What is Marijuana composed of?
The hemp plant primarily composes Marijuana. Almost all of the organic material of the hemp plant (Cabbabus sativa), such as the stem, leaves, flowers and even the seeds are used. The parts are dried then torn into pieces before they are blended together. This blend may turn out to be various colors such as gray, green, or brown. But what exactly is it in marijuana that causes harm? Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. This is the primary active chemical among 400 or so ingredients (which may put one at risk for lung cancer) within the substance. Parents, beware! There are hundreds of nicknames for marijuana which may differ depending on where your teen may live or who he/she hangs around with. Of these many names, some of the most popular are: Mary Jane, pot, weed, herb, grass, boom, chronic, gangster, skunk, ganja, and kif.
Now what exactly can your defiant teen do with marijuana? Normally, rolling the blend of marijuana into cigarette-like ‘joints’ or what they may call ‘nails’ is the usual way of smoking the drug. But it can also be smoked using other methods such as what they call ‘blunts’ which are really just empty cigars that are packed with the blend of hemp instead.
Pipes aren’t only used for tobacco, certain types of pipes like the water pipe (which may be referred to as a ‘bong’) can be used to smoke the marijuana as well. But smoking isn’t the only way a teen can abuse the drug. An adolescent may also put the blend of marijuana in food. I think you may have heard of those “special” brownies before from movies or television, if not from your own brush with the drug at a time in your life.
The blend of hemp can even be brewed and passed off as an interesting blend of hot tea. These kinds of abuse of the drug can be particularly dangerous because sometimes your child may not even know that he/she is taking in a drug. At teen parties, your child can get introduced to the drug through some “special” dessert without him/her even knowing it.
How can marijuana affect your teen?
Ultimately, marijuana taken in great amounts may trigger severe anxiety and attacks of panic. But exposure to the drug can lead to various negative effects such as memory loss, academic troubles, and difficulties with coordination. A game of basketball with the buds can suddenly become an obstacle for your teen as his coordination fails on him when his pal passes him the ball for the shot.
Keeping up that average of hers at school can become a grueling task. And the lyrics to songs your son/daughter used to love hollering around the house may suddenly become a bit hazy to him/her. All this in exchange for the short period of “pleasantness” he/she receives from the chemical dopamine in marijuana. And this dopamine doesn’t just give the user this short-lived feeling of pleasantness but it also may leave him/her with an addiction to the substance as well. Is it really worth your teen’s while? No, it isn’t. |
