Grandma smokes for her glaucoma.
Your friends say it’s harmless.
It’s legal in many states.
So what’s the big deal? There’s a lot of confusing information swirling around about weed, or cannabis. Like many medicinal drugs, it has its pros and its cons. There’s been a ton of scientific research done on the effects of cannabis on young people, and there are a lot more risks if you use it under the age of 25. We still don’t know everything about weed. But here’s what we do know:
Weed messes with your body.
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Cannabis use causes slowed reaction times, muscle fatigue, and impaired coordination and balance. A real downer if you play sports.
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Weed increases heart rate and blood pressure for up to 3 hours after using.
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Smoking weed releases toxins and cancer-causing chemicals into the lungs. Vaping is even more damaging.
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Cannabis causes short-term memory loss. It makes you forget answers on tests, entire conversations, when and where you were supposed to be somewhere…
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Weed makes you feel tired and unmotivated. Which means you don’t feel like doing things—even the stuff you love.
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THC, the chemical that makes you feel high, can be stored in your fat cells several weeks after using, and drug tests can still detect it.
Weed messes with your head.
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Weed uses up serotonin in the brain, a chemical that makes you feel happy. After a while, regular users need more weed just to feel normal again.
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17% of teens who use cannabis regularly become addicted.
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Weed distorts how you perceive time and distance.
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Weed makes it difficult to solve problems and to learn.
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Weed affects the brain’s hippocampus, which leads to short-term memory loss.
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Weed can make anxiety disorders among adolescents worse. Kids who use weed regularly are 7 times more likely to develop depression.
