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Lesson 7: Marijuana Use

Objectives

  1. Recognize that using marijuana is against the law.
  2. Identify the negative physical and psychological effects of marijuana use.

Teacher Notes

Information about other hallucinogen drugs and addiction treatment are included in Section IV: Teacher Reference.

As in Lesson 6, we take a firm stand against marijuana use. Students with special needs need clear-cut guidelines to formulate behavioral rules. The emphasis here is that marijuana is illegal and harmful.

Marijuana has changed a great deal since the 1960s. Street sellers now have several stronger varieties available. Additionally, hashish and its oils are 2-10 times more potent than traditional "joints" made from dried plant parts. The end result is an inability to know and regulate the "dose" of users.

LifeFacts To Be Taught

Marijuana comes from the leaf of the hemp plant. It can be smoked or eaten. Some common names for marijuana are weed, pot, hash, tea, dope, joint, and grass.

The use of marijuana is against the law.

Problems associated with marijuana use include:

Physical Problems:

  • poor coordination and judgment -forgetting things just learned
  • damage to brain and body cells
  • mental addiction where the user needs it every day
  • lung and throat damage from smoke
  • interferes with immunity to illness
  • damage to the fetus if pregnant

Personal Problems:

  • Trouble With Self

    • (depression, withdrawal, emotional immaturity, neglect of health, even paranoia)

  • Trouble With Work

    • (prone to accident, danger to others, absenteeism, job loss)

  • Trouble With Family & Friends

    • (moody, incommunicative, breaks promises, embarrassing to be with)

  • Trouble With The Law

    • (use of marijuana is illegal and can lead to arrest, the habit is expensive and often leads to crime to support the habit)

LifeFacts Teaching Steps

Present the "LifeFacts" above using one or more of the following activities:

Step 1:

Use Teaching Picture 38 to illustrate marijuana paraphernalia.

Step 2:

Use Teaching Picture 39 to illustrate the use of marijuana.

Step 3:

Use Teaching Picture 40 to illustrate the negative physical effects of marijuana.

Step 4:

Use Teaching Pictures 15-22 to illustrate the negative personal/social effects of marijuana use. The personal problems resulting from marijuana misuse are similar to those from alcohol or cocaine addiction.

Step 5:

Use Teaching Picture 41 to discuss addiction to marijuana.

Step 6:

Using Teaching Pictures 42 to illustrate the harmful effects on fetal development.

Step 7:

Lead discussion on "Clarifications" below.

Clarifications

Marijuana is a mild hallucinogen that users have argued is safe for recreational use. New information shows this is not true (refer to the problems listed above). Remember: drugs are not innocent until proven guilty!

Hallucinogen drugs from plants (mescaline, for example) have been used for centuries for tribal ceremonies. Today several powerful new ones are available on the street market. These are made in home laboratories and are all against the law.

Hallucinogens change the way the brain sees the world, causing hallucinations to occur. These drugs are stored in certain body and brain cells, so "flashbacks" can happen at a later time without taking more drugs. This can be very frightening. LSD, a strong hallucinogen, causes scary flashbacks in many users.

Sometimes users do not have pleasant experiences with hallucinogenic drugs. "Bad trips" are horrible experiences lasting up to 12 hours, they can happen the very first time a person tries the drug.

PCP trips last even longer than LSD (12 hours or more). The user feels no pain during the "high," and can be seriously hurt or sick but not know it. Even bullet wounds do not stop some PCP users because they cannot feel them. It may take a month or more to return to normal after trying PCP.

Sometimes PCP or LSD is sprinkled on marijuana and the two are used together. This can be a terrible and life-threatening surprise if a "pot" user does not know about it.

Responsibilities

Do not use marijuana. The health and legal risks are not worth it!

Never believe a drug is safe just because someone says so. Know the facts about negative effects for yourself!

Never eat any parts of strange plants. Many common garden plants can cause illness or even death.

Stay far away from people who you suspect may be high on hallucinogenic (or other) drugs. Their behavior is very unpredictable and they may harm you.