Is Marijuana Bad For You?

The answer as to whether or not marijuana is bad for you is variable. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug that is made from dried out leaves, flowers, and stems of the cannabis plant. The chemical present in marijuana that results in a euphoric feeling, or the feeling of being “high”, is called THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol). The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has classified marijuana as a Schedule I Substance, which is defined as “drugs, substances, or chemicals…with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Marijuana is becoming legalized in different states in America, but this does not minimize the potential for abuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in ten marijuana users over the age of eighteen will become addicted, and this affects younger people even more, as one in six marijuana users under the age of eighteen will become addicted. 

How Long Will It Last?

There are several methods of ingestion such as smoked via hand rolled cigarettes, also known as joints, packed into pipes, and/ or smoked out of water pipes (bongs), inhaled or vaped via a vaporizer (using marijuana extract), baked into food (edibles) or steeped into a tea to drink. If an individual smokes marijuana, whether it is via a dry pipe, or a water pipe (known as a bong) typically the effects of the drug are felt within ten minutes and will last between two to four hours (in some cases longer). When a person eats marijuana by mixing it with food or liquids, the effects occur around thirty-to-forty minutes post ingestion, as one’s body must digest the drug through the digestive tract. The effects can last longer and be more intense when eaten. Marijuana remains in one’s system long after the effects have worn off. The half-life, meaning the length of time the substance will remain in one’s system until the concentration in one’s blood has been reduced by half, of marijuana is approximately 67 days.