Marijuana Controls Your Brain

There are several substances circulating the United States, which mainly are abused by adolescents. One of many drugs abused by adolescents is marijuana. Marijuana is a popular drug that is abused by adolescents. Several case studies have discovered damages to the brain with adolescent using marijuana. In today's society, smoking marijuana is tried between the ages of thirteen to eighteen years old. Adolescent have a greater chance of becoming a chronic marijuana user. Marijuana can cause impairment in memory, attention, impulsivity, and decision-making (Dougherty, Mathias, Furr, et. al, 8).

Researchers conducted an experiment by recruiting adolescents from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The adolescents had to do several screening, which included, the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorder & Schizophrenia, the Wechester Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Drug History Questionnaire (to count the number of times the substance used). During the screening, adolescents had to provide a breath and urine sample. The procedure process began by the adolescents providing another breath and urine sample, and complete the Barratt Impulsiveness scale and Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (1 to 7, strongly agree to strongly disagree).

The result of the case study showed users had significantly greater impulsivity trait. Adolescents smoked marijuana on an average of 5.2 days per week. While 40% of adolescents had never used any illicit drugs other than marijuana (except for one participant). Adolescents displayed poor performances on attention and memory compared to non-marijuana users. Adolescents also presented higher rates in decision-making.

The implication of the experiment is the use of previous findings. A few limitations include the participants' exposure to other substance other than marijuana. The study also controlled for alcohol and cigarettes. Future research conducted by treatment a strategy that explains a better reasoning for the impairments to help reduce the chances of relapse.

ABSTRACT:
http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=85715456&site=ehost-live&scope=site
REFERENCE:
Dougherty, D., Mathias, C., Dawes, M., Furr, R. R., Charles, N., Liguori, A., & Acheson, A. (2013). Impulsivity, attention, memory, and decision-making among adolescents marijuana users. Psychopharmacology. 226(2), 307-319. doi:10.1007/s00213-012-2908-5.