For many years marijuana was viewed as a dangerous drug, today it is a widely accepted substance. Even though it is illegal in the country, some individual states have made it legal for medical use and two of those states have even gone far enough to make it legal for recreational use as well. Consequently many teenagers have started to experiment with this drug, not knowing the dangers that come with it.
Lately marijuana has become a popular drug with in the nation’s youth, and according to Califano from the book Marijuana "There are more teens and children in treatment for marijuana than for any other substance including alcohol"(27). This problem has reached the point where it is "not uncommon for young adult patients to show up with medical marijuana cards to a rehabilitation center and try to excuse their drug problem."(qtd. in O'Conner, par.6). According to Ann J. Curley "the annual Monitoring the Future study of 2012 showed that 6.5% of 12-graders said they smoke marijuana daily."(par. 2 &4). Although this does not seem like a huge problem it is because the government claims that: "approximately 9 percent, or about 1 in 11, of those who use marijuana will become addicted. This rate increases to 17 percent, or about 1 in 6, if you start in your teens, and goes up to 25-50 percent among daily users. "(The Official Drug Abuse Web Site). Which means that the user is no longer to control his or her drug consumption, and cannot stop using the substance even if they wanted to. Therefore making marijuana a dangerous drug.
Addiction is not the only problem that comes with the use of marijuana. This illegal substance is known as the "gate way drug" and for a good reason. According to O'Connor " reports also revealed that a mixture of herbs and chemicals known widely as 'spice' or 'k2'- or synthetic marijuana , since it mimics the intoxication effects of Herbal marijuana-has quickly gain popularity among teenagers."( O'Connor, par. 7). This is a huge problem because teenagers...
