My Little Sister Smokes Pot Every Day..?

Question

Ok so shes just turned 16 and shes been doing it for about 2 years as far as i know. I thought it was ok (well not ok but not too bad) until i found out that she does it pretty much EVERY day!
When i've tried talking to her about it, telling her she shouldnt do it so much as it will give her mental health problems her and her 19 year old boyfriend go on the defence, saying that its weed that can make you paranoid, not pot and they've been doing it for years so they are proof that it does not make you paranoid! Well.. they are the most paranoid people i know!

I remember a report about drugs being on the radio a while back saying something about mental health problems in young people that do drugs but i cant remember the details.

So what are the facts here?

What damage can it cause?

Is it ok to smoke pot, as long as it isnt every day?

Her bf smokes and drives, isnt that just like drinking and driving??

Thats true sandy, it could be something worse than weed but my point is that its every day so surely it must be doing a lot of damage? and also her bf (who drives stupidly without the stuff) drives after smoking it. It starting sound like a death sentence to me

Answer 1

Marijuana is a green, brown or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. There are over 200 street names for marijuana including pot, herb, dope, reefer, grass, weed, ganja, Mary Jane, boom, gangster and chronic.
Sinsemilla, hashish and hash oil are stronger forms of marijuana.
It is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or in a pipe or bong. In recent years, marijuana has appeared in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug, such as crack. Some users also mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea.
The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Marijuana's effects on the user depend on the strength or potency of the THC it contains.

The short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch); difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic attacks.
THC in marijuana is strongly absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. Generally, traces of THC can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. In heavy chronic users, traces can sometimes be detected for weeks after they have stopped using marijuana.

People who smoke marijuana often have the same respiratory problems as cigarette smokers. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. They are also at greater risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia. Marijuana contains some of the same, and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in cigarette smoke.

Marijuana affects memory, judgment and perception. Learning and attention skills are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily. Longitudinal research on marijuana use among young people below college age indicates those who use marijuana have lower achievement than the non-users, more acceptance of deviant behavior, more delinquent behavior and aggression, greater rebelliousness, poorer relationships with parents, and more associations with delinquent and drug-using friends.

While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when a user begins to seek out and take the drug compulsively, that person is said to be dependent or addicted to the drug.
Some frequent, heavy users of marijuana develop a tolerance for it. Tolerance means that the user needs larger doses of the drug to get the same desired results that he or she used to get from smaller amounts.

Answer 2

I am a substance abuse counselor of 8 years and a recovering addict of 20 years. The first question, the facts about pot: it IS addictiive. How one can determine if they are addicted is by trying to stop. When one withdraws from the substance , various symptoms will be noted. Insomnia, apathy, irritablity. Some tremulousness as well is an indicator. Next question about damage. Of course there's the genetic damage. Then there's the anhedonia,inability to experience pleasure. Memory loss which is irrepairable. No, it's not O.K. to smoke pot, even if it isn't everyday. Anymore than it's O.K. to self medicate with any other addictive substance. I also teach D.U.I. school. So about smoking and driving, The legal consequences are exactly the same. However, when the court orders random urinalysis, pot could tale as long as 30-45 days to be out of the urine.

Answer 3

The biggest problem with smoking pot is the same as smoking ciagarettes as you're causing damage to the lungs. Maybe more so with pot as the smoke it produces is very hot.
Whether it does any more damage, ie, brain, bloodcells and such, I remember reading somewhere that its no more likely than causing damage through heavy drinking. I guess its like most things, do it in moderation and it shouldn't be harmful.
Yes I agree, driving whilst stoned is as bad as driving while three sheets to the wind.

Answer 4

Cannabis is currently recognized as a psychologically addictive drug. There is no cannabis withdrawal disorder in but studies have demonstrated that cannabis use can induce withdrawal symptoms similar to other drugs with recognized physical dependence. Cannabis withdrawal symptoms are similar in magnitude and time-course to the well-established tobacco withdrawal syndrome.

Research between the use of cannabis and mental illness has also brought significant results. Cannabis use is generally higher among sufferers of schizophrenia, but the causality between the two has not been established.Another study concluded that sustained early-adolescent cannabis use among genetically predisposed individuals has been associated with a variety of mental illness outcomes, ranging from psychotic episodes to clinical schizophrenia.

the smoking of cannabis to lung cancer and the growth of cancerous tumors

A 2002 report by the British Lung Foundation estimated that three to four cannabis cigarettes a day were associated with the same amount of damage to the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day

Answer 5

Driving under the influence of drugs is an offence!
Weak minded people are the ones who let it affect them. (by the way weed is pot)
I smoke it every day too, i get paranoid but thats one of the short term side affects, another is short term memory loss but i do mean SHORT TERM. I find it relaxes me, the only side affects i get is serously bad giggles! my mum works as a phsyciatric nurse and has worked with kids who have been sectioned after smoking weed, but these kids were all from troubled back grounds and other drugs were involved to. Ive smoked it day in day out for the past 6 years and im still ok...............(i think!!!!) lol

Answer 6

Smoking Pot can kill brain cells, making her forget things. Like running off a curve in the street with her car, making her late for classes, making her weak, tired, and throwing up alot. If this countinues, she will have nervous break downs, become high (ALOT), and be parnoid all the time. Sometimes her memory will be wiped out and she'll never remember you! She needs some thearpy, try sticking to her at all times. Maybe some medication can do the trick, it won't be fast to recover, but at least your trying something.

P.S. Sometimes people are pressured into smoking pot. Dose she hang out in a gang? if she dose, it's most likely that they introduced it to her. Try interviewing them, I know it might be embrassing and werid for her, but it's only for her protection.

Answer 7

for one, weed and pot are the same thing.
and its not gunna mentally affect her, only when shes under the influence and even then it wont be that bad,
i do it probably just as much as her and theres nothing wrong with me, it just helps me relax and have some fun.
I personally think smoking weed and then driving isnt like getting drunk and driving, because being high is differet then being wasted, you can see clear, you might just be thinking alittle different but its no biggie.
She knows what shes doing, so you should let her figure it out for herself, live and learn.

Answer 8

I have 2 younger brothers who smoke it every day, ive stopped trying to get them to stop there is no way you can make them if they dont want to and the more you go on at them the less they want to see you. The oldest of my brothers is on the sick for having terrible social phobia and sometimes he does strange things so i would say yes it does mess with your head. The smoking and driving i agree with you it is like drink driving. There isnt anything you can do really to help them just hope they see sense one day

Answer 9

First of all weed and pot are the same thing. Smoking pot is harmless to your brain as far is know.
But what do I know im high as ****

Answer 10

That's very serious and illegal. If they are pulled over and drugs are found in the car, they will go to jail. Weed and pot are the same thing. It is addictive and they are addicts. Talk to your family Dr. about it. You need to stage an intervention wth friends and family to shake her up. She may have to go to re-hab for months.