How Weed Became Legalized In Some States
if so many states are moving towards legalization of the drug, how can it be dangerous? Thats certainly one of the main arguments. Well, there are many dangers with regards to marijuana use. The greatest dangers include health problems, with the worst being lung problems and addiction. For people who smoke weed, they are harming their lungs. The damage that marijuana smoke causes to the lungs and resembles the negative effects of cigarette smoke. The American Lung Association , states that although cigarettes contain more dangerous chemicals marijuana smokers hold in their smoke longer and therefore expose their lungs to more chemicals.
What Is Medical Marijuana
While marijuana is a commonly-abused illicit drug, there has also been a significant debate in the United States about marijuanas medical value in recent years. Between 1996 and 2020, 33 states and four territories passed comprehensive medical marijuana and cannabis programs. In those areas, doctors may prescribe marijuana for patients who many benefit from its use.
- What is medical marjiuana used for?
- HIV and AIDS
The U.S. states and territories where medical marijuana is allowed include:
In addition to allowing the sale and use of medical marijuana, a few of these states also allow recreational use of the drug. These states are Alaska, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve medical marijuana as an official medicine, there are a few pill cannabinoids the agency has approved. Marijuana contains about 100 cannabinoids that create powerful effects. According to a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, THC and cannabinoid drugs potential therapeutic benefits include:
- Pain relief
- Control of nausea
- Improving muscle spasms, stiffness, and fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients
What Happens When You Try To Quit Smoking Pot And Youre Addicted
Pot smokers who are classified as marijuana abusers frequently report that they have withdrawal symptoms that include sleeplessness, no appetite, anxiety, cravings to use, and irritability. While any of these can make quitting difficult, the combination of several symptoms can make it difficult to stay on the road to recovery. This is where SMART Recovery can help.
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Weed Addiction Vs Dependence
While dependence and addiction often go hand in hand, there are key differences between the two problems.
Dependence is an actual physical reliance on a drug that develops with regular use. With dependence, a person actually requires the drug to function normally, and without it they experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.
On the other hand, addiction is a chronic disease characterized by intense and uncontrollable cravings for a drug and compulsive use of the substance despite its negative impacts on the persons life.
A Doctors Opinion About Marijuana Addiction
A Doctors Opinion about Marijuana Addiction Marvin D. Seppala, MD Chief Medical Officer, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
I hope that this brief writing may provide those who are seeking help a general understanding of the disease of addiction, and some specific aspects of marijuana addiction.
Many people say that marijuana is not addicting, but this is simply not accurate. People do become addicted to marijuana, just as they do to alcohol, opioids and stimulants. Marijuana addiction differs from these other types of addictions primarily by the outward or social manifestations, but internally, the same pain and anguish exist.
Studies show that about 9% of those who use marijuana become addicted to it. The unfortunate truth is that the lack of serious, early consequences to marijuana addiction allow for a long, slow decline, often without recognition, resulting in later-stage addiction before the problem is confronted. An individual may wake up years into this chronic illness, without a reasonable understanding of how their life got so far off track. Often one has no major medical or legal problems, no sudden tragedy that drives the search for an answer. However, isolation from friends and family, loss of interest and lack of participation in those activities that used to bring joy, and the crushing weight of missed opportunities add up. If this is where you find yourself, you are reading the right book .
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Other Faqs About Marijuana
- Brick: A large, compacted block of marijuana
Its difficult to say whether or not . It depends on a few factors. First and foremost, your mental state and the environment youre in when using marijuana play a big role in how you react. Marijuana and anxiety can go hand-in-hand for some people. You may not get a pleasant or relaxing experience when using it. In fact, your experience could be quite the opposite. Many people feel that marijuana can bring symptoms of anxiety or heighten their existing anxiety, particularly if they use it in a situation that isnt pleasant or trying to conceal their use of the drug.
For more information on how you or a loved one can begin on the road to a marijuana-free life, call The Recovery Village. With an abundance of rehab centers located nationwide, our treatment teams can help you gain the skills needed to live your life without relying on any sort of substance. Our representatives are eager to answer any questions you may have about addiction treatment and recovery. Each call is free and confidential.
What To Do If Someone You Love Is Abusing Marijuana
If someone you love is abusing marijuana, they may be in denial about the drugs potency, or their addiction. Through open communication, you may be able to help them realize they need to quit using. Here are some reasons to quit marijuana:
- Physical reasons to stop smoking pot to feel better, reduce the risk of lung cancer, and be more energetic
- Psychological reasons to stop smoking pot to reduce anxiety, get back to being happy without pot, and reduce depression
- Relationship related reasons to stop smoking pot to get out of the relationship rut that comes from smoking too much pot, find new friends, and heal from the fights or pain that marijuana has caused you and your loved ones
- Financial reasons to stop smoking pot to free up the money spent on marijuana, so you have more money to spend, put into savings, or use to pay bills
- Legal reasons to stop smoking pot to stay out of trouble with the law
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Is Marijuana A Gateway Drug
Marijuana is not generally considered a “gateway drug” because the majority of those who use weed do not go on to use harder substances, including cocaine and heroin.
Social environment might be a more critical factor in determining someone’s risk for trying harder drugs.
If someone is vulnerable to getting involved with drugs, they generally start with substances that are readily available, such as alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana.
However, a person is also likely to start using the same substances that are used by the people in their social environment, no matter how addictive the drug.
Statistics On Alcohol Addiction And Abuse
Alcohol is the most widely-abused substance in the United States, yet alcoholism is often left untreated. Alcohol addiction is detrimental to a persons physical, mental and social wellbeing.
- Every year, worldwide, alcohol is the cause of 5.3% of deaths .
- About 300 million people throughout the world have an alcohol use disorder.
- On average, 30 Americans die every day in an alcohol-related car accident, and 6 Americans die every day from alcohol poisoning.
- About 88,000 people die as a result of alcohol every year in the United States.
- About 6% of American adults have an alcohol use disorder, but only about 7% of Americans who are addicted to alcohol ever receive treatment.
- Men between the ages of 18 and 25 are most likely to binge drink and become alcoholics.
- In 2017, approximately 2.3 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 and 2.4 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 started to drink alcohol.
- In 2018, a historically-low percentage of American high school students reported drinking alcohol. Only 18% of 10th graders and 30% of 12th graders admitted to drinking underage in 2018 compared to 25% of 10th graders and 39% of 12th graders in 2013.
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How Many People Die From Smoking Worldwide
Over 8 million people die every year due to cigarette smoke, at least judging by WHOs statistics. 1.2 million of those deaths are the consequence of exposure to second-hand smoke.
Smoking cigarettes is said to kill over half of tobacco smokers. The stats also imply that 65,000 children die every year due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
How many people die from smokingand second-hand smoking in the US? Over 480,000 Americans die due to smoking every year, while secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for 41,000 deaths.
As for the smoking prevalence by race, here are the figures:
- Non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives make the highest prevalence of smokers in the US 22.6%, followed by
- Non-Hispanic other races ,
- Non-Hispanic Asians .
How Many People Smoke In The Us
34.2 million adult Americans smoke cigarettes, while 49.1 million use some kind of a tobacco product. The US hasnt got a bad position after allit ranks 49th, which is quite praise-worthy.
Until the 1960s, US citizens were very fond of smoking. The exact moment when its popularity started to decline was 1964 when the United States Surgeon Generals Reports were published, which connected tobacco with cancer and criticized its addictive properties.
There were about 42.4% of adult US smokers in 1965, but since then the percentage has plummeted to 25.1% .
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Cannabis And Mental Health
Regular cannabis use increases the risk of developing a psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia.
A psychotic illness is one where you have hallucinations and delusions .
The risk of developing a psychotic illness is higher in people who:
- start using cannabis at a young age
- smoke stronger types, such as skunk
- smoke it regularly
- use it for a long time
- smoke cannabis and also have other risk factors for schizophrenia, such as a family history of the illness
Cannabis also increases the risk of a relapse in people who already have schizophrenia, and it can make psychotic symptoms worse.
Comparison With Other Substances
All substances that affect the mind carry their own set of risks and harms, some unique to the substance. The most well-established, long term harm of regular cannabis use is addiction. It is often difficult to compare risks and harms between substances. Nevertheless, based on what is currently known, the risk of cannabis addiction is lower than the risk of addiction to alcohol, tobacco or opioids. And, unlike substances such as alcohol or opioids where overdoses may be fatal, a cannabis overdose is not fatal.
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How Many People Are Incarcerated For Marijuana
Over 1 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. for marijuana, most for simple possession. This is more than those who are in federal prison for murder, rape, and other violent crimes on a federal level. Over 800,000 of these include African Americans, even though Blacks and Whites use the drug at similar rates.
According to a recent study by the American Civil Liberties Union, the prison population for marijuana use was 1,561,013 from 2001 to 2010. The study did not look at pre-2001 data, so the actual number of marijuana-related arrests is likely much higher than their reported figure.
Signs Of Addictive Behavior
In general, here are some common signs and symptoms that someone has developed an addiction:
- Developed a tolerance for the substance
- Take more to avoid withdrawal symptoms
- Used when you said you were not going to
- Life begins to revolve around the drug and seeking it
- Abandoned other activities you once enjoyed
- Continued to use in spite of problems it has caused
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Unintended Problems Marijuana Addiction Can Cause
A guy I’m counseling, who’s wife smokes marijuana because she has cancer, was really frustrated when on the rare occasion they were able to go out as a couple a few weeks ago she fell asleep during their dinner because she was stoned. Despite his understanding her reasons for using it for her cancer, he still believes she misuses it too and resents the impact it has on their relationship.
A couple in with me decided a few weeks ago that they needed to stop smoking pot in the evenings after their young kids go to bed. What were their reasons? They didn’t want to teach their kids that smoking marijuana is normal, like their parents did for them. They said they recognize that using substances to cope with problems isn’t physically or mentally healthy for them or their family. The wife remembers growing up in a house that “smelled like a pot farm” and she was embarrassed to have friends over because of it.
Unlike these 2 examples, it’s much more common for people not to notice the negative impact on themselves and those around them. Here’s a typical scenario of how marijuana addiction can arise and go unseen or ignored:
Principles Of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research
Yes. Contrary to common belief, marijuana is addictive. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana this number increases among those who start young and among daily users .32 Thus, many of the nearly 7 percent of high-school seniors who 33 report smoking marijuana daily or almost daily are well on their way to addiction, if not already addicted, and may be functioning at a sub-optimal level in their schoolwork and in other areas of their lives.
Long-term marijuana users who try to quit report withdrawal symptoms including irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to stay off the drug. Behavioral interventions, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Contingency Management have proven to be effective in treating marijuana addiction . Although no medications are currently available to treat marijuana addiction, it is possible that medications to ease marijuana withdrawal, block its intoxicating effects, and prevent relapse may emerge from recent discoveries about the workings of the endocannabinoid system, a signaling system in the body and brain that uses chemicals related to the active ingredients in marijuana.
Parents seeking more information about the effects of marijuana on teens are encouraged to see information offered on NIDAs Web site: www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/marijuana.
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How Do I Stop Smoking Marijuana
SMART provides our members with tools and skills that they can use to help them recover from marijuana addiction as well as alcohol, or other drugs or negative behaviors. SMART Recovery, which can be used as a support group alternative to Marijuana Anonymous , uses a 4-Point Program®, with each element designed to help you overcome your problems with abusing marijuana:
Building Up A Tolerance
Dependence on marijuana happens when users build up a tolerance for the substance and need more and more of it to experience the same effect.
When a drug enters the brain, it overrides the brains natural processes, boosting a specific function far above, or below, normal levels.
The brain may become resistant to the effects of the drug in an effort to protect itself, so that next time the person uses the drug, it doesnt have as strong an effect. In order to feel the same high, the person has to take larger and larger doses.
Over time, users may graduate from smoking marijuana to using it in high-dosage edible forms or propane-extracted concentrates called dabs.
A 2012 study found that people who use marijuana have fewer receptors in their brain for endogenous cannabinoids, the signaling molecules that marijuanas active component, THC, mimics.
THC also affects the brains reward system and the release of the pleasure hormone dopamine.
It is very well-known that dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters that regulates reward, motivation, and self-control, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA and one of the authors of the study.
All of the drugs, whether legal or illegal, that can cause addiction apparently can stimulate dopamine signaling in the main pleasure center of the brain By stimulating dopamine, they activate the main reward centers of the brain. This is why when someone takes a drug, it is pleasurable.
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Are Cigarettes Banned In Any Country
Yes, at least during the COVID19 pandemic. Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, many countries banned tobacco. For example, tobacco imports and sales are banned in Botswana. The situation is similar in South Africa.
When it comes to Europe, the Spanish region, Galicia, also put a ban on smoking in public places, due to the pandemic, whereas France banned the online sale of nicotine products.
WHO claims that cannabis legalization efforts pay off and it is finally taken off the drugs list, we can vouch for a number of tobacco smokers to turn to a much healthier alternative.
On the other hand, middle and low-income countries still have a long way to go. Keeping track of how many people smoke cigarettes should be understood as a priority of healthcare providers and governments worldwide.
The effects of smoking cigarettes are deadly, and they damage the economy too as the money wasted on the nicotine addiction could be invested elsewhere.
