individuality with a much undeveloped brain, incapable of understanding abstract reasoning or evaluate realistic consequences for our actions (Cermak & Banys, 2011). Fortunately, during adolescence the brain experiences an unexpected and enormous growth of new connections amongst its billions of nerve cells, allowing new and higher level of understanding of self and the world to emerge (Yurgelun-Todd & Killgore, 2006). A slow maturing of the brain’s growth happens throughout adolescence, including in areas that have substantial concentrations of the brain’s essential cannabinoid system. One of the questions under vigorous research today is whether the normal course of the brain development is altered by heavy use of marijuana during adolescence (Fernández-Ruiz, Berrendero, Hernandez, & Ramos, 2000) and whether smoking marijuana affects school performance (Best Drug Rehabilitation, 2013).
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Prior to full dependence being recognized, marijuana has a series of effects that occurs. Proof has been gathered through research, which indicates that marijuana could affect the functioning of the developing brains, which leads to greater cognitive deficits in adolescents than in adults. Recent studies have found while adolescent marijuana users might score as well as nonusers on cognitive tests, they employ more areas of the brain to complete the task, which is a sign of inefficient brain