Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jul 2006
Source: Daily Sun (Nigeria)
Copyright: 2006 The Sun Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.sunnewsonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3940
Author: Joe Effiong, Uyo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)

Worse Than Poison

NDLEA DISSECTS MARIJUANA FOR SCHOOL KIDS

Indian hemp became a specimen of study recently in Uyo,  Akwa Ibom
State capital. The study attracted hundreds  of students, teachers,
pharmacists, bureaucrats and  who-is-who in Akwa Ibom State, during
celebration of  the United Nations International Day Against Drug
Abuse  and Illicit Trafficking.

Probably relying on the theme of the celebration,  Children and Drugs,
and more so, on the attached slogan  "Drugs are not Child's Play", the
state command of the  National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had
  ensured that secondary school students and other youth  organizations
filled the governor's office annex --  venue of the celebrations,
where Mrs. Dora Ebong, a  pharmacist, brought a live Indian hemp plant
not only  to show to those who never saw the colour and shape of  the
leaves before, but also to tell everybody that the  seemingly
innocuous plant was more dangerous than  poison.

Ebong said though marijuana, "a green, brown or gray  moisture of
dried, shredded leaves, stems, seed and  flowers" might have been
given more than 200 names,  such as "pot, herb, weed, grass, boom,
Mary Jane,  ganja, all forms of it are mind-altering. In other  words,
they change how the brain works because they  contain
delta-9-tetralydorcannobinol, otherwise  abbreviated as --THC - the
main active chemical in  marijuana".

Why Young People Use Marijuana

The reasons are legion, according to Ebong. But some  are peer
pressure, imitating their parents or family  members, imitating media
characters, attempts to escape  from problems at home, school or with
friends. She  warned, however: "No matter how many shirts and caps
you see printed with marijuana leaf, or how many groups  sing about
it, remember this: ‘you don't have to  use marijuana just
because you think everybody else is  doing it.' Most teenagers do not
use marijuana".

Effects

Ebong listed some short-term effects of the drug as  loss of memory,
distorted perception and increased  heart rate. "These effects are
even greater when other  drugs are mixed with the marijuana and users
do not  always know what drugs are given to them." For the  long-term
effect, she said the THC might play a role in  cancer and in
respiratory and immune system problem.

"The drug can make you mess up in school, in sports or  clubs, or with
friends. If you're high on marijuana,  you are more likely to make
mistake that could  embarrass or even hurt you. If you use marijuana
much,  you could start to lose interest in how you look and  how
you're getting along with schoolwork. Also, since  marijuana can
affect judgment and decision making, its  use can lead to risky sexual
behaviour, resulting in  exposure to sexually transmitted diseases
like HIV, the  virus that causes AIDS"
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake