More About Marijuana’s Place in our Society

Medical cannabis (also referred to as medical marijuana) is the use of cannabis and its constituent cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy. Marijuana is an addictive drug that is actually quite destructive for many people. We have marijuana treatment programs here in Orange County California where people can get sober right on the beach while having a great time and learning a lot.

Throughout the last several decades, marijuana has been considered less sinister than other illegal narcotics like cocaine and heroin. While it is true that marijuana is less addictive than substances like crack, ecstasy, and methamphetamine, our experience has demonstrated that clients who arrive at our drug rehab addicted to the harder substances inevitably began their drug use with marijuana. So, the time has long passed that marijuana should be considered harmless.

Marijuana can be psychologically addicting and there have been many men and women who have arrived here in Newport Beach with marijuana as their primary drug of choice. These clients have become emotionally and mentally dependent on marijuana (also known as "pot," "weed," "ganja," or a host of other names). The psychological dependence can take a significant time to overcome, with many marijuana-addicted individuals feeling despondent, depressed, and as though will never enjoy life again without the drug's effects.

Marijuana’s Place in our Society:

Marijuana is the most favored and glorified drug of all the illegal narcotics that are being abused in our society. It continues to be a drug of entry for many Americans. Reports indicate that the marijuana available today can be five times more potent than the marijuana of the 1970s and that teenager can often obtain marijuana more easily than alcohol.

Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of cannabis sativa, the hemp plant. Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints. Some use pipes or water pipes called bongs. Also becoming popular are marijuana cigars, called blunts, where the tobacco in cigars is replaced with marijuana and often combined with another drug, such as crack cocaine.

Whatever it's called, and however it's used, marijuana can produce adverse physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral changes. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana can be addictive. Marijuana smoke, like cigarette smoke, can harm the lungs. The use of marijuana can impair short-term memory, verbal skills, and judgment and distort perception. It also may weaken the immune system and may even increase a user's likelihood of developing cancer. Studies also show that the increasing use of marijuana by very young teens may have a profoundly negative effect upon their development.

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