Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Essay Example

use gradually increases paranoia leading to mental instability with symptoms of depression and psychosis. Users introduced to marijuana in their early years (prior or at the onset of adulthood) are six times more likely to develop psychotic illnesses in later years than their non-using peers (Emmett & Nice, 2009).

Marijuana use has also been shown to hinder healthy fetal brain development when used during pregnancy. It leads to lower levels of stathmin-2, a protein critical in memory formation and learning, in developing fetuses (Tortoriello, 2014).

Effects on Memory Capacity

All stages of memory function in the human brain are severely impaired by presence of cannabinoids (Ranganathan & D’souza, 2006). Encoding, consolidation and retrieval stages of memory work to convert short-term into long-term memory. Inhibition of these processes results in significantly reduced memory functionality in individuals who are under marijuana influence. This is evidenced in the forgetful stereotype society attributes to habitual marijuana users. It is also shown experimentally through reduced performance on memory tasks by subjects on marijuana compared to their performance when sober (Golden, Peterson & Haley, 2009). Poor working memories reduce academic and intellectual performance degrading an individual’s contribution to society.

Impairment of Cognitive and Motor Skills

Long term marijuana use has been linked to subtle but significant cognitive and motor skills impairment affecting everyday activities (Golden, Peterson & Haley,). Cognitive skills refer to the ability to recognize and pay attention to necessary stimuli while ignoring unnecessary stimuli. Motor skills refer to the coordination and movement of parts of the human body (especially legs, arms and fingers) in performance of special tasks.

Cognitive and motor skills are essential in performing specialized tasks like driving or operating complicated machinery. Marijuana

use impairs judgment (cognitive) and causes delayed response to stimuli (motor) resulting in reduced efficiency in the performance of these tasks. This has potential life threatening effects when performance failure in these tasks can lead to fatal accidents.

Public Safety Threat

Marijuana is highly psychologically addictive. This means users experience psychological withdrawal effects as opposed to physiological withdrawal effects common in substance abuse. Psychological addiction can easily motivate an individual to violence in the act of procuring their fix.

References

1. Emmett, D., & Nice, G. (2009). What you need to know about cannabis: Understanding the facts. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
2. Golden, R. N., Peterson, F. L., & Haley, J. (2009). The truth about drugs. New York, NY: Facts on File.
3. Tortoriello, G., Morris, C. V., Alpar, A., Fuzik, J., Shirran, S. L., Calvigioni, D., ... &
4. Courtney, M. (2014). Miswiring the brain: ?9?tetrahydrocannabinol disrupts cortical development by inducing an SCG10/stathmin?2 degradation pathway. The EMBO journal, 33(7), 668-685.
5. Ranganathan, M., & D’souza, D. C. (2006). The acute effects of cannabinoids on memory in humans: a review. Psychopharmacology, 188(4), 425-444.