Marijuana Myths

Suggested time
40 minutes

Objectives

• Students will become more familiar with effects of using cannabis.
• Students will examine and discard myths they may have held about marijuana.

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely used illegal drug in Canada. It is a mood-altering drug that comes from the cannabis plant. The marijuana "high" comes from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a chemical found within the plant.

People use cannabis in three forms: as marijuana (the dried leaf of the plant), as hashish, and as hash oil (both from the plant resin). Hashish is usually stronger than marijuana, and hash oil is even stronger. Marijuana and hashish are usually smoked in cigarettes (called "joints" or "reefers"), in cigars ("blunts"), in pipes, or in water pipes ("bongs"). Hash oil is added to marijuana or tobacco cigarettes. Cannabis can also be cooked in foods, for example, brownies.

Some of the most common myths associated with cannabis are:

• Cannabis is not harmful because it is natural.
• Cannabis does not impair thinking or coordination.
• Driving under the influence of marijuana is not impaired driving.

Effects

Using cannabis will probably make you feel more relaxed, free, and open. Colours will seem brighter, sounds and smells more distinct. Some users feel happy and start talking a lot; others get quiet and withdrawn. Minutes can seem like hours, and ordinary objects seem to have special meaning.

If you smoke cannabis, you will probably feel the "high" quickly, and it may last two to four hours. If you eat cannabis, the high happens later, and you feel it for a longer time.

Cannabis use makes you clumsier and slower to react. Driving and operating machinery while stoned is not safe; it is also illegal to operate a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

While under the influence, your ability to learn is diminished. You can forget things, and have trouble concentrating. Some users feel severe anxiety. High doses can cause panic attacks, fearful or suspicious feelings (paranoia), and temporary psychoses (losing touch with reality). After very high doses, you might hallucinate, but this is unusual.

Smoking cannabis also damages the lungs and can lead to chronic coughing and lung infections. Cannabis smoke also contains cancer-producing chemicals.

Some people who use cannabis for a long time have problems with short-term memory, concentration, and abstract thinking. Most of these problems disappear after a few weeks without drugs, but some last for years.

Marijuana can be taken to decrease nausea caused by anti-cancer drugs and increase appetite in people with AIDS and other terminal illnesses. In Canada, it is generally illegal to use marijuana for medical treatment. A few people have been granted permission through Health Canada’s Special Access Program.

Cannabis and Addiction

People who use cannabis often may find that they need more and more to get the same effect. Heavy users can become mentally and physically dependent, or addicted to how it makes them feel. Some have difficulty stopping use of cannabis, even when it causes serious problems.

Dependent users who quit may feel mild withdrawal symptoms like troubled sleep, irritability, anxiety, nausea, sweating, and loss of appetite. These symptoms usually last less than a week, but craving can last longer.

Activity

Have students race to complete the crossword puzzle alone, or in groups.

Debrief

• What are some of the things you’ve heard about marijuana?
• Do you think any of them are "marijuana myths"?

While students are completing the crossword puzzle, write the debrief questions on the board. When students complete the puzzle, have them jot down their responses to the debrief questions in point form. They can do this alone or as a group activity

As a whole class, compare and discuss the responses to the debrief questions being sure to emphasize the facts and not the myths. Decide as a class on reliable sources for information about alcohol and other drugs (see the "Suggested Resources" at the beginning of this lesson).