Maybe the illustration today is a little extreme... or maybe not. This series of articles that started on June 17th, focusing on Marijuana, is not intended to facilitate debate about the positive or so called medicinal benefits of the drug. It is not intended to justify legalization by presenting it as a harmless personal choice. My intend from start to finish is to present the truth... to get you to think. To think about the consequences of staring down a path of drug use that could easily push you into use of cocaine and heroin.
If you are a Christian, and I hope you are, I want you to think about what will happen with your precious relationship with God, should you make the dangerous choice to indulge in what many perceive as a harmless drug.
Marijuana, Mary Jane, is known by many names... “pot,” “grass,” “herb,” “weed,” “reefer,” “skunk,” “boom,” “gangster,” “kif,” “chronic,” and “ganja.”
Whatever you call it... Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds. This plant material can also be concentrated into a resin called hashish or a sticky black liquid called hash oil.
Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used in the United States. Although the federal government considers marijuana a Schedule I substance (having no medicinal uses and high risk for abuse), two states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, and 21 states have passed laws allowing its use as a treatment for certain medical conditions.
Marijuana is usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints) or in pipes or water pipes (bongs). It is also smoked in blunts—cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with a mixture of marijuana and tobacco. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour, odor. Marijuana can also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea.
How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain? When marijuana is smoked, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. It is absorbed more slowly when ingested in food or drink.
However it is ingested, THC acts on specific molecular targets on brain cells, called cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are ordinarily activated by chemicals similar to THC that naturally occur in the body and are part of a neural communication network called the endocannabinoid system. This system plays an important role in normal brain development and function.
The highest density of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Marijuana over-activates the endocannabinoid system, causing the “high” and other effects that users experience. These effects include altered perceptions and mood, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.
Marijuana also affects brain development, and when it is used heavily by young people, its effects on thinking and memory may last a long time or even be permanent. A recent study of marijuana users who began using in adolescence revealed substantially reduced connectivity among brain areas responsible for learning and memory. A large long-term study in New Zealand showed that people who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost an average of 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age 38. Importantly, the lost cognitive abilities were not fully restored in those who quit smoking marijuana as adults.
What Are the Other Health Effects of Marijuana? Marijuana use may have a wide range of effects, particularly on cardiopulmonary and mental health.
Marijuana smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and frequent marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems experienced by tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections. One study found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than those who don’t smoke marijuana, mainly because of respiratory illnesses. It is probable, but not yet confirmed, whether marijuana smoking contributes to risk for lung cancer.
Marijuana also raises heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to 3 hours. In one study, it was estimated that marijuana users have a five-fold increase in the risk of sudden heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug. This risk may be greater in older individuals or in those with cardiac vulnerabilities.
A number of studies have linked chronic marijuana use and mental illness. High doses of marijuana can produce a temporary psychotic reaction (involving hallucinations and paranoia) in some users, and using marijuana can worsen the course of illness in patients with schizophrenia. A series of research studies following users for extended periods of time showed a link between marijuana use and later development of psychosis. This relationship was influenced by genetic variables as well as the amount of drug used, drug potency, and the age at which it was first taken—those who start young are at increased risk for later problems.
Associations have also been found between marijuana use and other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts among adolescents, and personality disturbances, including a lack of motivation to engage in typically rewarding activities. More research is still needed to confirm and better understand these linkages.
Marijuana use during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of neurobehavioral problems in babies. Because THC and other compounds in marijuana mimic the body’s own endocannabinoid chemicals, marijuana use by pregnant mothers may alter the developing endocannabinoid system in the brain of the fetus. Consequences for the child may include problems with attention, memory, and problem solving.
Additionally, because it seriously impairs judgment and motor coordination, marijuana contributes to risk of injury or death while driving a car. A recent analysis of data from several studies found that marijuana use more than doubles a driver’s risk of being in an accident. The combination of marijuana and alcohol is worse than either substance alone with respect to driving impairment.
Is Marijuana Addictive? Contrary to common belief, marijuana is very addictive. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent, or 1 in 6) and among people who use marijuana daily (to 25-50 percent).
Long-term marijuana users trying to quit report withdrawal symptoms including irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to abstain. Behavioral interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational incentives have proven to be effective in treating marijuana addiction. However, behavioral modification therapies only work if an addicted user truly wants to stop using the drug.
Although no medications are currently available, recent discoveries about the workings of the endocannabinoid system offer promise for the development of medications to ease withdrawal, block the intoxicating effects of marijuana, and prevent relapse. So, now that we know the risks and effects of marijuana on a person’s physiology, particularly the brain, the most important question remains... How Does Marijuana Affect a User’s Life?
Research shows marijuana may cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Heavy marijuana users generally report lower life satisfaction, poorer mental and physical health, more relationship problems, and less academic and career success compared to non-marijuana-using peers. For example, marijuana use is associated with a higher likelihood of dropping out of school. Several studies also associate workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover.
WHY would you want to use such a substance that could cause all these problems in your life?
If you are a Christian adult, why would you consider recreational use of such a threatening substance, knowing that such behavior will foul your relationship with God? As a parent, do you want your teen son or daughter to risk their health and future by becoming addicted to marijuana? Consider these words of counsel from Scripture...
Romans 12:2... Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20... Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Peter 5:8... Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Galatians 5:21... Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21... Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Nothing in that counsel about drugs. Those words deal with a person’s moral and spiritual character, right? Many people, Christians included, will argue that even in the strongest warnings and admonition, the Bible says nothing about the use of drugs, Are you sure about that? Actually the Bible says much about the most common and most abused drug of ancient times... alcohol.
The Bible also CONDEMNS the use of drugs! An upcoming installment in this series will explain God’s strong condemnation of drug use. STAY TUNED and WALK Upright before the Lord!
