15/06/2018
Ma*****na abuse also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens.
Study for reflection-
MA*****NA
There are a lot of people who are of the opinion that ma*****na is not a harmful drug and that it should be as legal to buy and use as alcohol. Ma*****na is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. Besides alcohol, ma*****na is the most commonly used drug by young people.
Ma*****na is a dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the h**p plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (b**g). It also is smoked in blunts, which are ci**rs that have been emptied of to***co and refilled with ma*****na, often in combination with another drug. It might also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea.
As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Ma*****na smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. Some people think that the smoke smells like burning rope.
There are countless street terms for ma*****na including pot, herb, w**d, grass, widow, g***a, and hash, as well as terms derived from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum, Northern Lights, Fruity Juice, Afghani #1, and a number of Skunk varieties.
The main active chemical in ma*****na is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke ma*****na.
Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes ma*****na, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.
In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
The short-term effects of ma*****na can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term ma*****na abuse indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs.
For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine. Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.
Ma*****na can have an adverse effect on the heart. One study has indicated that an abuser's risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking ma*****na. The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from ma*****na's effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.
A user’s lungs are also affected. A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke ma*****na frequently but do not smoke to***co have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers. Many of the extra sick days among the ma*****na smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses
Even infrequent abuse can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes ma*****na regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that to***co smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways.
Smoking ma*****na possibly increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck. A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced evidence that ma*****na smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.
Ma*****na abuse also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens. In fact, ma*****na smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does to***co smoke. It also induces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells
