The Impact of Marijuana on High School Students
By: Faiz Sabbiruzzama
Marijuana, according to federal government statistics, is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. It has and continues to be popular among high school students.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that "daily marijuana use increased among eighth to 12th graders from 2009 to 2010. Among 12th graders, it was at its highest point since the early 1980s." In the past year, marijuana use among high school students has declined according to NIDA but the organization suggests perceived risk of regular marijuana use also declined among 10th and 12th graders suggest future marijuana trends may continue upward.
Sixteen-year-old Jomir Uddin, who attends the Bronx High School of Science, says his life drastically changed from marijuana abuse. He once was an A+ student in middle school but now describes himself as a brooding and depressed individual who hangs around the outskirts of the Bronx because he smokes one to two grams of marijuana every day.
He was a just a freshman when he took his first puff, "I didn't feel anything," Uddin remembered. But soon, that began to change because as he became more involved with marijuana, his grades began to drop. "I was drawn to marijuana and it felt good the second time, the third time, and the fourth time till I became totally addicted." After becoming more interested in marijuana, his focus was switched from academic subjects to drug abuse. As a result, his grade point average dropped from an A+ to a B- in his sophomore year. Uddin also admitted that he smokes marijuana in class because he finds school boring and says his mind is better off in wonderland under the influence of marijuana.
Uddin states he uses marijuana in a cigarette form. The most common form of marijuana is a dry, mesh green, and brown mix of flowers, stems, and leaves that comes from the hemp plant known as Cannabis sativa. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short is the main active chemical in marijuana.
Students who try marijuana usually smoke it in cigarettes or in pipes. The smell of the smoke is described as pungent and distinctive with a usually sweet and sour odor, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
According to Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health stated in an email that "the short term effects of smoking weed include loss of coordination, pleasant sensations, memory judgment, loss of perception, and awful decision making. Smoking marijuana can make driving dangerous because its chemical derivative affects the cerebellum's function which is the section of the brain that controls balance and coordination." In addition, researchers show that drivers on marijuana have slower reaction times, impaired judgment, and problems responding to signals and sounds.
"When I smoked weed, I felt really happy and I didn't care about anything. Not school, not my family, and not my friends," said Mohammed Siraj, 16, a student who attends the Bronx High School of Science. "I couldn't remember much really. It was like a blur to me." After trying weed a few times, Siraj unexpectedly stopped because he found out he was hurting his friends. Siraj attacked his best friend while being high because his friend threw his stash of marijuana away in the garbage. Later, Siraj attempted to apologize for his actions to his best friend but he was too late. His friend moved away to Bangladesh and that was the last time he has heard from him.
"People think that if everyone smokes weed, everyone will get high. This is wrong actually because smoking marijuana is varied among different people. Some will have a positive attraction and others will have a negative attraction," said Julie Mankiewicz 38, a health professor who educates students at the Bronx High School of Science. "This drug is not for everyone."
Siraj recognizes that marijuana had a negative effect on his life, saying, "Smoking weed was probably the biggest mistake of my life because I lost so many of my close friends. I made some horrible decisions but choosing to smoke weed was the worst."
However, marijuana can also be beneficial because the drug can be used as medicine, according to the Marijuana Legalization Organization. Researchers concluded that there was evidence that marijuana could be useful for pain relief, control of nausea, and appetite stimulation. Marijuana may also protect against cancer because a report by German researchers shows that marijuana may inhibit cancer tumors. For example, researchers in the University of Harvard have reported that delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main component of marijuana has reduced the growth of lung cancer in mice. These results look promising, but further research is necessary to see if THC treatment has the same effect in humans. Furthermore, Canada and several states of the U.S have passed laws in recent years to specifically allow sick people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes according to the Marijuana Legalization Organization.
Even though there might be some positive effects of smoking marijuana, it is still an illegal drug in the United States. Despite this, many people continue to use it, even when aware of the negative effects on their lives.
Uddin is part of the trend that marijuana use is not going away. He does not see himself quitting smoking weed even after he lost his friends because he states that "this is my only salvation and I can't give up on that."
