Cannabis

A guy at school has asked Michael if he wants to smoke marijuana. Michael knows that marijuana is a narcotic drug, and he thinks it's scary to try it. But, the guy says that marijuana is a "light drug"ݬ and it's completely natural -- since it comes from a plant that grows in nature! But is it really so simple, that it's harmless, just because it's natural? Let's take it from the beginning.

Here's a cannabis leaf. It's from the cannabis plant, and from that, people make the drugs haschish and marijuana. Haschish is a hard, brown or black, block, that's made from the resin of the plant. Marijuana is made of the grey-greenish dried flower buds and leaves of the plant. Cannabis contains a substance called Tetra-hydro-canna-binol, or THC.

When a person smokes cannabis, the blood quickly absorbs the THC molecules through the lungs, and transports them to the brain, the same way that nicotine is transported to the brain, when someone smokes tobacco. In the brain, the brain cells are communicating with each other using special chemical substances -- neurotransmitters. The THC molecules resemble one of the neurotransmitters used in the brain. So when THC enters the brain, it will affect how that person feels and even thinks. The person experiences an intoxication, or high.

Some people get relaxed, joyful, and laugh uncontrollably when smoking cannabis. Others get nauseous, anxious, and confused by smoking it. A cannabis intoxication can last from a few minutes up to several hours. THC has a special property that differentiates it from nicotine. THC is stored in the fatty substances, in the brain and elsewhere, and it can remain for several weeks.

This way, THC can keep affecting a person for a long time, and THC that has been used previously, can be released and affect the brain when a person smokes again, at a later point in time. In some countries, like the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Uruguay, it's legal to smoke cannabis, at least in some places. Use of the drug is also allowed in some US states; and in some cases it can be prescribed as a medicine. Not strange then, that there are people who think cannabis isn't that bad after all. This might seem strange, but -- at a time when more countries are legalising cannabis -- researchers are confirming how damaging the drug actually is.

Today, we know that smoking cannabis will reduce the number of brain cells, and cause the brain to actually shrink in size! The working memory is reduced, which hampers thinking, causing the person's IQ to drop. The ability to focus attention is impaired, making it harder to learn new things. This is especially true for people who start smoking when they are young, before the brain is fully developed. It also seems that smoking cannabis can trigger psychosis and schizophrenia.

In addition, cannabis is carcinogenic, just like cigarettes. Cannabis is illegal in Sweden. A person who deals cannabis, or carries the drug with them, can be sentenced to a fine, or to imprisonment for a drug offence. Michael likes his brain, would like it to keep working well, ... and says, "No"ݠto cannabis...