Marijuana & Other Drugs Quick Facts

Marijuana

• Natural? Not anymore. There are 435 chemicals in marijuana and only 2, THC and CBC get a person high.
• It has 50-70% more cancer causing substances than tobacco.
• In addition, marijuana smokers tend to inhale deeper and hold it in their lungs longer. This causes lung damage thus smokers are more likely to get bronchitis or other lung infections
• Today's marijuana is also 10-15 times stronger than in the 70's. This is equivilant to non-alcoholic beer versus 100 proof vodka.
• Gateway drug? Not necessairly. Some users will quit, some will move on to heavier drugs, or some will continue smoking only marijuana. There are a lot of factors that go into who will do what but know this: 99% of cocaine users started with marijuana. 

Other Drugs

• Using someone else's precription drugs are not only illegal but it can have harmful effects especially if that person hasn't been prescribed it. Doctors who prescribe pills such as adderall are able to monitor their patients' and adjust the dosage as needed. If you are not prescribed medication but feel like you need it, talk to your doctor about getting your own prescription.
• 70% of hallucinagenic mushrooms (shrooms) are made by drug dealers. One way they make it is by buying and baking store bought mushrooms. Then they drop LSD on the mushrooms and sell it. How do you know if you were given real shrooms? The chemical found in real shrooms makes people extremely nauseated and most people throw up. If you or someone you know did not feel that way if you ingested mushrooms then you were given store bought LSD mushrooms. Pretty scary, huh?
• LSD, whether you use it 30 times or once will cause flashbacks. The problem with flashbacks is you can experience it now or 30 years down the road. Excercise: Close your eyes for 10 seconds. Now imagine during those 10 seconds you were driving a car full of people down a busy interstate.  

Want to know more? Come visit Peer Health Education or The Student Counseling Center during our office hours and we can give you resouces and more information.