TakingITGlobal - Panorama - Teens and Drug Usage

Published on: Nov 4, 2002

Topic:

Type: Opinions

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=766

Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. Marijuana is also called Mary Jane, pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, gangsta, and chronic. But for real though, marijuana has over 200 street names.
Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette, called a nail or joint; but sometimes it’s smoked in a pipe or a bong. Some people also smoke blunts which is marijuana stuffed up like cigars.
It can be found in a persons body weeks after a really heavy session, but usually only for a few days.

Serious studies show that smoking marijuana for a long period of time will start to take a toll on your mental functions. Heavy daily use of marijuana, affects the part of your brain that controls memory, attention, and learning. Smoking marijuana causes changes in your brain that are just as serious as the changes made by alcohol, heroin, and cocaine.
It also affects memory, judgment and perception. The drug can make you lack in your studies, sports or clubs, or with your friends. If you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to make stupid mistakes that could embarrass or even hurt you. If you become accustomed to abusing marijuana, you could start to lose interest in how you look and how you're getting along at school or work.

Athletes could find their performance is off; timing, movements, and coordination are all affected by THC. Also, since marijuana use can affect thinking and judgment, users can forget to have safe sex and possibly expose themselves to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

"Young people use drugs for many reasons that have to do with how they feel about themselves, how they get along with others, and how they live. No one factor determines who will use drugs and who will not, but here are some things to watch for:

- Low grades or poor school performance
- Aggressive, rebellious behavior
- Excessive influence by peers
- Lack of parental support and guidance

See next page for "Club Drug" information.
Facts about Ecstasy "The Club Drug".

I wonder what the slang term for Ecstasy is.

Club Drug, Ecstasy: E, X, XTC. GHB: Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Grievous Bodily Harm, Georgia Home Boy. Ketamine: K, Special K, Ket, Vitamin K, Kit Kat. Rohypnol: Roofies, R-2.

1) I wonder if Ecstasy (Club Drug) affects your brain.
The term “club drugs” refers to a wide variety of drugs often used at all-night dance parties (“raves”), nightclubs, and concerts. Club drugs can damage the neurons in your brain, impairing your senses, memory, judgment, and coordination.

2) I wonder if Club drugs affect your body.
Different club drugs have different effects on your body. Some common effects include loss of muscle and motor control, blurred vision, and seizures. Club drugs like ecstasy are stimulants that increase your heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure. Other club drugs, like GHB, are depressants that can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, or breathing problems.

3) I wonder if Club drugs affect your self-control.
Club drugs like GHB and Rohypnol are used in “date rape” and other assaults because they are sedatives that can make you unconscious and immobilize you. Rohypnol can cause a kind of amnesia—users may not remember what they said or did while under the effects of the drug, thus making it easier for others to take advantage of them.
That is what we would like to share with you. If you have more information, please send it to ifrah.sahibzadi@tel.tdsb.on.ca or farah.ismail@tel.tdsb.on.ca
Hi, my name is Farah and my partners' name is Ifrah. We go to Samuel Hearne Senior Public School. We chose to do our topic on teens and drug usage. We chose this topic because we think that too many teens or youth are doing drugs at too early of an age. We researched this topic using the search engines on google.ca and on takingitglobal.org. We were so pleased to find so many responses to our questions and concerns. So many people had the idea that we did, but it seemed so little was being done about it. That's what our idea is. It's an article that informs others what the effects of drugs are and what you can do to stop and prevent them in your community.

A lot of the things that we researched were on the effects of drugs, mainly marijuana. This is what we found:
2000 to 2001 was statistically significant only for 12th graders' past year use of these substances; the rate declined from 5.9 percent to 4.5 percent. In 2001 9.1 percent of 8th graders, 6.6 percent of 10th graders, and 4.5 percent of 12th graders reported using inhalants in the past year. The three substances were marijuana, ecstasy and crack.
From our acknowledgements, we found more websites, based on only marijuana then just drug abuse. This is what a grade 10 youth named Ashley said: "Some teens have the impression that weed is better then alcohol, because you don't get depressed and sad on weed, but they are wrong: both bad for you!"

There can be lots of influences on teens or youth from different areas. For example, a television commercial, that advertises cigarettes. This may make anyone want to try it. This feeling usually effects youth, because of their curiosity.

« return.



by farah
Published on: Nov 4, 2002
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=766


Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. Marijuana is also called Mary Jane, pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, gangsta, and chronic. But for real though, marijuana has over 200 street names. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette, called a nail or joint; but sometimes it’s smoked in a pipe or a bong. Some people also smoke blunts which is marijuana stuffed up like cigars. It can be found in a persons body weeks after a really heavy session, but usually only for a few days. Serious studies show that smoking marijuana for a long period of time will start to take a toll on your mental functions. Heavy daily use of marijuana, affects the part of your brain that controls memory, attention, and learning. Smoking marijuana causes changes in your brain that are just as serious as the changes made by alcohol, heroin, and cocaine. It also affects memory, judgment and perception. The drug can make you lack in your studies, sports or clubs, or with your friends. If you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to make stupid mistakes that could embarrass or even hurt you. If you become accustomed to abusing marijuana, you could start to lose interest in how you look and how you're getting along at school or work. Athletes could find their performance is off; timing, movements, and coordination are all affected by THC. Also, since marijuana use can affect thinking and judgment, users can forget to have safe sex and possibly expose themselves to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. "Young people use drugs for many reasons that have to do with how they feel about themselves, how they get along with others, and how they live. No one factor determines who will use drugs and who will not, but here are some things to watch for: - Low grades or poor school performance - Aggressive, rebellious behavior - Excessive influence by peers - Lack of parental support and guidance See next page for "Club Drug" information. Facts about Ecstasy "The Club Drug". I wonder what the slang term for Ecstasy is. Club Drug, Ecstasy: E, X, XTC. GHB: Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Grievous Bodily Harm, Georgia Home Boy. Ketamine: K, Special K, Ket, Vitamin K, Kit Kat. Rohypnol: Roofies, R-2. 1) I wonder if Ecstasy (Club Drug) affects your brain. The term “club drugs” refers to a wide variety of drugs often used at all-night dance parties (“raves”), nightclubs, and concerts. Club drugs can damage the neurons in your brain, impairing your senses, memory, judgment, and coordination. 2) I wonder if Club drugs affect your body. Different club drugs have different effects on your body. Some common effects include loss of muscle and motor control, blurred vision, and seizures. Club drugs like ecstasy are stimulants that increase your heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure. Other club drugs, like GHB, are depressants that can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, or breathing problems. 3) I wonder if Club drugs affect your self-control. Club drugs like GHB and Rohypnol are used in “date rape” and other assaults because they are sedatives that can make you unconscious and immobilize you. Rohypnol can cause a kind of amnesia—users may not remember what they said or did while under the effects of the drug, thus making it easier for others to take advantage of them. That is what we would like to share with you. If you have more information, please send it to ifrah.sahibzadi@tel.tdsb.on.ca or farah.ismail@tel.tdsb.on.ca Hi, my name is Farah and my partners' name is Ifrah. We go to Samuel Hearne Senior Public School. We chose to do our topic on teens and drug usage. We chose this topic because we think that too many teens or youth are doing drugs at too early of an age. We researched this topic using the search engines on google.ca and on takingitglobal.org. We were so pleased to find so many responses to our questions and concerns. So many people had the idea that we did, but it seemed so little was being done about it. That's what our idea is. It's an article that informs others what the effects of drugs are and what you can do to stop and prevent them in your community. A lot of the things that we researched were on the effects of drugs, mainly marijuana. This is what we found: 2000 to 2001 was statistically significant only for 12th graders' past year use of these substances; the rate declined from 5.9 percent to 4.5 percent. In 2001 9.1 percent of 8th graders, 6.6 percent of 10th graders, and 4.5 percent of 12th graders reported using inhalants in the past year. The three substances were marijuana, ecstasy and crack. From our acknowledgements, we found more websites, based on only marijuana then just drug abuse. This is what a grade 10 youth named Ashley said: "Some teens have the impression that weed is better then alcohol, because you don't get depressed and sad on weed, but they are wrong: both bad for you!" There can be lots of influences on teens or youth from different areas. For example, a television commercial, that advertises cigarettes. This may make anyone want to try it. This feeling usually effects youth, because of their curiosity. « return.