Introduction
- There is now promising research into the use of marijuana that could impact tens of thousands of children and adults, including treatment for cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer's. With regard to pain alone, marijuana could greatly reduce the demand for narcotics and simultaneously decrease the number of accidental painkiller overdoses, which are the greatest cause of preventable death in this country. Note that you can NOT overdose on marijuana !!! Marijuana is a medicine, that should be studied and treated like any other medicine.
- The evidence clearly indicates that long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction. Indeed, approximately 9% of those who experiment with marijuana will become addicted. The number goes up to about 1 in 6 among those who start using marijuana as teenagers and to 25 to 50% among those who smoke marijuana daily. According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2.7 million people 12 years of age and older met the DSM-IV criteria for dependence on marijuana... There is also recognition of a bona fide cannabis withdrawal syndrome, which makes cessation difficult and contributes to relapse. Early and regular marijuana use predicts an increased risk of marijuana addiction, which in turn predicts an increased risk of the use of other illicit drugs. As compared with persons who begin to use marijuana in adulthood, those who begin in adolescence are approximately 2 to 4 times as likely to have symptoms of cannabis dependence within the 2 years after first use.
Task
Read this article below and then answer the 5 questions.
https://www.verywell.com/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-medical-marijuana-1132484
1. What are 2 pros to smoking marijuana ?
2. What are 2 cons to smoking marijuana ?
3. What is medical marijuana ?
4. What is the main reason medical marijuana is being prescribed ?
5. How many states have made it legal to prescribe medical marijuana for medical purposes ?
Process
Watch this video and then answer the 5 questions below.
1. What is the most positive thing he thinks he has received by not smoking marijuana anymore ?
2. Does smoking weed affect your breathing according to the young man in the video ?
3. What was the young mans name and what was the date that he made the video on ?
4. What does he mean when he says he no longer is stagnant ?
5. What did he say he realized towards the end of the video ?
Evaluation
After reading the article and watching the video fill in the blanks on this worksheet on marijuana.
http://www.scholastic.com/headsup/pdfs/NIDA2-AB%20worksheet_p3.pdf