Drug Prevention Programs: Marijuana Health Risk Factors (Essay Sample)

Marijuana Health Risk Factors
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Marijuana Health Risk Factors
Regardless of significant expenditure on drug prevention programs, challenging drug consumption has increased and new drug-related-problems haves surfaced. The high prevalence of substance abuse by adolescents and adults poses a substantial threat to the wellness of the citizens of USA. Evidently, drug-related tragedies such as gang warfare and drug- related deaths are on rising. Adolescents are among those at extreme risk for the use of illegal drugs and its associated adverse sequelae. Drugs addicts are usually implicated in the causes of homicides and accidents and remain the source of significant medical, psychological and social morbidity. In the United States, Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug for the overall population and youths in precise.
The high rates of marijuana use among youth are discouraging development. Significant factors contribute to marijuana and other drugs which yield to individual and environmental problems. Drugs addicts are usually implicated in the causes of homicides and accidents and remain the source of significant medical, psychological and social morbidity (Friese, Slater, Annechino & Battle, 2016). There has been an ongoing political debate about the legalization of Marijuana use in all the states in the USA, which has caused a surge of interest regarding the potential health effects of chronic use. This paper examines the possible health risk factors that are associated with marijuana use by the people of United States.
Studies examining the adverse clinical outcomes related to marijuana use have indicated significant health hazards. Foremost, since marijuana is typically smoked like tobacco cigarette smoking, the users of the substance stand at higher risks of developing lung cancer (Callaghan, Allebeck, & Sidorchuk, 2013). According to recent research by British Lung Foundation, marijuana and tobacco cigarettes share numerous toxic chemicals. The survey showed that marijuana cigarette contains approximately like 50 percent carcinogens more than the smoke that comes from tobacco cigarette smoking. Studies have also revealed that heavy marijuana users also tend to smoke cigarettes and likely to suffer from lung, upper airway, or oral cancer than non-users.
Another health risk factor for marijuana users which can be extracted from the same carcinogenic effects that cause lung cancer is the respiratory problems. Previous studies indicate that marijuana users tend to experience several respiratory problems (chronic bronchitis, coughing, wheezing e.t.c) than non-smokers (Callaghan, Allebeck & Sidorchuk, 2015). Additionally, frequent marijuana users are likely to suffer from cardiac and metabolic problems which result from tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive component of marijuana. Accordingly, the psychoactive component of marijuana causes significant increases in heat rate and moderate blood pressure increases during intoxication. Furthermore, patients who suffer from myocardial infarction are composed of the majority of marijuana users. Moreover, past and current marijuana adult users are at increased risk of experiencing coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disorders such as heart attack and stroke.
Finally, marijuana use increases the risk of developing psychotic symptoms, more specifically early onset psychosis. Psychotic Health study research has established that patients who smoked marijuana experienced a previous onset of symptoms than psychotic patients who never smoked marijuana (Friese, Slater, Annechino & Battle, 2016). Moreover, frequent use of marijuana by youths at early or adolescent stage remain a leading aspect of the development of psychotic disorders due to the disruption of the maturation of primary brains structures in the prefrontal cortex at this development stage. Conclusively, marijuana use increases the risk of developing depressive symptoms, poor perform...