Teenagers And Marijuana Essay

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Marijuana is most commonly used drug in the United States. Marijuana comes from the Cannabis plant, which is a blend with dried and shredded leaves, seeds, flowers, and stems of the hemp plant (NIDA). Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC, is the main chemical in marijuana that is accountable for the psychotropic “high” effect. Marijuana also includes a chemical compound known as cannabinoids. Teenagers are known to use Marijuana. Teenagers tend to think that marijuana is not harmful because it comes from a plant, but tobacco comes from a plant but it is highly addictive and harmful. According to the Monitoring the Future Study in 2015, 11.8% of eighth graders, 25.4% of tenth graders and 34.9% of twelfth graders have been reported of using marijuana in the past year. This is significant …show more content…
Recent analysis from three large studies in Australia and New Zealand found that adolescents who used marijuana regularly, were less likely to finish high school or obtain a degree (NIDA). This is significant because marijuana can cause amotivational syndrome, which diminish willingness to participate in normal daily activities such as, doing homework, not going to class and even stop going to school. The Health Youth Survey in Washington State found that, high school students who used marijuana were more likely to get low graders (Cs, Ds or Fs) compared to those that do not use marijuana. Marijuana can decrease a student’s ability to perform well in school. This probably happens because students who us marijuana tend to lose interest in school causing them to lose out of many one in a lifetime chance opportunities. For example, in the article “Marihuana’s Effects: More Than Munchies” A marijuana user name Mark mentions that he is the only one in his family that was not an Ivy Leaguer and that’s because his addiction with marijuana