In light of the movement to legalize marijuana as well as the glamorization of cannabis use on television and in the movies I find it crucial to bring to you some truths about dangers of the use, abuse and eventual dependence on marijuana.
To begin with, cannabis targets the central nervous system by slowing messages being relayed between the brain and the body. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in Cannabis, is a very potent drug; the interaction of THC with the brain causes feelings of paranoia and panic. Once smoked or eaten, THC moves very quickly, in fact within seconds, through the lungs to the brain and can then remain in the body for days, effecting mood, memory, thoughts, judgment and perception. In fact THC remains in the urine for sometimes up to 45 days and it deposits itself in the adipose or fatty tissues of the body. Parents—the fattiest organ in the body is the brain. Research shows that daily use of marijuana will remain in the brain up to 14 weeks.
The more common and immediate effects of cannabis use are laughter and talkativeness, loss of concentration and coordination, hunger, increased heart beat and red eyes. This can then quickly leads to confusion, paranoia, and restlessness, feeling distant from reality and anxiety or panic. Through our experience treating anxiety sufferers for more than 20 years, we can now clearly see a link between anxiety, panic attacks, depression and cannabis use.
This phenomenon is not restricted to teenagers, older cannabis users, some who have used the drug for many years, contact us having developed anxiety symptoms when they try to stop using. Other clients often have low-level anxiety and rarely attributed its development to cannabis use until the anxiety became unmanageable.
For those who used cannabis daily, the likelihood of suffering depression or anxiety is often much greater. This does not mean that every sufferer will experience inappropriate anxiety as a result of cannabis use; the chances just seem to be much higher.
Many anxiety experts believe there is definitely a link between affective disorders and mental illness and cannabis use. According to the Anxiety and Panic Hub, marijuana can cause panic attacks, panic disorder and psychosis. They state that panic attacks may be triggered by marijuana consumption in individuals who have a predisposition to panic attacks. Similarly, psychosis may be triggered in individuals who are predisposed to schizophrenia.
Furthermore, teenagers who start smoking cannabis daily before the age of 17 are seven times more likely to commit suicide, a study has found. The findings showed a link between a considerable use of cannabis and a high risk of suicide as well as poor educational outcomes. Researchers also found that teenagers who use cannabis very often are at an eight times greater risk of using other illegal drugs in their twenties, and they often also develop an addiction to marijuana.
Marijuana is a serious drug and not a right of passage for our youth. If you are concerned about someone who is using, abusing or addicted to marijuana call Alina Gastesi-de Armas the Clinical Director at Seedlings Adolescent Treatment Center
