Marijuana contains several chemicals including the potent psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The positive effects of THC include pain relief and appetite stimulation. However, negative side effects also exist including...
Cannabis, or marijuana as it is more commonly called, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In 2008, 25.8 million people aged 12 and older used marijuana at least...
Overview According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. The survey shows that 76.3 million people--about one in four--have tried marijuana at least once....
The drug landscape has likely changed since you were a child, depending on your age. They may not be in the public eye as much as they were in the coke-filled 1970s and 1980s, but production has increased nonetheless. Potency of many drugs,...
Alzheimer's disease causes progressive memory loss and is a form of dementia. In addition to changes in mentation, patients with Alzheimer's disease can become anxious, develop poor appetite leading to nutritional deficits, have personality...
Marijuana is a drug that can be smoked, eaten or drunk. Although it is used occasionally for medically-prescribed or other legal uses, the vast majority is obtained and consumed illegally. The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists marijuana--also...
Drug testing is a common laboratory procedure for detecting the presence or measuring the levels of drugs within the body. Drug testing can identify individuals using illegal or prescription drugs. The information may be used to identify a...
Synthetic marijuana has garnered considerable media attention due to growing concern about its accessibility and potential side effects. The manufactured drug is known by several names, including spice, K2 and "fake weed." Though the...
Heavy marijuana users who give up smoking marijuana often face similar withdrawal effects as those addicted to other drugs. Because they have built up a tolerance to marijuana, their dependence on it may result in some unpleasant symptoms when...
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health taken in 2002, more than 11 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 were using illegal drugs, with marijuana being the most commonly used. If your child becomes addicted to drugs--illegal or legal--you...
Home drug test kits have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1997. These kits test for a variety of both prescription and street drugs, and all require a urine sample. While some kits test for a single drug, others test...
Marijuana contains a mind-altering chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC. Heavy use of marijuana, according to a 2003 study by Harrison Pope, published in the journal "Drug and Alcohol Dependence," can impair a young person's ability...
Drug use is a serious problem and can begin early in life. Pot has serious risks and is commonly referred to as a "gateway drug," because some people will search for more potent, more dangerous drugs after experimenting with pot. If you find out...
About 30 percent of drug-addicted individuals are women, and most of these are of childbearing age, according to laboratory test selection service ArupConsult. Exposure to marijuana in the womb may lead to delayed fetal growth and possible...
Discovering your child is using drugs can be a scary experience. It is difficult to know what the best course of action is after you catch your kid with drug paraphernalia. You must take action if your child is experimenting with drugs because...
Alcohol and drug use in adolescence can lead to development delays in addition to creating a host of other problems for teenagers. According to the University of Minnesota, teenage alcohol and drug abuse is a major social ill that, when caught...
Types of testing for validation of marijuana consumption include urine, blood, hair follicle and saliva. The most accurate test for validating current cannabis (the chemical name) intoxication is the blood test. Urine analysis can determine use...
Grass, also known as marijuana, is a popular mind-altering drug. Though illegal, as of 2010, some states have legalized its medicinal use. When the leaves, flowers and stalks of the cannabis plant are crushed, they can be rolled into a "joint," or...
A debate lingers as to whether marijuana is physically addictive. It's difficult to classify it as a physical addition. But heavy marijuana use has been known to lead to psychological addiction and social dependence, according to the Center for...
Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in the United States for general use, although it widely used medically and is being decriminalized in some regions. How does marijuana use effect running? Common sense would tell us negatively, since smoking in...
Weed is a slang term for marijuana or cannabis. It is an illegal drug to possess in the United States. Some people have a medical card that allows them to grow, manufacture and possess marijuana but only under strict regulations. Weed is...
Marijuana is viewed by some people as a harmless drug. Although it can bring on pleasurable feelings and may have medicinal benefits, it can also have bad side effects such as interfering with thinking and perception. Marijuana use may also cause...
According to Medline Plus, drug abuse is the cause for many social problems. People who abuse drugs have a tendency to break the law. Many of these people don't see the actions as causing a problem, because they aren't officially addicts. One...
Pot and marijuana are common terms for cannabis, the Cannabis sativa plant, which is used in the form of dry, shredded leaves or flowers, notes TeensHealth. Teenagers often view marijuana as a safe, low-risk drug even though its use is illegal in...
A smoker's risk of lung cancer is 23 times higher than that of a non-smoker, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who smoke double their risk of coronary heart disease and stroke as well. Considering such statistics,...
It is possible for long-term users of marijuana to become addicted, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The addiction may reveal itself when the marijuana smoker loses control of urges to smoke and seeks the drug regardless...
Marijuana (also known as cannabis or THC) is emerging as an alternative treatment for a variety of medical and psychological conditions from cancer and arthritis to depression and insomnia. While the use of marijuana as medicine is still a subject...
Cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, heroin--all are drugs that are addictive. Just as every person is different, so, too, are their contributing factors to drug addiction. No matter the reason, a drug addict often feels helpless; a prisoner to his drug...
A hallucination is a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders or by reactions to certain toxic substances. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of...
