Marijuana

MARIJUANA

Weed, Pot, whatever names it goes by, has become a part of our society.  Twenty or thirty years ago we did not have enough research and information about marijuana to tell people about the consequences of the drug.  Today, after extensive study, we do!!  It's very much like tobacco in that many people started smoking cigarettes before the damages cause by tobacco was made public.  By the time cigarette companies were forced to admit the dangers of smoking, millions of people had become "nicotine addicts.”  Don't count on the dealers and pushers of marijuana to ever tell you the truth!  Their goal is to" hook" young people on the drug and to keep making the billions of dollars that the sale of the drug generates every year!

Marijuana is not the harmless" recreational" drug that many would like to think it is.  It is an addicting substance that causes severe mental and physical problems.  Often these problems are not noticed for several years (as with tobacco-related problems) and therefore the drug users feel that they are not doing anything that will hurt them. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!  There are immediate effects.  Why else would a person use the drug?  Some of the effects of marijuana are time distortion, slowed reaction time, and a certain loss of balance.  It would be pretty dangerous to drive a car or operate machinery after smoking marijuana.  Some have asked,” if weed is so bad, why don't cops give out tickets for driving after smoking?"  A good question with an easy answer.  In order to charge someone with being" under the influence", there needs to be proof.  If a person has been drinking, the police officer will probably give them a" breathalyzer" test.  This is evidence. Accurate breathalyzers cost several hundred dollars BUT they are used on thousands and thousands of people, making the cost pennies per test.  There is no "breath test,” or anything similar, for marijuana. If there were, there would probably be as many arrests for "driving under the influence" of marijuana as there are for alcohol.

A good, accurate, FDA approved urine test can cost between $8.00 and $12.00 each.  These are the tests that are set to SAMSHA (substance abuse and mental health administration of the federal government) cut off limits. If someone ever invents a "breath test" for marijuana they are going to become a multi-millionaire (and the court system is going to be tremendously overloaded for years). Marijuana, also, has other effects.  It damages short-term memory.  We often see young people who have done well in school and it seems that suddenly they lose interest. in school(and much of anything else). The combination of this lack of interest and the short-term memory problems makes it pretty hard for them to pass tests or to concentrate on finishing assignments. 

We now know of the long-term problems that come from smoking marijuana.  Men can suffer a lowering of testosterone and both men and women can experience a loss sexual pleasure. Women are at a greater risk of loss of fertility.  Every "pot" smoker faces a higher risk of cardiopulmonary problems.

SOBERANDFREE.COM has commissioned and produced a booklet detailing the facts about marijuana. Parents-you owe it to yourself and to your children-to read this information. The Real FACTS about MARIJUANA is available now. (Link)

Soberandfree.com also offers the home urine tests that are FDA approved and set to SAMSHA (substance abuse and mental health administration) limits.  Parents often have a hard time thinking about having their son or daughter take a urine test at home.  They say ‘My children will think I don’t trust them” or its “embarrassing to them and me”.  The truth is that peer pressure is very REAL and young people, in particular, are very subject to wanting to “fit in.”  If your child/children do not smoke marijuana, they will have nothing to be concerned about.  True, they probably will be a little angry, but you need to tell them that you understand the pressures they face and that you love them very much. IF the test is positive, you have the opportunity to help them before something-bad happens- before they injure themselves, before they get into legal trouble, before they have trouble at school. The fact is, You could be saving their lives.(LINK)