How Marijuana Works in the Body of the User - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages Medical marijuana can also help patients with cancer who experience nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy treatment (Earleywine 34). Marinol has side effects on its patients. It can cause facial flushing and stomach upset. Its psychological side effects include insomnia, paranoia, and hallucination. Only qualified physicians should prescribe medical marijuana.

How marijuana works in the body of the user

Marijuana gets into the body through smoking or eating. After entry into the body, its constituent chemicals make their way into different parts of the body through the bloodstream. In the case of smoking, the smoke gets into the bloodstream via the alveoli in the lungs. When eaten, it gets to the stomach and goes into the blood via the wall of the stomach. It travels into the liver and to other parts of the body. The stomach is slow in absorbing THC as compared to the lungs. Eating introduces THC in the body in low quantities but its effects last long (Galanter 73).

When THC reaches the brain, it causes the user to feel mellow and relaxed. The user feels light-headed and hazy. The eyes of the user may dilate and perceive colors more intensely. Paranoia and panic may accompany such feelings (Kalat 54). The euphoria that marijuana causes in the body of its user acts as a reward that can make the user repeat its use. Marijuana can impair the formation of new memories and an individual’s ability to turn their focus elsewhere. THC embeds itself in brain receptors and tampers with an individual’s reaction time, poise, and coordination. This can affect an individual’s participation in athletics and other tasks.

The memory of marijuana users is impaired because of the alteration of information processing by THC. This happens in the hippocampus because it is part of the brain that deals with the formation of memory. Aging causes the loss of neurons found in the hippocampus and this explains why old people have limited ability to take in new information. Exposure to high levels of THC catalyzes the loss of neurons in the hippocampus (Lowinson 83). Prolonged use of marijuana can impair certain important life skills in its users. This problem is more serious in marijuana users that are affected by other mental disorders.

Marijuana has other general effects on the body of its user. It increases the heart rate by up to 50 beats in a minute. The bronchus relaxes and enlarges and eye blood vessels dilate. This is what causes the reddish eye color after consumption of marijuana. Taking marijuana alongside other drugs can intensify these effects. There have been research findings that have revealed that the use of marijuana increases the risk of a person getting a heart attack (Shohov 19). This is because it increases the user’s blood pressure, heart rate and reduces blood capacity to transport oxygen. Other effects include impaired attention and short-term memory. Users of marijuana experience psychotic episodes and difficulty in learning. There are several long-term effects of prolonged exposure to marijuana. Users can end up in addiction or contract bronchitis or chronic cough. Vulnerable individuals can end up schizophrenic or depressed.

Treatment of effects of marijuana
Treatment of marijuana abuse is mostly handled by outpatient admission. The number of persons seeking treatment for marijuana abuse is increasing with time. Researchers have delved immensely into trying to discover possible cures for the effects of marijuana. It has been noted that acids that occur naturally in the brain can stop relapse into abuse of marijuana. Treatment of marijuana comes with an understanding of the action of kynurenic acid on dopamine. This acid inhibits euphoric feelings that are caused by dopamine (Earleywine 35). THC triggers dopamine brain neurons to cause cells to secrete dopamine. Kynurenic acid is natural and has few side effects on patients. Kynurenic acid is found in turkeys and bananas.

Contingency management, motivation enhancement therapy, family-based treatment, and cognitive behavioral therapy are among the behavioral treatments for the abuse of marijuana. Motivation enhancement therapy reduces a marijuana abuser’s resistance to abstinence from marijuana use. Cognitive behavioral therapy empowers marijuana abusers to stop indulging in it and to handle other things that can inhibit their recovery from marijuana use. Contingency management rewards successful efforts of not engaging in the use of marijuana (Galanter 74).

Adolescent abusers of marijuana are put on a variety of family therapies. Such include family support network intervention, multidimensional therapy, brief strategic family therapy, and multi-systemic therapy. These interventions equip abusers and their families with skills that help them discourage marijuana use. Many marijuana abusers fear withdrawal symptoms (Kalat 55). Psychiatrists prescribe fluoxetine and nefazodone to patients to help them manage withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can also be subdued by the use of oral THC. Psychotherapy has also contributed to the treatment of marijuana abuse by equipping abusers with skills to help them cope. ...Download file to see next pages Read More