This document discusses the negative effects of marijuana use on college students' academic success. It outlines how marijuana is abused through both medical prescriptions and illegal growth. The document then describes the short-term physical and psychological effects of marijuana use, such as rapid heart rate, anxiety, and memory loss. Regular marijuana use can negatively impact attention, memory, and learning for days or weeks. This makes it difficult for college students to focus on classwork, attend lectures, and study effectively. As a result, marijuana use is linked to lower GPAs and higher dropout rates among college students.

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David Hall
Patterson
Personal Health
29 October 2013
Drug Abuse and the Decline of Academic Success
“Support for marijuana legalization has reached a new high — and young adults are
fueling the flames.” (Posses). “Weed” was originally a medical drug to help patients overcome
inflammation. Now this drug is abused and used illegally. There are many names for marijuana,
but in reality all it is, is an all natural plant. However, it has many negative effects on college
students and young adults. Marijuana is a drug that is abused, has bad effects, and causes the
decline of academic success in college students.
Substance abuse is defined in the medical dictionary as “Excessive use of a potentially
addictive substance, especially one that may modify body functions, such as alcohol and drugs”.
One way marijuana is abused is through medical prescriptions. Medical marijuana has no
difference from its counterpart’: street marijuana. People who legitimately need medical
marijuana usually have one of three illnesses: Glaucoma, Cancer and Arthritis. The medical
effects of this drug would soothe the pain and stop or slow inflammation. These three illnesses
are often falsely reported to doctors to doctors to obtain street marijuana. Another way to obtain
street marijuana is to grow it.
“Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds,
and flowers of the hemp, or cannabis, plant. It goes by many different names—pot, herb, weed,

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grass—and stronger forms include sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah), hashish (“hash” for short), and
hash oil.” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). “Cannabis is derived from the cannabis plant
(cannabis sativa). It grows wild in many of the tropical and temperate areas of the world. It can
be grown in almost any climate, and is increasingly cultivated by means of indoor hydroponic
technology.” (University of Washington: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute) Marijuana has
many different flavors, looks and effects based on the origin of the root. Three rare roots coming
straight from Columbia are the Limon Verde, Punta Roja, and the Columbian Gold. (Vice)
There are two ways to smoke weed. One way is to roll it up in cigarette paper and smoke like a
normal cigarette. The other way is to use a “bong pipe”. The bong pipe method tends to be
intensely stronger than “rolling it up”. However, it is very complicated and detailed. Marijuana
has many bad effects on the brain and body.
“According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the main effects of marijuana on
mood vary and may include euphoria, calmness, anxiety, or paranoia. Getting high
or "stoned" is the reason most pot smokers use marijuana.
Other short-term psychological effects of pot include:
 Distorted sense of time
 Paranoia
 Magical or "random" thinking
 Short-term memory loss
 Anxiety and depression

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These psychological signs of using pot also generally ease after a few hours. But
residual effects can last for days.” (Goldberg)
“The active ingredient in marijuana is THC. That's short for delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is rapidly absorbed after smoking pot. Within
minutes, THC and the other substances in marijuana smoke cause short-term
medical effects. Signs of using marijuana include:
 Rapid heart rate
 Increased blood pressure
 Increased rate of breathing
 Red eyes
 Dry mouth
 Increased appetite, or "the munchies"
 Slowed reaction time” (Goldberg)
In addition to pot having a negative effect on the body, it also has effects that cause a decline in
academic success.
Smoking cannabis causes a massive amount of negative effects that force young adults to
fail out of college. “Marijuana’s negative effects on attention, memory, and learning can last for
days and sometimes weeks—especially if you use it often.” (National Institute on Drug Abuse).
College students must be able to attend class, pay attention, and remember lectures in order to
obtain a high grade point average. Smoking weed affects the brain in ways that cause the student
to lose their ability to remember important information. That would make studying for a test
hard. Studies show that marijuana smokers tend to have a lower IQ as well. Obtaining pot and

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smoking it cause a high distraction from school work. When a student becomes “high” or
“stoned”, they are not thinking about homework or attending class. Marijuana smokers also
report having low self esteem and low paying careers. These mental effects are not the only
thing the drug effects. Another thing it affects is the financial realm. Marijuana is expensive and
hard to produce which causes it to have high cost. College students need money to pay for books
and supplies, class fees, and food. Marijuana is addictive and causes students to lose the ability
to think about the money they are spending. If someone can’t pay for college, they will be
forced to drop out.
In conclusion, weed is highly addictive, and ruins young adults’ higher education and any
careers. There are many ways that this kind of addiction can be helped. One way is for students
to seek out help from counseling services at their school such as Hawk Reach Counseling
Services. Other resources might include an on campus health service or an academic success
center to help them move on and focus on their future.
Works Cited
Goldberg,Joseph. WebMD.23July2012. Web.27 October2013.
Kingsof Cannabis.Perf.Vice.2013.Video.
NationalInstituteon Drug Abuse.October2013. Web. 26 October2013.
Posses,Shayna. USA Today.25October2013. Web.26 October2013.
Swift,Art. Gallup.22 October2013. Web.27 October2013.
The Marijuana Effect.2008. Web. 27 October2013.
Universityof Washington:Alcoholand Drug AbuseInstitute.December2012. Web.25 October2013.
"substance abuse." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 27 Oct. 2013.
<Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/substance abuse>.