Marijuana is a hard drug which is abused by many people in the world. It is gotten from the leaves of a plant whose biological name is cannabis sativa. Leaves from the plant are dried and then smoked in form of a roll or they can be ground into powder and then rolled for smoking. Marijuana causes the user to have a feeling of relaxation and this is the reason as to why it is used in the medical world to relieve stress and also for suppressing nausea. Use of cannabis 'marijuana' outside the medical world is abuse of the drug. Marijuana is known by many street names for instance ganja, pot, weed and holy herb.
Marijuana smoking has a lot of bad effects. There are short term and long term effects of smoking marijuana. The short term effects include; distorted perception of things which affects ones decisions hence leading to slow thinking. There is lack of coordination of the user, chest problems and an increased level of heart beat, anxiety and panic attacks. These effects are caused by the effect of cannabis on the brain. Although the effects seem to be mild, their consequences can be fatal. Cases of accidents caused by marijuana smokers have been reported before. Lack of coordination of the smoker automatically leads to inability to do the normal tasks for example driving, operating machines, walking and cooking among others.
Although one may seem to be in control of a situation and yet be under the influence of marijuana, it has been proven that the sense of reasoning and judgment of the person is low hence may be a cause of many accidents. Instances where smokers have committed crimes e.g. rape and theft are very common since marijuana impairs thinking. Short term effects do go away after discounting the use of marijuana. However if the smoker becomes a habitual smoker, the short term effects pave way for the long term effects.
Long term effects on the user are experienced after continued use of marijuana. Marijuana smoking impairs the thinking capacity of the user. Marijuana attaches itself to neurons of the brain and then sets a base in the central nervous system. This alters the normal communication among the neurons. The nerves change their characteristic behaviors with time of continued use. The cannabis receptors which are contained in cannabis sativa 'marijuana' affects the nerves by making them act opposite to what they are supposed to do hence impairing the brain functionality. This eventually destroys the memory and sometimes the change is irreversible. This causes the user to run mad.
Marijuana smoking also affects the lungs of the user. Smoke from marijuana is deposited on the lungs hence creating a breathing problem. This gives rise to lung related diseases which are very dangerous. Smoking of marijuana also causes mouth, throat and lung cancers. The smoke exposes the tissues in its line of passage to cancerous cells which give rise to cancer. Marijuana also causes heart and blood pressure problems. Cannabis interferes with the heart beat of the user which leads to blood pressure problems. Marijuana has other bad effects like giving rise to theft since the user needs money to buy the drug, loss of immunity to the user which exposes him/ her to opportunistic diseases, spread of diseases e.g. HIV/AIDS, since the user does not have calculated judgments, burden to the community since the user becomes an un warranted dependent in the society. All what one ought to know is that marijuana is a killer and a shredder of lives. One should always remember that one does not abuse drugs but instead drugs abuse someone.