Marijuana
Essay by review • February 22, 2011 • Research Paper • 784 Words (4 Pages) • 964 Views
According to a 1988 government survey, marijuana is the third most widely used drug used in the United States, after alcohol and cigarettes. An estimated 66 million people - or one-third of all Americans - have tried marijuana; and roughly 12 million of them are current users."# Marijuana is an illegal drug that is grown throughout the world. It is used for medical treatments, pleasure, and things we use and see today. It also has many side effects, health hazards, and health issues.
Marijuana is the term generally used to describe the flowering tops and leaves of the Indian hemp plant. "Richard Shultes, a Harvard-based botanist has identified three distinct varieties of the plant. The first of the three is cannabis sativa which is loosely branched that can reach a height of 18 feet. The second one is Cannabis indica which is smaller, more densely branched plant, often cone-shaped, and usually no more than four feet in height. The last kind is cannabis ruderalis which is a small dense plant with few or no branches that grows to between one and three feet in height and is indigenous in part of Asia."# These three types are crossbred freely, allowing hemp growers over the years to develop certain characteristics in their crop. There are two types of hemp, a female and a male. The female usually produces more potent marijuana then the male. The higher the potency, the higher the price. Marijuana grows all over the world naturally and by farmers.
Many doctors use marijuana as a drug for patients. "It is used for cancer chemotherapy , AIDS wasting , multiply sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, and many more. In
cancer chemotherapy the THC in marijuana reduces vomiting and nausea and alleviates pretreatment anxiety. If you have AIDS-related wasting marijuana improves your appetite and forestalls the loss of lean muscle mass. Some of the advantages marijuana has on multiple sclerosis is it reduces muscle pain and plasticity cause by the disease, and may also help some patients with bladder control and relieve tremor. It can also prevent epileptic seizures for epilepsy patients. When marijuana is smoked it reduces pressure within the eye, but may also reduce blood flow to the optic nerve, exacerbating the loss of vision for people with glaucoma."# Marijuana is also a help to people with chronic pains.# medical marijuana is taken many ways, it is smoked, and even taken in pill form.
Marijuana is also used for pleasure. Many people around the world smoke marijuana to get "high". Most of which smoke it from either a pipe or marijuana cigarette. First-time users may feel many different things some of which are relaxation, agitation and alienation, some feel more social, others quiet and introspective others even believe it heightens their creativity and ability
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