A pothead is one who habitually smokes marijuana which is often called "pot," "grass," "weed," "reefer," or "mary jane".

Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa, the hemp plant.

Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, among other names; some use pipes or water pipes called bongs. Marijuana cigars called blunts have also become popular.

Unscientific Research About Marijuana Abuse

Here are comments from a previous distributor of marijuana regarding his observation of his pothead clients over the long term.

Potheads:

* suffer from poor memory
* are lethargic
* have low vitality
* have lower sexual appetite
* have abnormally coated tongues and bad breath
* are more susceptible to infection and colds that last for months
* can not smell or taste as well as nonheads
* have blood-shot eyes
* have pale skin

The above is an unscientific study but revealing anyway.

Scientific Research About Marijuana Abuse

Potheads - Regular Users of Marijuana:

* Heart begins beating more rapidly (within minutes)
* Blood vessels in the eyes expand making the eyes look red
* Experiences intense sensations, colors, and sounds
* Time appears to pass very slowly
* The mouth feels dry
* Hands may tremble and grow cold
* May feel depressed or experience anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic
* Short term and long term memory impaired
* Attention and judgment impaired
* Coordination and balance is impaired
* Lack self confidence
* Lack motivation and pursuit of goals
* Immune system's ability to fight off infectious diseases is impaired
* Increases risk of chronic cough, bronchitis, and emphysema
* Increases risk of cancer of the head, neck, and lungs
* Students get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school
* Workers have more problems on the job such as increased absences, tardiness, accidents and job turnover

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Chronic, heavy marijuana use during adolescence, which is a critical period of ongoing brain development, is associated with poorer performance on thinking tasks, including slower psychomotor speed and poorer complex attention, verbal memory and planning ability.

Research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that it is evident even after a month of stopping marijuana use. There may be partial recovery of verbal memory functioning within the first three weeks of abstinence from marijuana, but complex attention skills continue to be affected.

Not only are their thinking abilities worse, their brain activation to cognitive tasks is abnormal. The tasks are fairly easy, such as remembering the location of objects, and they may be able to complete the tasks, but the adolescent marijuana users are using more of their parietal and frontal cortices to complete the tasks. Their brain is working harder than it should.

Girls may be at an even greater risk than boys.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

According to a recent report in USA Today and information from the Mexican Health Ministry, new patients at drug treatment centers quadrupled since 2000.

The new border fence and intensified patrols by both Mexican and U.S. federal agents have made it harder for Mexican cartels to get street drugs into the USA.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón warned last month that cartels are no longer just trying to get drugs to the USA, but generate consumers "here in Mexico who will buy them, and buy them for the rest of their lives."

"We used to be mainly a country of transit for drugs. Now we've become a consumer," says Ricardo Sánchez, director of research for the health ministry's rehab centers.

Prices of drugs have increased in the USA but have decreased in Mexico making it more available.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently released a report that revealed the levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - has reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s.

According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time.

The image shown is referred to as a "steam roller" (peace pipe). The pipe is used by marijuana smokers. The smokers fill the bowl with cannabis, then put the hand over the end of the pipe nearest the bowl and the other end in the mouth. After lighting and inhaling until the chamber is filled with smoke, you then remove the hand and quickly inhale the collected smoke to have a stronger high.

"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Particularly worrisome is the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction.

The increased potency of marijuana available in the United States also corresponds with other troubling research showing links between marijuana use and depression. See this article on marijuana and depression.

"Pot" smokers are self medicating to feel better but it is a false feeling as long term brain damage is being done, especially with heavy users.

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Popularity: 27% [?]

Research shows that some teens are "self medicating" by using street drugs like marijuana to try and overcome feelings of depression. What they do not realize is that marijuana can actually compound the problem.

A recent report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, shows a staggering two million teens felt depressed at some point during the past year, and depressed teens are more than twice as likely as non-depressed teens to have used marijuana during that same period.

Depressed teens are also almost twice as likely to have used illicit drugs as non-depressed teens. They are also more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become dependent on marijuana. Marijuana use is associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.

"Marijuana is not the answer. Too many young people are making a bad situation worse by using marijuana in a misguided effort to relieve their symptoms of depression," said John P. Walters, Director, National Drug Control Policy. "Parents must not dismiss teen moodiness as a passing phase. Look closely at your teen's behavior because it could be a sign of something more serious."

More teens use marijuana than all other illicit drugs combined. The new report shows the following:

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Popularity: 49% [?]

Cocaine-related emergency department visits increased by 47 percent from 1999 to 2002.

According to a recent announcement from the American Heart Association, when treating a patient with chest pain who has no obvious risks of heart disease, ER doctors should ask if the patient has used the street drug cocaine.

Most cocaine-associated chest pain is not a heart attack. Thus, it is recommended that these patients be monitored in an observation unit for 9 to 12 hours.

Studies indicate that chest pain related to cocaine use tends to show up within three hours of using the drug. But the chemical remnants of cocaine remain in the system for at least 18 hours and can continue to cause problems.
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Popularity: 18% [?]