The Risks of Marijuana

1
The Risks of Marijuana

• Prevention Center
• Puget Sound Educational Service District
• 2003

2
Why focus on marijuana?

• Most widely used illicit drug among youth
• Challenges to seeing the risks
• Normalization in popular culture
• Medical marijuana legalization
• efforts
• Widespread ambivalence, misinformation among
  youth and parents
  

3
TRUE or FALSE?Marijuana is not all that
harmful.
False
4
TRUE or FALSE?Marijuana, unlike some other
illegal drugs, is not addictive.
False
5
TRUE or FALSE?Kids are more likely than adults
to become dependent on marijuana.
True
6
TRUE or FALSE?Marijuana is less popular among
kids today because of ecstasy and other new
club drugs.
False
7
TRUE or FALSE?Smoking pot only makes people
feel mellow.
False
8
TRUE or FALSE?Marijuana does not have any
long-term effects.
False
9
Smoking one marijuana joint is as harmful as
smoking how many cigarettes?

• FIVE?
• FOUR?

• TWO?
• ONE?

10
Smoking one marijuana joint is equal to smoking
FIVE cigarettes.
11
What percentage of 12th graders in Washington
say that marijuana is sort ofeasy or very
easy to obtain?

• 27
• 39

• 52
• 74

12
74 of high school seniors find marijuana
fairly or very easy to obtain. More than
one-third of teens ages 14 - 17 say they could
purchase marijuana within a five-block radius
from their house.
13
The majority of kids who enter drug treatment are
there for addiction to

• Cocaine
• Heroin

• Ecstasy
• Marijuana

• Alcohol

14
More teens enter treatment for marijuana use each
year than for all other illicit drugs
combined.SAMHSA, TEDS, 2001
15
A marijuana joint can contain

• PCP
• LSD

• Pesticides
• Cocaine or Crack

• All of the above

16
All of the chemicals listed PCP, pesticides,
LSD, cocaine and crack can be added to mari-juana
leaves without users knowing it.
17
What percentage of Washington 12th graders
believe there is no risk or only a slight risk
to smoking marijuana occasionally?

• 23
• 33

• 40
• 66

18
40 of 12th graders surveyed in Washington think
occasional marijuana use is not harmful.
19
Marijuana use has been associated with

• Cancer
• School Failure
• Traffic accidents
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• All of the above

20
Marijuana use has been associated with cancer,
school failure, traffic accidents and sexually
transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
21
What happens when a person uses marijuana, other
than feeling high?

• Loss of motor coordination
• Distorted perception
• Increased heart rate
• Trouble with thinking
• problem solving
• All of the above

22
A person who uses marijuana experiences all these
effects. The effects are even greater when other
drugs are mixed with marijuana.
23
How long does marijuana stay in the body?

• Up to 3 days
• Up to 10 days
• Up to a few weeks
• Up to several months

24
Even after users stop feeling the effects of
marijuana, the drug can linger in the body for a
few weeks. That means it can be detected by
a standard drug test long after its initial use.
25
According to kids ages 13-17, whats the 1
reason they do NOT smoke marijuana or use other
drugs?

• Risk of getting kicked off a sports team
• Losing their parents respect
• Worry theyll look silly or stupid in front of
  their friends
  
• Concern about being suspended from school

26
Parents are the most important influence on
children when it comes to drugs. Two-thirds of
youth say losing their parents respect is one of
the main reasons they dont smoke marijuana or
use other drugs.
27
Free Resources and Materials can be ordered
through

• www.TheAntiDrug.com
• www.mediacampaign.org
• National Clearinghouse
• for Alcohol and Drug Information _at_
  1-800-788-2800