Uriostegui 1

Esteban Uriostegui
English 1
Ms. Chiodini
13 May 2019
Colby

Marijuana

“Among persons aged 18 or older who reported lifetime marijuana use, almost 53 percent

report first using marijuana between ages 12 and 17” (Morin). ​In some states such as California,

marijuana has been legalized, which has made its use by teens even worse. Now that marijuana is

more accessible, adults will buy marijuana from dispensaries and will sell is to teens for more

money. Because it has become so accepted by mainstream society, more and more teens see

marijuana use as a normal part of their teenage experience. However, they do not consider the

irreversible damage they are doing to their bodies and as a result, solutions must be found.

There are so many reasons to explain why teens use marijuana. For example, “​About one

in five young adults in the United States uses marijuana, and that could be contributing to the

high rates of depression and suicide in that group​”(Pattani). Many teens begin to use marijuana

because they are experiencing, mental or emotional trauma. They are self medicating because

they don't know how to deal with their emotions and mental state. In addition, “Teens will use

marijuana as an outlet so they could feel good about themself and to forgot what they are going

through.Social factors play a critical role in marijuana use in young adults. Young adult users are

often introduced to the drug by their peers, and they typically smoke or otherwise partake in it in

social settings. But while the role of social factors generally is well established, neural
correlations between marijuana use and susceptibility to social influence have remained

elusive”(Boas). Most teens end up

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smoking marijuana because of peer pressure. The influence of teens causes young people to

smoke because when placed in the situation where everyone else is smoking, they do not know

what to do. More often than not, smoke because they do not want to seem boring in front of their

friends. Teens smoke marijuana for many different reasons, but the two most common are the

help them with their negative emotions or mental state or because of peer pressure.

There are so many negatives of the use of marijuana to teens. For example,“S​ubstantial

evidence from animal research and a growing number of studies in humans indicate that

marijuana exposure during development can cause long-term or possibly permanent adverse

changes in the brain”(“What are Marijuana’s”).​ A negative effect that marijuana could have on a

teen that is self medicating is while a teens brain is developing the THC in marijuana could

affect their brain. While a teen brain is developing there are many cells that are developing and

when a teen will smoke marijuana the THC will stick to those cells and will try to instigate

because of the effect THC will give. Some other effect that smoking marijuana could do to a teen

is they would get anxious. Smoking marijuana and getting high of it could get you anxious and

sometimes lead to you getting an anxiety attack. ​When a teen tries marijuana one time they think

there ok. “Trying marijuana one time is unlikely to cause long-lasting health problems. But

marijuana can complicate anxiety problems. Children with anxiety disorders may experience

panic attacks when they smoke the drug or as ​marijuana leaves their system​. Others may get hurt

acting recklessly. But in general, the risks of one-time use are low” (“Teens and Kids”). ​These
are some effects that marijuana could have on a teen. Self medicating causes panics, getting high

has a different effect on them.

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There are many solutions to prevent teens from self medicating with marijuana. For

example, “Parents can help their children learn about the harmful effects of marijuana use”

(“Marijuana and Teens”). Many ways that they can have teens stop smoking marijuana is if

teachers or parents educate them at a early age all the damage it could do to your body and how

it could ruin their life. If they have teens learn about all the negatives things smoking marijuana

could do to a teen thay could possibly have them see how it could ruin therez0k life and have

them make good choices in the future. Some other solutions to this problems they could legalize

marijuana in the states where it got legal in or they could have adults stop smoking if teens could

see them so they will not get a idea that smoking is good. Some other ways parents can prevent

from having their teens from smoking marijuana are, “​If you are considering using home drug

testing as a preventive step, you are probably working on the theory that if your children know

they are going to be tested on a regular basis, they will be less likely to do drugs” (“The Truth

About”). Another way parents can help teens stop smoking or to not smoke in the first place is to

drug test teens every month. If teens knew that they will get drug tested they will get the idea if

they try marijuana their parents can find out, they could get in trouble and they will not try

marijuana. Many solution can be taken to solve the use of marijuana on teens, these are the first

steps.
 Some states, like California, voted to legalize marijuana and as a result they have made it

easier for teens to access marijuana and self medicate with it. Therefore, solutions need to be

reached to help prevent teens from abusing this substance. When a teens starts to self medicate

with marijuana at a early age, it may have a negative effect on their brains and their bodies.

When a teen

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smokes marijuana in public it could really have a negative effect to the public especially with

other teens looking at them and they can get a idea that marijuana is okay to smoke because teens

around them are smoking it. But if parents will monthly drug test them, teens will not use it as

much because they will know that their parents will know at one point. Parents should teach

teens at a young age what marijuana could really do to anyone, and how trying marijuana could

lead to intense drugs.