MARIJUANA. Symptoms of Marijuana Addiction:

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1 MARIJUANA Marijuana addiction is a phenomenon experienced by more than 150,000 individuals each year who enter treatment for their proclaimed addiction to marijuana. Marijuana addiction is characterized as compulsive, often uncontrollable marijuana craving, seeking, and use, even when the individual knows that marijuana use is not in his best interest. Marijuana addiction could be defined as chronically making the firm decision not to use marijuana followed shortly by a relapse due to experiencing overwhelming compulsive urges to use marijuana despite the firm decision not to. This contradiction is characteristic of an addiction problem. Symptoms of Marijuana Addiction: Marijuana tolerance: Either need for markedly increased amounts of marijuana to achieve intoxication, or markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of marijuana. Greater use of marijuana than intended: Marijuana taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended. Unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control marijuana use. A great deal of time spent in using marijuana Marijuana use causing a reduction in social, occupational or recreational activities. Continued marijuana use despite knowing it will cause significant problems. Marijuana is both emotionally and mentally addictive. Once an individual becomes addicted to marijuana it develops into part of who they believe themselves to be. Avoiding their friends who do not use, the addict will gravitate to others that do. Marijuana is a topic that is always on their mind, whether it be thinking about the next time they will be able to get high or where their going to get their next sack. When someone is addicted to marijuana eventually their friends and the people close to them only know how they act when their stoned because they no longer do anything without first smoking. Their constant abuse is due to the misconception that marijuana is what they need to solve their problems. Sometimes addicts will take their stash with them wherever they go, just in case an opportunity arises and they are able to take a couple hits. They may even go through several dealers in order to make sure they always have a constant supply of marijuana. The cost of marijuana addiction to the individual who allows their addiction to escalate may suffer health and social consequences, memory and learning problems, problems at work or even result in losing a job because of high absenteeism. Those who isolate themselves from friends and family often put a heavy strain on relationships with loved ones. There is a vicious cycle to marijuana addiction in which these problems are often used as a rational to smoke even more pot. Marijuana addiction is a no-win situation that many unintentionally fall into (the drug that is causing the problem becomes the solution to the problem it caused). Addiction to marijuana is severe due to its affect on the user's brain. Scientists now know many facts about marijuana's effect on the body and how delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major active chemical in Marijuana, acts in the human brain. When marijuana is smoked, THC travels quickly through the body and into the brain where it unites with specific receptors on nerve cells. Areas of the brain with the most receptors affected by THC are parts of the brain that control pleasure, thought, memory, sensory, concentration, time perception, and coordination. It's these areas of the brain that are most likely to be affected when an individual faces marijuana addiction. If you feel that your marijuana use is out of your control and interfering with your personal goals and happiness and you would like to stop but can't seek help from addiction treatment professional.

2 Effects of Marijuana Short-term effects of using marijuana include: Sleepiness Difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short-term memory Reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination, such as driving a car Increased heart rate Potential cardiac dangers for those with preexisting heart disease Bloodshot eyes Dry mouth and throat Decreased social inhibitions Paranoia, hallucinations Impaired or reduced short-term memory Impaired or reduced comprehension Altered motivation and cognition, making the acquisition of new information difficult Paranoia Psychological dependence Impairments in learning, memory, perception, and judgment - difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving, and forming concepts Intense anxiety or panic attacks Long-term effects of using marijuana include: Enhanced cancer risk Decrease in testosterone levels and lower sperm counts for men Increase in testosterone levels for women and increased risk of infertility Diminished or extinguished sexual pleasure Psychological dependence requiring more of the drug to get the same effect What is THC? THC is the chemical in marijuana which makes you feel "high" (which means experiencing a change in mood and seeing or feeling things differently). Certain parts of the plant contain higher levels of THC. The flowers or buds have more THC than the stems or leaves. The Effect of THC When marijuana is smoked, THC goes: quickly into the blood through the lungs to the brain (this is when the "high" is felt and can happen within a few minutes and can last up to five hours) THC is absorbed more slowly into the blood when marijuana is eaten as it has to pass through the stomach and intestine and can take up to one hour to experience the "high" effects which can last up to 12 hours.

3 THC is absorbed quickly into body fat and is then released very slowly back into the blood. This process can take up to one month for a single dose of THC to fully leave the body. Effects The effects of marijuana will vary from person to person depending on: How much taken How strong (potent) the marijuana is How the marijuana is taken (joint, bong, food) Size, weight, health Mood Individual experience with marijuana If marijuana is taken with other drugs Whether alone or with other people, at home or at a party. Onset Coming Up Plateau Coming Down After Effects 0-10 minutes 5-10 minutes minutes minutes minutes Because marijuana users often inhale the unfiltered smoke deeply and then hold it in their lungs as long as possible, marijuana is damaging to the lungs and pulmonary system. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same carcinogens and toxic particulates as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Long-term users of cannabis may develop psychological dependence and require more of the drug to get the same effect. The drug can become the center of their lives. The Effects on the Male: Marijuana is the most common drug used by adolescents in America today. Marijuana affect the parts of the brain which controls the sex and growth hormones. In males, marijuana can decrease the testosterone level. Occasional cases of enlarged breasts in male marijuana users are triggered by the chemical impact on the hormone system. Regular marijuana use can also lead to a decrease in sperm count, as well as increases in abnormal and immature sperm. Marijuana is a contributing factor in the rising problem of infertility in males. Young males should know the effects and potential effects of marijuana use on sex and growing process before they decide to smoke marijuana. The Effects on the Female: Just as in Males, marijuana effects the female in the part of the brain that controls the hormones, which determines the sequence in the menstrual cycle. Its been said that females who smoked or used marijuana on a regular basis had irregular menstrual cycles, the female hormones were depressed, and the testosterone level was raised. Even though this effect may be reversible, it may take several months of no marijuana use before the menstrual cycles become normal again. Mothers who smoke marijuana on a regular basis have been reported of having babies with a weak central nervous system. These babies show abnormal reactions to light and sound, exhibit tremors and startles, and have the high-pitched cry associated with drug withdrawal. Occurring at five times the rate of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Fetal Marijuana Syndrome is a growing concern of many doctors. Furthermore, doctors worry that children born to "pot-head" mothers will have learning disabilities, attention deficits and hormonal irregularities as they grow older, even if there are no apparent signs of

4 damage at birth. Pregnant or nursing mothers who smoke marijuana should talk to their doctors immediately. Effects of Marijuana on the Brain: Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that neurons in the information processing system of the hippocampus and the activity of the nerve fibers are suppressed by THC. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate. Recent research findings also indicate that long-term use of marijuana produces changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse. Effects on the Lungs: Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke. Regardless of the THC content, the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers. This may be due to the marijuana users inhaling more deeply and holding the smoke in the lungs. Effects on Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Recent findings indicate that smoking marijuana while shooting up cocaine has the potential to cause severe increases in heart rate and blood pressure. In one study, experienced marijuana and cocaine users were given marijuana alone, cocaine alone, and then a combination of both. Each drug alone produced cardiovascular effects; when they were combined, the effects were greater and lasted longer. The heart rate of the subjects in the study increased 29 beats per minute with marijuana alone and 32 beats per minute with cocaine alone. When the drugs were given together, the heart rate increased by 49 beats per minute, and the increased rate persisted for a longer time. The drugs were given with the subjects sitting quietly. In normal circumstances, an individual may smoke marijuana and inject cocaine and then do something physically stressful that may significantly increase risks of overload on the cardiovascular system. Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use on Learning and Social Behavior: A study of college students has shown that critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours. Researchers compared 65 "heavy users," who had smoked marijuana a median of 29 of the past 30 days, and 64 "light users," who had smoked a median of 1 of the past 30 days. After a closely monitored 19- to 24-hour period of abstinence from marijuana and other illicit drugs and alcohol, the undergraduates were given several standard tests measuring aspects of attention, memory, and learning. Compared to the light users, heavy marijuana users made more errors and had more difficulty sustaining attention, shifting attention to meet the demands of changes in the environment, and in registering, processing, and using information. The findings suggest that the greater impairment among heavy users is likely due to an alteration of brain activity produced by marijuana. Longitudinal research on marijuana use among young people below college age indicates those who used have lower achievement than the non-users, more acceptance of deviant behavior, more delinquent behavior and aggression, greater rebelliousness, poorer relationships with parents, and more associations with delinquent and drug-using friends. Effects on Pregnancy: Any drug of abuse can affect a mother's health during pregnancy, and this is a time when she should take special care of herself. Drugs of abuse may interfere with proper nutrition and rest, which can affect good functioning of the immune system. Some studies have found that babies born to mothers who used marijuana during pregnancy were smaller than those born to mothers who did not use the drug. In general, smaller babies are more likely to develop health problems. A nursing mother who uses marijuana passes some of the THC to the baby in her breast milk. Research indicates that the use of marijuana by a mother during the first month of breast-feeding can impair the infant's motor development (control of muscle movement). Research also shows more anger and more regressive behavior (thumb sucking, temper tantrums) in toddlers whose parents use marijuana than among the toddlers of non-using parents.

5 Harmful Effects of Marijuana The harmful effects of marijuana on the Brain and Central Nervous System o Impaired thinking, mood, memory, and coordination Marijuana (THC) is an extremely powerful and pleasurable intoxicant. It affects, alters, and damages brain cells controlling thinking, emotion, pleasure, coordination, mood and memory. The pituitary gland is also damaged which regulates hunger, thirst, blood pressure, sexual behavior, and release of sex hormones. Clogged synapses, brain damage and addiction Marijuana accumulates in the microscopic spaces between nerve cells in the brain called "synapses." This clogging interferes by slowing and impairing transfer critical information. Long term use causes the brain to stop production of brain chemicals necessary to "feel good" - a negative feedback condition. And, the user becomes chemically addicted to marijuana. o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Heart Speeds up heartbeat as much as 50%, increases blood pressure, and poses great risk to those with hypertension and heart disease. o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Endocrine System Marijuana damages the network of glands, organs, and hormones involved in growth and development, energy levels, and reproduction. Organs and glands affected: pituitary gland thyroid gland stomach duodenum pancreas adrenal glands testis o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Reproductive System males and females Marijuana use can decrease and degenerate sperm, sperm count, movement, and cause lowered sex drive. Females can have egg damage, suppression of ovulation, disrupt menstrual cycles, and alteration of hormone levels. Regular use during pregnancy can lower birth weight and cause abnormalities similar to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (small head, irritability, poor growth and development. Can destroy the number of chromosomes, resulting in cell abnormalities and impaired function. o Other affects on the central nervous system distortions of perceptions, thinking and reality Difficulty in forming concepts and thoughts Poor concentration Mental confusion Loss of motivation Wide mood swings Aggression and hostility Depression, anxiety and paranoia o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Eyes Sleep looking, blood-shot eyes with dilated pupils. o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Throat Irritates membranes of the esophagus; increases chance of developing cancer of larynx and esophagus. o The harmful effects of marijuana on the Lungs Significant damage and destruction of the air sacs of the lungs, reducing the lungs ability to bring oxygen and remove carbon dioxide - Emphysema. Causes bronchial tubes to be inflamed, thickened and to produce more mucus; resulting in narrowing of the air passages - Chronic Bronchitis.

6 Marijuana smoke has twice as much "tar" as cigarette smoke and significantly increases chance of lung cancer, inflammation and infection.

7 Brain Damage Marijuana Heavy Marijuana Use Linked to Brain Damage News Article March 6, 2002 Researchers report that chronic users of marijuana suffer memory loss and attention problems that can affect their work, their life, and their ability to learn. However, a medical expert not involved in the study questioned the findings and whether the alleged adverse impact of marijuana is really there, which is indicative of the controversy surrounding the drug. The findings are published in the current Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was based on patients seeking help for marijuana dependence at clinics in Seattle, Farmington, Connecticut, and Miami, between 1997 and Fifty-one people were examined who had been using marijuana regularly for an average of 24 years. Also, 51 short-term users and 33 nonusers were included as controls for comparison purposes in the research. "Long-term users... performed significantly less well on tests of memory and attention than nonuser controls and shorter-term users with a mean of 10 years' use," the study said. On a verbal learning test "long-term users recalled significantly fewer words than either shorter-term users or controls; there was no difference between shorter-term users and controls. Long-term users showed impaired learning, retention and retrieval compared with controls," the study said. The study's authors, including Nadia Solowij at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and colleagues with the Marijuana Treatment Project Research Group said the findings confirmed and expounded upon previous findings of cognitive impairments among chronic users. "For habitual users, the kinds of impairments observed in this study have the potential to impact academic achievements, occupational proficiency, interpersonal relationships and daily functioning," said the study. However, in an editorial in the same issue, Harrison Pope of Harvard Medical School said "a recent meta-analysis of neuropsychological studies of long-term marijuana users found no significant evidence for deficits in seven of eight... ability areas and only a small effect size for the remaining area of learning." He said in a separate statement that the study does not explore whether the heavy users may have been taking other drugs that could have accounted for the deficits uncovered, or whether they might have been suffering from anxiety or depression that could cause the problems noted. "Another recent study from our laboratory... found virtually no significant differences between 108 heavy cannabis users and 72 controls -- screened to exclude those with current psychiatric disorders, medication use, or any history of significant use of other drugs or alcohol -- on a battery of ten neuropsychological tests after 28 days of supervised abstinence from the drug," he said. Pope, the director of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, added: "The safest thing to say at this point is that the jury is still out on the question of whether long-term marijuana use causes lasting impairment in brain function." NO BRAIN DAMAGE SEEN IN MARIJUANA-EXPOSED MONKEYS California NORML Reports, April 1992 Two new scientific studies have failed to find evidence of brain damage in monkeys exposed to marijuana, undercutting claims that marijuana causes brain damage in humans.

8 The studies were conducted by two independent research groups. The first, conducted by Dr. William Slikker, Jr. and others at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Arkansas examined some 64 rhesus monkeys, half of which were exposed to daily or weekly doses of marijuana smoke for a year. The other, by Gordon T. Pryor and Charles Rebert at SRI International in Menlo Park, California, which is still unpublished, looked at over 30 rhesus monkeys that had inhaled marijuana one to three times a day over periods of 6 to 12 months. Neither study found evidence of structural or neurochemical changes in the brains of the monkeys when examined a few months after cessation of smoking. The new results cast doubt on earlier studies purporting to show brain damage in animals. The most famous of these was a study by Dr. Robert Heath, who claimed to find brain damage in three monkeys heavily exposed to cannabis. Heath's results failed to win general acceptance in the scientific community because of the small number of subjects, questionable controls, and heavy doses. Subsequent rat experiments by Dr. Slikker and others reported persistent structural changes in the brain cells of rats chronically exposed to THC. The studies did not show that pot kills brain cells, as alleged by some pot critics, but they did show degeneration of the nerve connections between brain cells in the hippocampus, where THC is known to be active. Although scientists have regarded the animal evidence as inconclusive, some critics have cited it as proof that pot causes brain damage in humans. Thus Andrew Mecca, the director of California Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, recently stated on the Ron Reagan, Jr. talk show (Sep. 2, 1991) that marijuana "leaves a black protein substance in the synaptic cleft" of brain cells, a claim apparently based on Heath's monkeys. When asked by a NORML member for his evidence, Mecca sent a list of three references, none of which turned out to have anything to do with brain damage. Although the new monkey studies found no physical brain damage, they did observe behavioral changes from marijuana. Slikker's group found that monkeys exposed once a day to the human equivalent of four or five joints showed persistent effects throughout the day. Slikker says that the effects faded gradually after they were taken off marijuana, and were not detectable seven months later, when they were sacrificed. Autopsies did reveal lingering chemical changes in the immune cells in the lungs of monkeys that had inhaled THC. However, Slikker's group concluded that experimental exposure to marijuana smoke "does not compromise the general health of the rhesus monkey."

9 Marijuana Gateway Drug Marijuana, a so-called "gateway drug," is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and tends to be the first illegal drug teens use. It s a widely held theory of drug use and abuse that there are stages of progression, from tobacco and alcohol to marijuana and from marijuana to other illicit drugs. Studies of drug abusers seem to bear the theory out: "Very few individuals who have tried heroin and cocaine have not already used marijuana and the majority have already used tobacco and alcohol," says Denise Kandel, a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. Is marijuana a gateway drug? "I don't think so," 18-year-old Katie Falkenberg says. "I just have known kids who have done it and they don't do anything else," adds Randy Glance 17. "I don't think it's gonna lead them into anything bigger," 17-year-old Cody Mcguire says. But a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests these teens are wrong. The study examined 311 sets of twins, with one twin in each set having smoke marijuana before age 17. "And what they found is that the twin who began smoking marijuana at a much earlier age had a very high increase in the probability that that twin would go on to use other drugs other than marijuana," says Dr. Robert Margolis, an addiction specialist. "As for me, it led within about a month period to other drugs," says Kelly Crockett, 18. Kelly says smoking pot got her closer to people who used hard drugs. "And it's like, 'Hey, you like the way this made you feel? Try this, you know?' And I was up for it, you know, part of me was like OK, if I say no, you know they won't think I'm cool anymore," she says. Experts say pot also releases dopamine in the brain, just like harder drugs do. "So if marijuana triggers the release of dopamine and cocaine triggers the release of dopamine and heroin triggers the release of dopamine, it makes sense that smoking marijuana may be priming the brain, getting the brain ready for these other drugs," Dr. Margolis says. But experts say many kids - and their parents - think marijuana is virtually harmless. "Don't just say, 'Oh, it's only marijuana,'" Dr. Margolis says. Instead, parents should arm themselves with information from credible sources and send a strong message to kids: Marijuana is illegal, unhealthy and could very well be a gateway to other drugs. "I know that it is, and anyone that thinks that it isn't, it's kind of sad to say this, but wait and find out you probably will, you know," Kelly says.