Marijuana
Form: dried plants, resin, powder or oils
Background Information: Marijuana is grown from the plant Cannabis sativa all over the world. The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Once it is smoked or ingested, the THC immediately begins to disperse throughout the bloodstream and brain. This commonly used drug has gained nicknames such as weed, dope, grass, bud, Mary Jane, pot, etc. It has also made its way to popular culture by multiple artists referencing marijuana in their music. Users can smoke, eat and even drink different forms of marijuana to get high. The dried plant can be smoked out of small pipes or bongs, joints (rolled up in paper like a cigarette), blunts (cigars emptied out of tobacco and replaced with marijuana) and even out of fruits, water bottles or aluminum cans. It can also be baked into certain foods like brownies or cookies or brewed into drinks like tea. Many users think because it’s “natural” it is harmless, but there have been several cases where the marijuana is “laced” with other drugs such as Cocaine, methamphetamines, Phencyclidine (PCP), etc.
Short-Term Effects: Marijuana causes the user to have a distorted sense of time and perception, extreme paranoia, loss of coordination, “random” thinking, short-term memory loss, slow decision making and problem solving skills and increased heart rate and breathing.
Long-Term Effects: Frequent marijuana users, often referred to as “stoners,” can experience a decrease in cognitive development, respiratory problems and sometimes even depression. It can also affect the user’s motivation and his or her ability to cope with stress. There has never been a death caused by marijuana alone — however, there have been cases where users has died in some sort of emergency situation with marijuana in the blood system, and a lot of times, even heavier and more lethal drugs as well.
Student: A BV student said she started smoking marijuana her freshman year, mostly out of curiosity.
“Everyone else did it, and they said it was better than being drunk,” she said. “So, I decided to try it.”
This student said one of the main setbacks of smoking marijuana is that it can make the user feel very paranoid.
“It just kind of makes you freak out, especially if you’re in a bad situation,” she said.
She said although the drug does have some negative effects, she thinks whether or not it is considered a “gateway drug” depends on who you hang out with.
“It is [a gateway drug] for some people if they’re friends with other people who do hardcore drugs because it’s almost like it’s acceptable to start [doing] other drugs after smoking weed,” she said.
Nurse: “It’s not harmless, people call it a gateway drug, that it’s the first drug you do and then you move onto heavier things,” BV nurse Jennifer Runyan said. “There’s people with different personalities and addictive tendencies so you don’t know where you fall in that, so I think a lot of it is personality. Once you step over the threshold into doing illegal substances, I feel like that makes it easier to step over the next threshold into harder illegal substances — that’s where I look at it as a gateway not necessarily as a physical addictive thing it’s more of you cross that line, it makes it easier to cross the next line.”
MDMA
Form: Capsules, tablets or colorful pills with images and words printed on them
Background Information: Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), otherwise known as ecstasy or “Molly,” is a synthetic drug made up of different chemicals that gives the user a lengthy, euphoric high. MDMA is often referred to as a person like in rapper Tyga’s song “Molly” and is mentioned more subtly in singer Miley Cyrus’ hit song, “We Can’t Stop.” Upon taking MDMA, the user will eventually get a very hyper feeling that lasts around three hours. Molly is supposed to be a purer form of MDMA but, in multiple instances, has been composed of substances such as caffeine, dextromethorphan (DXM), amphetamines, PCP and Cocaine as well. Mixing MDMA with other drugs, usually those of which the user is not aware of, puts the person at an even higher risk of experiencing dangerous side effects.
Short-Term Effects: Symptoms users can experience while still “rolling” on MDMA include rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, excessive sweating, shivering, involuntary twitching, muscle cramping, nausea and blurred vision or dizziness. In extremely high doses, MDMA increases risk of irregular heartbeat, hyperthermia, seizures and even death.
Long-Term Effects: After using MDMA, multiple users have experienced anxiety, depression and memory loss the following week. Those who use MDMA regularly usually experience these symptoms much longer, and studies have shown high doses can even cause brain damage.
Student: A BV student said she has a lot of experience with MDMA.
“You hear people talk about [MDMA], and it just seems like a lot of fun,” she said. “The first thing you tell yourself is, ‘Oh, I’m just going to do it once, I just want to have the experience and then that’s it,’ but once you do it — I can’t even explain it. It makes you feel so amazing.”
She then said why she initially chose to start taking MDMA recreationally.
“A lot of people can go to a party, and they can have so much fun just doing their own thing,” she said. “But, for me, sometimes I just get really bored or I don’t have all the energy other people have, so when I did take those [I had] so much energy,” she said. “You literally feel like you’re on top of the world. There’s no way to explain it.”
After a night of drinking, smoking weed and taking MDMA, she said she woke up the next day feeling like she was going to die.
“In the morning, I was, like, convulsing and stuff,” she said. “I couldn’t sit still, and I felt like I was going to throw up.”
After taking MDMA several times in one month, she said she decided to take an extended break from the drug because she knows her body isn’t able to handle it, especially after such a traumatic experience.
Nurse: BV nurse Jennifer Runyan said MDMA can be extremely dangerous because it’s not necessarily 100 percent pure like most users think.
“It’s supposed to be a pure form of MDMA,” she said. “But the problem with it is that you never know what it’s cut with. People have actually [gone] out and bought Molly from different sources, and they’ve actually done the chemical analysis of it. They’ve found several different ingredients that are not supposed to be in there.”
Runyan said she advises students to think about the dangers of every drug, especially MDMA, before taking them.
“The thing about any drug you’re thinking about taking is that you just can’t trust what anyone says that it has in it,” she said. “So, you’re taking a huge risk for a high.”
Tobacco
Form: chewing tobacco, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and hookah
Background: All forms of tobacco have risks.
Short-Term Effects: Once a tobacco product is smoked, chewed, etc. the user will experience an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. In smokers, the carbon monoxide makes it harder for oxygen to be carried throughout the blood.
Long-Term Effects: All forms of tobacco can cause various types of cancers including lung, larynx, esophagus, mouth and bladder cancer. Tobacco products can also lead to heart and lung disease and strokes.
Student: A Blue Valley High School student said she smokes cigarettes because they help her relax. “I mean, that’s probably the thing I do least just because I know that they’re so bad for you,” she said. “But you actually do get a really good buzz from it and the same goes for hookah.”
Nurse: BV nurse Jennifer Runyan said the main dangers people face by smoking tobacco products is addiction.
“You’re potentially becoming addicted to something now that you’ll have an addiction to for a lifetime,” she said. “It’s something you can get addicted to and be struggling with forever, whether it’s chew, a smokeless tobacco, cigarettes or the e-cigs — that’s all so popular right now, but it’s all the same.”
Synthetic Marijuana
Form: Small packets of dried plant material
Background: Synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as “K2” or “spice,” is composed of multiple chemicals intended to give the user a high similar to that of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main component of traditional marijuana. However, the effects are not at all similar to those of marijuana and are actually a lot stronger. But because there is not any THC in synthetic marijuana, most users smoke it in place of marijuana in order to pass drugs tests which usually do not indicate the chemicals found in synthetic marijuana. Like traditional marijuana, K2 is smoked out of joints or small pipes and looks very similar, which is why a lot of times, users mistakenly smoke it. The drug takes a short three to five minutes for the user to gain the effects of synthetic marijuana, and those effects can last anywhere from one to eight hours.
Short-Term Effects: While a user is high on synthetic marijuana, they can experience rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure, extreme paranoia, excessive sweating, convulsions, vomiting, hallucinations and even seizures.
Long-Term Effects: Because synthetic marijuana has become popular only within the last few years, scientists and doctors have not been able to determine its long-term effects on the body and brain.
Student: One night when a BV student was with a group of friends, she mistakenly smoked synthetic marijuana, thinking it was marijuana.
“We were outside, it was really dark and this kid was [smoking out of] an apple, so I couldn’t really see what was in it,” she said. “But he said, ‘Hey, hit this,’ so I took a hit of it. Literally within a minute I was like, ‘This cannot be weed.’ It was so scary.”
She said there are multiple reasons why marijuana and synthetic marijuana are different from each other.
“With weed you can kind of think straight — like you still have your thoughts, it’s just a lot slower — but [when I smoked K2, I] felt like I was going crazy,” she said. “It’s so much stronger [than weed] because it’s synthetic.”
Because she had such a bad experience the first time she smoked synthetic marijuana, she said she doesn’t plan on smoking it ever again.
Nurse: BV nurse Jennifer Runyan said with drugs like synthetic marijuana, new chemical formulas are constantly being made the second after another drug is made illegal, which puts the user at an even higher risk of experiencing extremely negative effects.
“I don’t feel like people really know what they’re smoking or what they’re taking,” she said. “You think you’re getting high legally, but you don’t really know what is in the drug you’re smoking. That can be very dangerous.”
Runyan said because drugs like synthetic marijuana are newer, scientists haven’t been able to fully determine all of the effects they can cause.
“We know what cocaine and heroin and all those different drugs are that have been around for a long time, but these new ‘boutique drugs’ that people are taking, we don’t really know a lot about and what they can do to you,” she said. “People don’t take them as seriously.”
Synthetic Marijuana
Form: Small packets of dried plant material
Background: Synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as “K2” or “spice,” is composed of multiple chemicals intended to give the user a high similar to that of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main component of traditional marijuana. However, the effects are not at all similar to those of marijuana and are actually a lot stronger. But because there is not any THC in synthetic marijuana, most users smoke it in place of marijuana in order to pass drugs tests which usually do not indicate the chemicals found in synthetic marijuana. Like traditional marijuana, K2 is smoked out of joints or small pipes and looks very similar, which is why a lot of times, users mistakenly smoke it. The drug takes a short three to five minutes for the user to gain the effects of synthetic marijuana, and those effects can last anywhere from one to eight hours.
Short-Term Effects: While a user is high on synthetic marijuana, they can experience rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure, extreme paranoia, excessive sweating, convulsions, vomiting, hallucinations and even seizures.
Long-Term Effects: Because synthetic marijuana has become popular only within the last few years, scientists and doctors have not been able to determine its long-term effects on the body and brain.
Student: One night when a BV student was with a group of friends, she mistakenly smoked synthetic marijuana, thinking it was marijuana.
“We were outside, it was really dark and this kid was [smoking out of] an apple, so I couldn’t really see what was in it,” she said. “But he said, ‘Hey, hit this,’ so I took a hit of it. Literally within a minute I was like, ‘This cannot be weed.’ It was so scary.”
She said there are multiple reasons why marijuana and synthetic marijuana are different from each other.
“With weed you can kind of think straight — like you still have your thoughts, it’s just a lot slower — but [when I smoked K2, I] felt like I was going crazy,” she said. “It’s so much stronger [than weed] because it’s synthetic.”
Because she had such a bad experience the first time she smoked synthetic marijuana, she said she doesn’t plan on smoking it ever again.
Nurse: BV nurse Jennifer Runyan said with drugs like synthetic marijuana, new chemical formulas are constantly being made the second after another drug is made illegal, which puts the user at an even higher risk of experiencing extremely negative effects.
“I don’t feel like people really know what they’re smoking or what they’re taking,” she said. “You think you’re getting high legally, but you don’t really know what is in the drug you’re smoking. That can be very dangerous.”
Runyan said because drugs like synthetic marijuana are newer, scientists haven’t been able to fully determine all of the effects they can cause.
“We know what cocaine and heroin and all those different drugs are that have been around for a long time, but these new ‘boutique drugs’ that people are taking, we don’t really know a lot about and what they can do to you,” she said. “People don’t take them as seriously.”
Information from fda.gov, drugabuse.gov, pamf.org, abovetheinfluence.com, kidshealth.org, webmd.com, drugfree.org, teens.drugabuse.gov and thedea.org.
