Mission

Next Step - IMPACT Students
SpeakOut

Drug use is one of the core problems in our society. Most of the time, kids, teens, and adults that choose to experiment with illicit substances don’t realize the high scale negative impact that just one taste of drugs can have. We’ve all heard millions of times that drugs ruin your life, and ruin the lives of your family and friends. But this is where our drug education seems to end; most people don’t think about the worldwide impacts that drug use has on billions of people beyond themselves.

First of all, the use of drugs creates incentive for drug trafficking, a criminal trade. Drug trafficking presents one of the greatest security threats to organizations and businesses worldwide. Drugs corrupt millions of institutions all over the world, while creating an “underground” black market, accompanied with its own set of dangers. Not only this, but drugs create a huge profit for dealers and cartels, so while people may be foolishly satisfying their personal drug-cravings, criminals are using overpriced drugs to fund terrorism. Even further, delinquencies that drug users may have extend farther to millions of agricultural families all over impoverished nations, causing them to live under the strained social conditions and immense poverty that the enforced farming of “drug crops” presents.

This can be looked at as an additional approach to assessing the harms of illegal drug use. No longer is abusing drugs for personal satisfaction purely a means of completely dissociating one’s health, personal relations, and future; it has now become one of the basic means towards destroying the world that all of us live in.

The great news is, that collectively, we can reverse this international issue. It is through drug education targeted towards the youth, which are most vulnerable to experimenting with drugs, that most progress occurs. By educating the young people of today, we can create mindful individuals of tomorrow, and initiate the evolution towards a world that someday, may be drug free.

~Nicole Gordon, IMPACT
Rancho Santa Margarita High School

“Marijuana: The Drug that Keeps on Taking”

By: Nikki Todhunter

Misconceptions are all around. They cloud our version of reality and lead us astray, but more importantly, they try to change the truth. Since the beginning of its use, marijuana has been followed by misconceptions, but now it’s time for the truth.

“Marijuana isn’t addicting.” Sound familiar? It should; this phrase has been used for decades to justify marijuana’s recreational use. However, marijuana is addicting, just like all other abused drugs. At first, most of the addiction is psychological. When THC, the leading chemical in marijuana, enters the brain, it stimulates brain cells to release dopamine, causing the “high.” This euphoric feeling has users coming back for more. It’s like listening to a song; if you like it, you listen to it again, and again, and maybe some more. What most first-time users don’t hear about is the crash afterwards. Feelings of sadness and hopelessness, general moods of depression, follow the high, forcing the user to use even more marijuana to stimulate the release of dopamine. If marijuana is used often, the user can develop a physical dependence on the drug. As the THC continues to force the brain to release dopamine, the dopamine production gets worn out, and eventually the brain ceases to release dopamine on regular occasions. Withdrawal would lead to insomnia, intense anxiety, and increased aggression. To feel any sort of pleasure, to enjoy and laugh at a funny movie, to feel any sort of accomplishment would only be possible with the assistance of marijuana.

“Marijuana won’t hurt me years from now.” Ok, let’s say you’re the person that doesn’t develop an addiction to marijuana, and you stop using it after high school or college. You are susceptible to the same respiratory illnesses that tobacco smokers suffer, like a persistent daily cough, acute chest illnesses, lung infections, and obstructed airways. Marijuana use has also been highly correlated with causing cancer in the brain and neck regions, as well as a high risk for developing lung cancer. Research has actually revealed that marijuana users may even have a higher risk than tobacco smokers to develop cancer in the respiratory track. The drug contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. You may be asking right now why carcinogenic hydrocarbons are so dangerous. Well, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, converted into their carcinogenic form, which is done by an enzyme also found in marijuana, accelerates the production of malignant cells (a.k.a. cancer). When marijuana is smoked, users often inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than do tobacco smokers, which increases the exposure to carcinogenic hydrocarbons as well. THC also damages the immune system, which can indirectly lead to the contraction of other illness, and can make it harder for the body to fight against the contracted illnesses. In addition to these wonderful side-effects, marijuana use can cause psychological disorders, like depression and bipolar disorder.

Another long-term affect is the damage to the brain’s hippocampus. The hippocampus is vital in the processing of memory, and THC is known to directly affect the hippocampus’s abilities. This is the reason why marijuana users struggle with short-term memory while intoxicated by the drug. Each time marijuana is used neurons in the hippocampus are destroyed, lost forever. Even if marijuana is used only for the time span of a couple years, the user’s memory functions will still be damaged. Naturally, as we age, our brain looses neurons in the hippocampus, which is why older people have a harder time remembering events, but what marijuana does is speed this process. If used chronically, users could have equivalent neuron loss as those twice their age, sometimes even triple their age.

“My parents smoked pot in the 70’s and their fine, so I will be too.” Unfortunately marijuana isn’t as “safe” as it was in the 60s and 70s. Back then, the THC content was less than 1 percent; thanks to scientific engineering, today, it’s around 15 to 25 percent. The highs are more intense, but the possible damage is too. It’s more addictive, more dangerous, and more deadly than ever before.

So if you’ve managed to read this entire article, you now know the truth. This information isn’t coming from a sibling or friend; it’s coming from someone who has researched and has been trained by professionals to relay this information onto others. These aren’t rumors or myths, these are the facts. Marijuana is a drug that’s been thought of too lightly, mainly because people have lied about its true effects. Don’t be a fool; find something else to live for.

For more information:
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Report Series: Marijuana Abuse. http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/marijuana/Marijuana3.html

WashingtonPost.com, “Teen Marijuana Use Linked to Later Illness”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803004.html

Olivia and Nelson from La Quinta High School speak out against drug abuse.

Carly from University High School, Jenny from Santa Rancho Margarita High School and Daniel from Santa Fe High School speak out against drug abuse.

Mariah from Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley, CA talks about how IMPACT has affected her life.

SAC OCSD logos
Drug Use Is Life Abuse | P.O. Box 28 | Santa Ana, CA 92702

	Next Step - IMPACT Students Drug use is one of the core problems in our society. Most of the time, kids, teens, and adults that choose to experiment with illicit substances don’t realize the high scale negative impact that just one taste of drugs can have. We’ve all heard millions of times that drugs ruin your life, and ruin the lives of your family and friends. But this is where our drug education seems to end; most people don’t think about the worldwide impacts that drug use has on billions of people beyond themselves. First of all, the use of drugs creates incentive for drug trafficking, a criminal trade. Drug trafficking presents one of the greatest security threats to organizations and businesses worldwide. Drugs corrupt millions of institutions all over the world, while creating an “underground” black market, accompanied with its own set of dangers. Not only this, but drugs create a huge profit for dealers and cartels, so while people may be foolishly satisfying their personal drug-cravings, criminals are using overpriced drugs to fund terrorism. Even further, delinquencies that drug users may have extend farther to millions of agricultural families all over impoverished nations, causing them to live under the strained social conditions and immense poverty that the enforced farming of “drug crops” presents. This can be looked at as an additional approach to assessing the harms of illegal drug use. No longer is abusing drugs for personal satisfaction purely a means of completely dissociating one’s health, personal relations, and future; it has now become one of the basic means towards destroying the world that all of us live in. The great news is, that collectively, we can reverse this international issue. It is through drug education targeted towards the youth, which are most vulnerable to experimenting with drugs, that most progress occurs. By educating the young people of today, we can create mindful individuals of tomorrow, and initiate the evolution towards a world that someday, may be drug free. ~Nicole Gordon, IMPACT Rancho Santa Margarita High School “Marijuana: The Drug that Keeps on Taking” By: Nikki Todhunter Misconceptions are all around. They cloud our version of reality and lead us astray, but more importantly, they try to change the truth. Since the beginning of its use, marijuana has been followed by misconceptions, but now it’s time for the truth. “Marijuana isn’t addicting.” Sound familiar? It should; this phrase has been used for decades to justify marijuana’s recreational use. However, marijuana is addicting, just like all other abused drugs. At first, most of the addiction is psychological. When THC, the leading chemical in marijuana, enters the brain, it stimulates brain cells to release dopamine, causing the “high.” This euphoric feeling has users coming back for more. It’s like listening to a song; if you like it, you listen to it again, and again, and maybe some more. What most first-time users don’t hear about is the crash afterwards. Feelings of sadness and hopelessness, general moods of depression, follow the high, forcing the user to use even more marijuana to stimulate the release of dopamine. If marijuana is used often, the user can develop a physical dependence on the drug. As the THC continues to force the brain to release dopamine, the dopamine production gets worn out, and eventually the brain ceases to release dopamine on regular occasions. Withdrawal would lead to insomnia, intense anxiety, and increased aggression. To feel any sort of pleasure, to enjoy and laugh at a funny movie, to feel any sort of accomplishment would only be possible with the assistance of marijuana. “Marijuana won’t hurt me years from now.” Ok, let’s say you’re the person that doesn’t develop an addiction to marijuana, and you stop using it after high school or college. You are susceptible to the same respiratory illnesses that tobacco smokers suffer, like a persistent daily cough, acute chest illnesses, lung infections, and obstructed airways. Marijuana use has also been highly correlated with causing cancer in the brain and neck regions, as well as a high risk for developing lung cancer. Research has actually revealed that marijuana users may even have a higher risk than tobacco smokers to develop cancer in the respiratory track. The drug contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. You may be asking right now why carcinogenic hydrocarbons are so dangerous. Well, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, converted into their carcinogenic form, which is done by an enzyme also found in marijuana, accelerates the production of malignant cells (a.k.a. cancer). When marijuana is smoked, users often inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than do tobacco smokers, which increases the exposure to carcinogenic hydrocarbons as well. THC also damages the immune system, which can indirectly lead to the contraction of other illness, and can make it harder for the body to fight against the contracted illnesses. In addition to these wonderful side-effects, marijuana use can cause psychological disorders, like depression and bipolar disorder. Another long-term affect is the damage to the brain’s hippocampus. The hippocampus is vital in the processing of memory, and THC is known to directly affect the hippocampus’s abilities. This is the reason why marijuana users struggle with short-term memory while intoxicated by the drug. Each time marijuana is used neurons in the hippocampus are destroyed, lost forever. Even if marijuana is used only for the time span of a couple years, the user’s memory functions will still be damaged. Naturally, as we age, our brain looses neurons in the hippocampus, which is why older people have a harder time remembering events, but what marijuana does is speed this process. If used chronically, users could have equivalent neuron loss as those twice their age, sometimes even triple their age. “My parents smoked pot in the 70’s and their fine, so I will be too.” Unfortunately marijuana isn’t as “safe” as it was in the 60s and 70s. Back then, the THC content was less than 1 percent; thanks to scientific engineering, today, it’s around 15 to 25 percent. The highs are more intense, but the possible damage is too. It’s more addictive, more dangerous, and more deadly than ever before. So if you’ve managed to read this entire article, you now know the truth. This information isn’t coming from a sibling or friend; it’s coming from someone who has researched and has been trained by professionals to relay this information onto others. These aren’t rumors or myths, these are the facts. Marijuana is a drug that’s been thought of too lightly, mainly because people have lied about its true effects. Don’t be a fool; find something else to live for. For more information: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Report Series: Marijuana Abuse. http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/marijuana/Marijuana3.html WashingtonPost.com, “Teen Marijuana Use Linked to Later Illness” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803004.html Olivia and Nelson from La Quinta High School speak out against drug abuse. Carly from University High School, Jenny from Santa Rancho Margarita High School and Daniel from Santa Fe High School speak out against drug abuse. Mariah from Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley, CA talks about how IMPACT has affected her life. Drug Use Is Life Abuse \| P.O. Box 28 \| Santa Ana, CA 92702