Daniel Benjamin - Marijuana

1. CHAPTER 1
   What is Marijuana
2. CHAPTER 2
   Marijuana: Harmful To Your Health
3. CHAPTER 3
   In Their Own Words
4. CHAPTER 4
   Getting Help

In order to protect the privacy of sources, only first names were used throughout the book. An asterisk (*) following a name indicates the use of a pseudonym.

Published in 2014 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC 303 Park Avenue South, Suite 1247, New York, NY 10010

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L ibrary of C ongress C ataloging - in -P ublication D ata Benjamin, Daniel.

Marijuana / Daniel Benjamin.
p. cm. (Dangerous drugs)
Summary: Provides comprehensive information on the dangers of marijuana useProvided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical data and index.
ISBN 978-1-60870-825-3 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-62712-061-6 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-60870-831-4 (ebook)
1. Marijuana abuseJuvenile literature. 2. MarijuanaJuvenile literature. I. Title. HV5822.M3B446 2012 613.8'35dc23
2011013906

EDITOR: Christine Florie ART DIRECTOR: Anahid Hamparian SERIES DESIGNER: Kristen Branch

Expert Reader: Catherine Stanger, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for Addiction Research, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

Photo research by Marybeth Kavanagh

Cover photo by Steve Allen/Photographers Choice/Getty Images The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of: Newscom: Custom Medical Stock Photo, 4; s70/ZUMA Press, 10; Alamy: imagebroker, 6; David Hoffman Photo Library, 8; Anna Bartosch-Carlile, 20; Ace Stock Limited, 22; Corbis Bridge, 24; PYMCA, 27 (models only); Angela Hampton Picture Library, 35; Catchlight Visual Services, 53; Getty Images: Rob Atkins/Photographers Choice, 14; Garry Hunter/Photographers Choice, 18; The Image Works: Stein/Joker/ullstein bild, 31; Bob Daemmrich, 50; PhotoEdit. Mary Kate Denny, 39; Corbis. Richard T. Nowitz, 45; Rick Gomez, 56; Everett Collection: 48. Most subjects in these photos are models.

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
What is Marijuana

CHAPTER 2
Marijuana: Harmful To Your Health

CHAPTER 3
In Their Own Words

CHAPTER 4
Getting Help

W EED, REEFER, POT, HERB, GANJA THESE are just a few of the many names for the dried, greenish-gray leaves of Cannabis sativathe hemp plant. But the most common name of them all is marijuana, which comes from a Mexican term meaning good feeling. Most people who use marijuana smoke it in cigarettes called joints or in water pipes called bongs. Some replace the tobacco in cigars with marijuana to make what are known as blunts. Others use dried marijuana as an ingredient of cookies or brownies. When the drug is smoked, the chemical called delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, enters the users blood-eam through the lungs.

Left:The shredded mixture of leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the Cannabis sativa plant is commonly known as marijuana.

Marijuana is most commonly smoked fromcigarette-like sticks called joints.

Once the affected blood reaches the brain, the THC slows down the bodys re_____of a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which controls the mood and appetite. With the serotonin blocked, the user feels a giddy, dreamy high that lasts for several hours (depending upon how much is smoked). Marijuana that is ingested (for example, in cookies or brownies) reaches the bloodstream through the stomach lining.

Whether smoked or eaten, marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in America, especially among teenagers. In 2011 about 11 percent of American eighth graders reported smoking pot within the past year. Some surveys report that upward of 42 percent of high school seniors have tried the drug. In 2011 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 7 percent of Americans over the age of twelve had used marijuana within the past month. More than 100 million Americans admit to having tried it at least once. Thats a lot of people.

Marijuana Strongerthan Ever

The strength of any particular joint has to do with the amount of THC inthe hemp plant from which the leaves were harvested. By using modernfarming techniques, marijuana growers are able to grow plants withmuch higher THC levels thanwere possible in the recentpast. For instance, in 1974 THClevels stood at an average of1 percent per plant. In 2008those levels had risen to 9.6 percent per plant. Today, the strongestcrops of pot in the world have THC levels upward of 24 percent. Allthese advances make todays marijuana a more potent, dangerous drug.As one former user in her late forties put it: Pot today is completelydifferent from the $40 ounce bags we got when we were kids. The priceis a measure of how potent it is. Its a much more harmful drug.

Easy to Grow, Easy to Buy

While some drugs require specific climates and cultivation techniques to grow, marijuana fields thrive in climates as dissimilar as the dry heat of Mexico and the chilly winds of Canada. And once the cannabis plants have been harvested and the leaves have been dried, it is relatively easy to transport the product into the United States, or from state to state.

Of course, there is also a good amount of pot that is grown in America itself. In fact, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that domestic marijuana is grown in the gardens, backyards, and fields of every single state. It is also common for people to grow pot indoors. The dried leaves are sold to dealers, who divide the drug into ounce bags to sell. With so much pot in the country, the drug is widely available. As one teenage user puts it, Just put out the word that youre looking and someone pretty much always has some weed to sell.