An Interesting Read

I am university student studying Psychology and found this write up about marijuana in my text book. Thought it might be helpful to some and maybe interesting for others to see what exactly they are teaching university students about the drug.

" Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in Canada. Forty-four percent of young adults report they've used it at least once. (Adlaf, Begin, & Sawka, 2005)

Known in popular culture as pot,grass,herb, and weed, marijuana comes from the leaves and flowering part of the herb plant (Cannabis Sativa). The subjective effects of marijuana are produced by its primary ingredient, THC )Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). People experience a "high" feeling within a few minutes, which peaks within a half hour. Hashish, manufactured from the buds and flowers of female plants, contains much greater consecrations of THC than does marijuana and is more potent.

Whether marijuana is smoked or, less frequently, eaten or consumed in tea, users report short-term effects, including a sense of time slowing down, enhanced sensations of touch, increased appreciate for sounds, hunger ( The munchies ), feelings of well-being, and atendency to giggle and laugh. Later, they mat become quiet, introspective, and sleepy. At higher doses, users may experience disturbances in short-term memory, exagerated emotions, and an altered sense of self, Some reactions are more unpleasent, including difficulty concentrating, slowed thought, repersonalization ( a sense of being "out of touch or disconnected from self), and more rarely, extreme anxiety,panic, and psychotic episodes. (Earleywine, 2005)

The intoxicating effects or marijuana can last for 2 or 3 hours, but begin when THC courses through the bloodstream and travels to the brain, where it stimulated cannbinoid receptors. These specialized receptors are concentrated in areas of the brain that control pleasure, perception, memory, and coordinated body movements. The most prominent physiological changes are increases in heart rate, reddening of the eyes, and dryness of the mouth.

Learning the expectancies play significant roles in marijuana intoxication (Kirk,doty. & de Wit, 1998) People frequently feel little or nothing the first time they try marijuana. To label their experience as a "high", most users must expect that the drug will produce a "new experience", and learn to recnognize the drug's effect. (Becker, 1953)

The use of marijuana has been a subject of much controversy. In 1973, an American Senator James Eastland, cautioned that "if cannabis epidemic continues... we may find ourselves saddled with a large population of semi zombies---of young people acutely afflicted by the amotivational syndrome" (Ray & Ksir, 1998). These conerns are reminiscent of earlier claims, popularized in the 1936 film rEEFER mADNESS, THAT MARIJUANA LEADS TO PERSONALITY DEGENERATION AND PUBLIC DESTRUCTION.

In Canada, researchers have found that nearly half of Canadians believe that possession of a small amount of marijuana should bot be a crime (Begin, Weekes, & thomas, 2006)

Should the recreational use or marijuana be legalized, or does it lead to passivity, decreased productivity, and a loss of motivation---the so called amotivational syndrome to which eastland referred? There's certainly evidence that low achievement is related to marijuana use. High school students who use marijuana earn lower grades and are more liekyl to get into trouble with the law than other students (Kleinman,Wish,Deren, Rainone 1998)

But as we've learned, an association between two or more variables doesn't necessarily imply a cause-effect relationship. High school students who use marijuana might do so because they have troubled home lives or psychological problems and do poorly in school "before" using marijuana (Shedler & block 1990). Poor motivation may be responsible for drug use, rather than the other way around. The casual direction of the link between marijuana and low motivation hasn't been firmly established.

Still, legitimate concerns about the long-term hazards or marijuana remain. Mounting evidence suggests that marijuana use may trigger schizophrenia, a serious disorder or thinking, among adults who have either a personal or family history of the disorder (Degenhardt & Hall 2006). In addition some researchers have argued that marijuana is a gateway drug that predisposes users to try more serious drugs like heroin and cocaine. In a study of identical twin pairs in which one twin tried marijuana in adolescence but the other didn't the twin who tried marijuana was later at a heightened risk for abusing alcohol and other drugs (Lynskey 2003) Nevertheless, evaluating whether marijuana is a gate way drug isn't easy. Merely because one event precedes another doesn't mean it causes it.

For example, eating baby foods in infancy doesn't cause us to eat "grown-up" foods later in life. Baby foods just happen to come earlier. Similarly, teens may tend to use marijuana before other drugs because it's less threatening, more readily available, or both, The scientific debate continues".

-Thought it was interesting. Thanks for reading.

 

Yeah, The textbook also covers alcohol, lsd, coke, heroine, and morphine vaguely.

Pretty interesting actually haha. I was impressed.

 

Very true. I just was surprised that they actually presented a non biased view towards marijuana. Which is really correlation vs causation.

 

I am guessing that is the way things are heading towards. They realized that in order to teach students to think critically towards everything, they actually have to hold that attitude themselves. No matter what the topic in question is.