Effects of Smoking Marijuana Compared to Tobacco
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Marijuana is the most illicit drug used in the United States, and possibly around the globe. Its use has been on the rise for the past three decades, especially with adolescents (Taylor 2002). There is an estimated 3.2 million people in Britain that smoke marijuana (Henry et al. 2003), while over 83 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once (NIDA 2001). Marijuana is a drug made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the hemp plant. Marijuana is also called cannabis, a word that comes from Cannabis sativa, the scientific name for hemp. People usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it also can be mixed with food and beverages. The United States, like many other nations, has laws that prohibit the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana.
Marijuana is a drug, and like any other drugs, it has both short-term and long-term effects...