A summary of the effects of marijuana on the body, along with facts concerning medical research and the side effects of the drug.
Although many argue that marijuana is not addictive, users who have stopped smoking it report irritability, inability to sleep, uncontrollable crying, mood swings and feelings of sickness during withdrawal. Addicts smoke marijuana every few hours, or even more often, making their habit cost sometimes forty dollars a day or more.
Bloodshot eyes, coughing excessively, rapid heartbeat, short term memory loss, and smiling or giggling are some of the signs of this addiction. Yellowed finger tips are another noticeable giveaway that the person is a user, but this sign is also seen in cigarette smokers. Marijuana is a strong-smelling drug and non-users can often detect the smell of marijuana on a user's clothing or hair, or in the air. Some users experience panic attacks or intense paranoia, causing them to often look out the windows, pace the floors or chew their fingernails. Smokers also experience the inability to concentrate on something being spoken or read, causing them to sometimes follow along, then a few minutes later, be only able to catch a random phrase or two. Short term memory loss is also connected to marijuana smoking, to the point where some users can't complete a sentence because they don't remember what they were saying.
One of the largest problems with this addiction is that it causes the user to no longer have interest in things that previously were very important. Jobs, school, family, kids and other cherished items, are pushed to the background in favor of marijuana. After smoking marijuana, many people feel lazy or lack energy and are often content to sit and stare at the television, or other activities that require limited physical functioning. Marijuana stimulates the hunger cycle in many users, causing them to overeat or snack often throughout the day, usually after coming down from the buzz.
Marijuana is known to affect the sterility of men, particularly if the drug use began during puberty. Marijuana is proven to provide low birth weights in some babies and even retardation. It also contains many of the same harmful substances found in cigarettes, causing emphysema and even lung cancer.
Some medical experts agree that marijuana can provide relief to some of their patients. Marijuana does provide some medical benefits to those who suffer from nausea and vomiting, especially when due to cancer-fighting drugs and to those who have cataracts, and other ailments, but overall marijuana causes damage to the throat, sinuses, lungs and heart and should be avoided unless prescribed by a physician.
