"JUST Marijuana"

 

The design of this group “Just Marijuana” is to provide accurate information about marijuana to the group participants and to provide them an opportunity to evaluate their relationship to marijuana.  Material regarding marijuana’s adverse effects will be presented and updates regarding current  marijuana research and withdrawal. The harmful effects of marijuana regarding specific areas of the mind and body that marijuana impacts will also receive special attention.

 

The Target participants will be persons whose relationship to marijuana may be a contributor to one or more living problems the participant has experienced.  We know that chronic marijuana use can lead to an amotivational syndrome, a condition in which motivation is lessened. Marijuana produces impairments in both short and long term memory. Marijuana is also a perceptional and sensory disrupter causing a 40% to 50% decrease in an individual’s reaction time. Such serious impairments can contribute to vehicle accidents and conflict with the authorities.

 

Marijuana is viewed as the number one illegal drug in the nation. The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Unlike alcohol which is water soluble the THC in marijuana is not. It is fat soluble and is stored in the body’s fat cells. It has a very long half life which is viewed as the time it takes the body to eliminate the drug from the body. Detectable amounts of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC can remain in the fat cells of the body including the brain and sex organs for more than 70 days after smoking it.

 

Not only does the lengthy half life of marijuana of 8 days present a serious health risk but the concentration of the THC in marijuana has increased dramatically since the 60’s due to improved breeding and cultivation.