The Weed Files: College Girls and Marijuana
Saturday, December 25, 2010
By
Marijuana. Weed. Grass. Bud. Mary-Jane. Cannabis. Whatever you call it, you’ve probably seen it, smelled it, or smoked it at some point. Marijuana is, after all, far and away the most commonly used illicit drug in the world, with about 4 percent of all adults consuming it regularly and 0.6 percent on a daily basis. Humans have used the drug as far back as the third millennium B.C. for recreational, spiritual, and medicinal purposes, and in recent years a very public debate on weed’s legality has caused many to question how harmful it really is.
And just as marijuana has pervaded our national culture, so too is its skunky smoke as much a part of the air in our college campuses as the smell of Easy Mac. At my school, weed is so common that the university barely gives you a slap on the wrist for being caught smoking—a violation results in a brief alcohol education class and a mark on your record, while in high school it meant immediate expulsion. But even though it’s all around us, weed is still illegal—and still dangerous in many ways.
But how bad is it, really? HC talks to college girls, both users and non-users and Deb Lewis, Cornell’s alcohol and drug expert, to get the low-down on getting high.
What are you smoking?
At first glance, that green stuff you pack into rolling papers and light up looks as innocuous as tea leaves, but it’s actually a very mild hallucinogen. It originates from the Cannabis plant, indigenous to Central and South Asia but now grown all over the world. Marijuana comes in countless forms and contains over 400 chemicals, but what users are really after is THC, its mind-altering ingredient. THC content averages about 4 percent of the chemical content in each Marijuana cigarette, but depending on the form and potency of your stash, it can be as high as 24 percent, which makes for some serious tripping.
Why do you smoke it?
By now, we’re all past the age of trying weed just to impress the hot soccer player at our first high school party. Girls may have tried it because of peer pressure back in high school, but in college they smoke it for its mind-altering effects—often as much as or even more than the boys. In fact, a 2004 for study showed that girls are trying weed before boys, and generally abusing substances at a higher level.
Marijuana can induce a sense of well-being and relaxation, and often a dream-like state where your mind wanders into fantasies. Unlike tobacco, marijuana is not a pure stimulant, and unlike alcohol it’s not a pure depressant—instead, it’s a mild hallucinogen (yes, seriously) with depressant properties. So if you smoke weed and suddenly have the incredible philosophical insight that the world is one big video game, that’s the THC talking. The effects usually peak in 10-30 minutes and last about two or three hours.
“It relaxes me,” Michelle*, a student at Columbia University, explains. “When I’m having a tough day in school or I’ve just done a lot of work, smoking at the end of the day helps me calm down and improve my mood. It’s like having a few drinks at cocktail hour for our generation.”
About the Author
Biography
Amanda First is a senior English major at Cornell University. She is Life Editor of Her Campus, as well as founding editor of Her Campus Cornell. She has interned for Cornell Alumni Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and Parents through ASME's internship program. Some of her favorite things include high heels, browsing ShopBop, yoga, The O.C. reruns (but only before Marissa dies), and Tasti D-Lite. After college, she hopes to pursue a career in magazine journalism.
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Comments
How can you say it has hallucinogenic properties. I have never seen clowns sprout from the walls, nor snakes slither forth from my toilet. SCAM, your just that a SCAM. Your probably getting heavy funding to support your little "scam" your running, turning all the little pothead girls into security. Who gives a toke? Maybe your just jealous someone sold you shag weed so your gonna ruin it for the rest of us. Let me tell you something, marijuana is a gift from God. Grown from the earth itself. Would you outlaw sunflowers? No, well people can choke on them you know! Listen up little SCAM members, I have NEVER seen someone commit a crime while high on weed. In fact they are more likely to rob their own pantry then make it out the front door. I have manage a 3.5 for the last three years while smoking. I am a constant worrier, or I should say, was. Every day was a struggle, overwhelmed I would worry about everything. Now I roll up a joint grab my cupcake and mellow out, everyone's happier. Free speech, free choice, you don't like it tough luck we'll continue to smoke it behind your back like we've been doing for years. More for the rest of us!!!
You need to be the for all us smokers. I laughed through the whole comment but it was all so true.
Crimes have been committed when people are high just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean they don't happen. It actully infuriates me that you can say sometihng so ignorant because 14 months ago my older sister was killed in a car accident. Why? Because the stoner shithead decided that him and his friends would be fine to drive while they were sky high. I used to smoke weed occasionally, but after it took away someone I loved so much, I realised the destructive power it has on us and society.
Sure weed is kinda great, it can calm you down, I agree. But don't you think that you should maybe have looked for therapy instead, to help your worrying problems? By smoking you are just masking the problem with a drug instead of finding out the cause and solving it.
I think you're taking the word "hallucinogen" in the wrong context. It doesn't necessarily mean that you see clowns sprout from the walls, it can simply mean that you have ideas in your head that are simply ridiculous. Such as: OMG guys I bet that fly on the wall comes from a village of flies, where there are little fly people who live in little fly houses and cook on their little fly stoves (true story I thought of when I was high on weed ><) It doesn't necessarily mean that you are seeing things.
As for Her Campus being a scam, I'm not sure how you managed to maintain your alleged 3.5 without even knowing the proper definition of scam....
And please don't compare sunflowers to weed, they are not anywhere near comparable so please stop, that is actually a little offensive.
Additionally, the common argument that stoners have about it coming from the earth and therefore being o'natural is redundant for the simple fact that there are many poisonous plants and herbs that were put on this earth, and no one is rushing to smoke them. Just because something is available doesn't mean it's good.
Smoke all the weed you want, but you have to accept the consequences, even if they are negative. I hate how deep in denial weed smokers are. WEED IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU. End of story. There is no possible argument you can make that will support the statement that smoking weed is good for you. Some people live for now, and that is a fine way to live your life. But others live so they can live long and healthy.
Since that is the "better" way to live life (thinking about the consequences, thinking about future generations and hoping that they can have a good life) that is why the government imposes such regulations on society. Because they are not just thinking about the now, they are thinking about tomorrow and how the actions and laws they impose today will give society a better future.
Haha well I would be surprised if anyone has read this far, if you have thanks lol, I appreciate it. I hope that you might have heard another side of the whole Marijuana debate.
One problem I have with this article, and some of the "anti-pot" comments is that addiction and dependency are used interchangeably when they mean different things. A comment above says "Marijuana is extremely addictive" then uses a marijuana DEPENDENCY article to support the comment.
Regardless, tobacco and alcohol are much more dangerous and kill people on a daily basis- yet the users of these substances are not treated like dirty criminals. What is the logic in treating a person with a health issue as a criminal anyways???
People that have problems handling pot dependency should be helped not harmed.
Smoking ANYTHING is not good for the body, luckily one doesn't have to smoke weed to benefit from its good qualities. You can also eat it or vaporize it, both of which are safe manners of use.
The illegality of weed is much more detrimental to people than the plant itself. The USA has the highest percentage of its own population imprisoned of any country, and over half of those prisoners are non-violent offenders like pot smokers. Gangs and criminals love that weed is illegal- because they profit from having the market completely in their hands.
Thousands of years of use says that people are going to do it illegal or not. Stop giving all that money to criminals! Legalize and tax it.
I have nothing against those who smoke marijuana, many of my friends are smoking weed and I must admit that I also tried it once, but for some reason it made me feel sick and that's why I never tried it again. I preferred legal herbal smoking products instead, this way i could stay out of trouble and also got high without feeling ill so it was a nice resolve for me.
I think you got obtained some interesting perspectives from different college girls regarding smoking weed, but in regards to your downsides article there are many flaws.
- I would like to see what "evidence" you were reffering to when you talked about the impairment of short-term memory because I have read numerous independent studies that have proven no brain damage what-so-ever and actually stimulated brain activity.
You also used the word "potentially" in regards to damaged mental capacity which further proves the point that nothing has proven and if nothing has been proven by now, you can count on it never being proven because government scientists have had years and years to try and do this but they have never been able to prove anything.
- Marijuana addiction is like being addicted to any other subastance. If you smoke enough cigarettes, snort enough coke, eat enough chicken wings( or any food for that matter), drink enough coffee, drink enough alcohol, and unfortunately smoke enough weed you will also become addicted. All of those have addictive properties as do many other things.
Also marijuana itself has been proven to have lower addictive properties than cigarettes, alcohol, and caffeine.
Another thing, cigarettes have nicotine which is not produced by the marijuana plant, which has no addictive ingredient like that one.
- Here are a few statistics: 5,000 - 10,000 people die each year from caffeine; over 150,000 die each year from alcohol (and this statistic does not include alcohol-related deaths such as accidents involving alcohol); and a whopping 350,000 - 430,000 die from tobacco use each year.
Do you know how many people die from marijuana each year? That's right 0 - zero people die from marijuana use. There are no recorded deaths from marijuana... anywhere in history. Why that sure is an interesting statistic from something you say is sooooo "illicit".
Finally, I would like to say that just because the goverment says something is illegal does not mean that it should be illegal. The next time you write an article like this I suggest you do some research and you see the true and ridiculous history behind a non-sensical prohibition of a natural growing plant. What does marijuana prohibition remind you of... the alcohol prohibition of the 1930s? Ill remind you that did not end well and more people will die from this drug war if nothing is done. It is ruining America and its youth.
heyheynownow, I believe you are the one that needs to do your research before ranting on and on with incorrect assertions and merely perpetuating the misinformation that is out there about marijuana.
Evidence regarding impaired memory and attention is overwhelming. Many scientific, peer-reviewed journals have published studies showing just that. Here is one: http://ow.ly/i/6DDc. Unfortunately, the place where you are getting your information (which is probably NORML's website) is not including the full spectrum of what we know and instead lying to you about the effects of marijuana. These effects are more severe among young people, whose brains are not yet developed.
Similarly, there is well-documented evidence of neurological damage as a result of marijuana use. This particularly occurs in parts of the brain rich in cannabinoids. Two of the most impaired areas are the hippocampus and the amygdala, the brain's memory and fear/anxiety centers. Here is a study showing decreased volume in these areas as a result of marijuana use: http://ow.ly/i/6yMC.
Marijuana IS extremely addictive. This is both in the psychological AND physiological senses. The article does an excellent job describing this. Here is a scientific paper that includes an overview of marijuana addiction: http://ow.ly/3tLws. Marijuana addiction is even more prevalent among young people. 1 out of 10 adult users and 1 out of 6 adolescent users are dependent on marijuana.
Furthermore, something the article didn't mention that is worth noting is the increased chance of developing severe mood and anxiety disorders as a result of marijuana use. Depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are all significantly linked to marijuana use. This chart shows that users are 3x more likely to develop such disorders: http://ow.ly/i/6yME.
You reference that marijuana does not cause death. This, however, is NOT a justification for using marijuana. Just because a substance cannot kill you does not mean its safe. Unlike some other drugs which induce pain and suffering just before death, the severe effects of marijuana will be with you everyday of LIFE. I think that's something to take seriously.
Finally, the prohibition of alcohol is not even at all similar to the "prohibition" of marijuana. Alcohol, which was an extremely popular substance, was banned for moral reasons and people felt it was unjustified. Marijuana was extremely rare when it was outlawed. The information at the time may not have been accurate, but we now know how harmful marijuana is. It will be a major public health crisis if legalized.
I want to commend the author of this article. Wonderful job getting real information out there in a world in which lies about marijuana are being spread by pro-legalization groups. The people that will truly suffer from such lies are those using marijuana, especially young people, who are under the impression that the drug is not dangerous. In fact, it is.
Although there are studies saying that weed doesn't affect your memory you must remember that with every study that is presented there is almost always another one saying the opposite.
Case A: It is widely believed the drinking while pregnant will give your child fetal alcohol syndrome. But recently a study came out in Europe where the exact opposite was concluded; the researchers said that drinking in moderation would not give the child FAS and FAS was only caused by excessive drinking.
I look at both studies and conclude: although I may be lucky and not inflict FAS on my child, I would rather not take the chance.
Take everything you read with a grain of salt.
Are you kidding me do you even know the history behind marijuana prohibition? It was based on morals just like your alcohol prohibition... and by that I mean it was prohibited because of race, ignorance and empire building. How is that not based on morals? The people in power used racism to outlaw marijuana. All the drug war does is fuel gangs and cartels all over the world and ruins the lives of countless americans. The drug war is a complete failure and I guess SCAM enjoys supporting cartels and gangs and ruining lives. I think it hilarious that you think you are protecting everyone from such a dangerous "drug". You also say that it will be major public health crisis if marijuana is legalized but in the netherlands where the plant is legal actually has significantly lower usage rates than the United States.
You spread your lies all you want but marijuana legalization is inevitable.
This is very true. Marijuana was outlawed because of the growing numbers of Mexican immigrants. At the time, it was very common for Mexican immigrants to smoke marijuana, and it was outlawed so that the police would have an excuse to arrest and sometimes deport these people. It's an issue of racism. Prohibition does not work. Obviously, people still do it. We could save tons of taxpayer money if we didn't have to pay for incarcerating marijuana offenders (many of whom come out of prison as hardened criminals). Legalizing and taxing marijuana sales would also bring in money, and help boost the economy. Why not? People are going to do it anyway. I'm studying Neuroscience, and as far as I've learned, the only really supported negative cognitive or physical effect is possible short-term anterograde amnesia, which ends when you come down (this is why you may not remember details of a movie you watched while stoned). I don't smoke pot anymore, because I was psychologically dependent on it. That doesn't happen to everyone though. Just as some people can drink occassionally and others cannot without becoming addicts, some people can smoke occasionally without adverse affects. Legalization and taxation of marijuana would keep non-violent "criminals" out of jail, and boost the economy. If cigarettes and alcohol are legal, there is no reason marijuana should be a crime.
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