• Kills users’ brain cells
• Steals short-term memory and attention span
• Breaks down resistance to infection (especially dangerous to immune-suppressed individuals)
• Causes lung disease and paranoia
• Makes users lazy and unmotivated
• Also known as pot, reefer, herb, weed, dope, joints, blunts, ganja, Mary Jane, chronic, hash, hashish, hash oil and cannabis
• Appears as a green, brown or gray mixture of leaves and buds of the cannabis plant, and are usually dried and cured
• Distinguishing features include (lately) being disguised as an herbal medicine
• Marijuana paraphernalia includes:
  • pipes, bongs and rolling papers, for smoking marijuana
  • plastic bags, for transporting the drug
  • roach clips, for holding smoldering joints
  • stash boxes, for hiding the drug
  • eye drops to cover up signs of use (bloodshot eyes)
  • incense, to mask the distinctive smell of marijuana


• Commonly, but dangerously, mixed with alcohol. When a user binge drinks and smokes pot, a chemical in marijuana suppresses the stomach’s need to purge when dangerous levels of alcohol build up. Consequently, users may suffer alcohol poisoning.

Marijuana comes from dried buds and leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa). It is a psychedelic drug containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and more than 400 other chemicals including tar and other cancer-causing agents. It also contains some of alcohol’s depressant properties and has its major effects on the central nervous system in the form of neurological and psychological abnormalities.

The effects of marijuana depend upon the level of THC found in the plant, how it is ingested, the frequency of use, the duration of use and whether it is taken with other drugs or alcohol. The THC content of today’s marijuana is 5 to 15 times stronger than the marijuana of the 1960s and 1970s. Unlike alcohol, which is water soluble, THC accumulates in fatty tissues and is very slowly eliminated from the body. Recurrent or frequent use of marijuana can suppress the immune system, damage brain cells and decrease short-term memory, attention span and motivation. Low levels of THC make the user feel relaxed, silly and sleepy. Higher amounts may cause mild sensory distortions, an altered sense of time, loss of short-term memory, loss of balance and difficulty in completing thought processes. Extremely high amounts can result in anxiety, panic, hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. Physical effects can include an increase in heart rate, tightness of the chest, difficulty breathing, lack of muscle coordination and reddened eyes. Chronic smokers are susceptible to significant respiratory problems including recurring chest cold, bronchitis, emphysema and bronchial asthma and potentially lung cancer.

Hashish and hash oil also come from the marijuana plant and are often more potent than marijuana. Hashish is made from concentrating the resin from the plant and hash oil is extracted from the resin of hashish. Like marijuana, hashish and hash oil can be smoked or eaten. Both forms produce intoxicating effects similar to marijuana.

Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance and is illegal in the United States. This drug has a high potential for abuse and is not currently accepted for medical use at the federal level.

What marijuana does to your:

• Brain—Affects nerve cells in the brain that control emotions, memory and judgment and causes these areas to function abnormally.
• Heart—Causes rapid heartbeat. The drug can speed the heart rate up to 160 beats per minute, increasing the risk of heart attack.
• Liver—THC in marijuana impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer, including liver cancer.
• Lungs—Smoking three joints damages your lungs as much as smoking 20 cigarettes (one pack). Marijuana contains 50 percent more tar than tobacco. Long-term heavy use of marijuana is associated with chronic lung disease and lung cancer.