What Effects Does Marijuana Have on Physical And Mental Health

Introduction

Marijuana is a drug derived from a type of plant called a hemp plant. Statistically it seems that marijuana use has been on the rise, and that use continues to become more widespread. A person that uses marijuana is subject to suffering physical and mental health problems that otherwise may not occur had they not chosen the indulgence of the drug as a way to get high and experience some of the feelings associated with marijuana usage.

Marijuana and Mental Health

There are many people that choose to use illegal drugs as a way to get high which gives them a chance to escape reality or sometimes the use is associated with addiction to the drug or drugs of choice. Marijuana is a very popular drug and can have some ill effects on a person’s physical and mental health.

Although some marijuana users will tell you that marijuana is not addictive, that is not a true statement. Marijuana is psychologically addictive. Let’s look at some of the basic information when it comes to marijuana and mental health.

Those who use marijuana are doing so for the associated feelings such as euphoria which is a false sense of well-being.

Other mental health effects of marijuana can include:

• Inability to know day or time it is
• Depression
• Restlessness and/or anxiety
• Memory loss most often for a short period of time
• Mistrust or paranoia

Marijuana and mental health effects can vary from person to person and may also be determined by:

• Marijuana quality
• The method by which it is used
• Amount and frequency of use

As you can see, there are a number of variant factors when it comes to marijuana and mental health. Marjuana and maintaining mental health is near impossible and long term use can lead to residual effects that could last for quite some time.

 

 

Marijuana and Physical Health

Now that we have looked at marijuana and mental health, let’s take a look at the effects marijuana usage can have on your physical health. Marijuana has an ingredient in it called THC. If a drug test shows positive for THC the tester would then know the person tested had been smoking marijuana recently.

Some of the physical effects associated with marijuana use are:

• Red eyes
• Slow to react
• Increased heart rate
• Increased rate of breathing
• Appetite increase

There can be other physical effects of marijuana. Determining factors in health effects are much the same as you see noted in the information about mental health and marijuana.

Although marijuana is illegal in most parts of the United States, the state of California differs in that marijuana is approved for medical use under a doctor’s care for some of the following illnesses or conditions:

• Symptoms associated with HIV or Aids
• Glaucoma
• Cancer
• Anorexia
• Migraine Headaches
• Stress reduction
• Arthritis
• Bipolar Disorder
• Parkinson’s

This is only a partial list of the illnesses or conditions that marijuana may be used to treat. The effect is expected to be positive in that the use of marijuana can help alleviate pain or other symptoms experienced by people who may have such conditions.

As shown, mental health and marijuana as well as physical health and marijuana and its effects can be a double edged sword. Some medical studies have shown there can be positive effects but some medical experts would deny this as they are dead set on the fact that marijuana is an illegal drug and has a history of causing ill effects on its users.

The legalization of marijuana is still in debate in many areas due to the fact that it is unknown if making the drug legal would be more harmful than helpful to society as a whole.

Due to the legality issues and potential harmful effects it is not recommended that anyone use marijuana unless you happen to be one of the people who are actually considered a legal user. Otherwise you would subject yourself to possible criminal penalties and it could cause you more problems that it’s worth. With differing opinions on marijuana use it is almost impossible to determine whether or not marijuana will ever see a day where it is made legal across the United States.

 

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