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Marijuana Use in Adolescents and Young Adults


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Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drugs being used by troubled teens and young adults today. The marijuana that is available to teens and young adults is often laced with other, more potent drugs. Marijuana is physically addicting. Teenagers and young adults who smoke marijuana heavily often develop a dependency and experience much of the same symptoms of withdrawal as users of nicotine.

Kids are beginning to use marijuana at an earlier age. There are many causes of teenage and young adult marijuana use. Many of them try marijuana for the first time because their older siblings or friends are consuming it in front of them. Peer pressure also plays a major role in the use of marijuana by troubled teens and young adults. Marijuana use if perceived as "cool" in today's society. Teenagers and young adults see their favorite movie stars and role models smoking it in movies and their favorite musicians writing songs about it.

Problems and Signs Associated with Marijuana Use

The problem with marijuana use in troubled adolescents and troubled young adults becomes more severe when they begin to rely on marijuana as an escape from problems at school, home, work, etc. Some obvious signs of marijuana use in teenagers and young adults are red bloodshot eyes, troubling remembering things that just happened, overwhelming laziness, and they will often appear silly and giggly for no apparent reason. Marijuana effects everyone differently. Some individuals feel no effects from the marijuana the first few times that they use it. Others feel extremely relaxed. Quite often the use of marijuana causes hunger and thirst. Some marijuana users experience an overbearing feeling of being paranoid and/or feelings of anxiety. 

Marijuana is often a gateway drug to other illicit drugs. Most troubled teenagers and troubled young adults that began their drug use with the use of marijuana have later on experienced with and become dependent to more hardcore illicit drugs including heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs, etc. The short-term effects of marijuana use include memory problems, distorted perception, troubled problem solving, and loss of motor coordination.