Marijuana is the world’s most commonly used illicit drug, by far. Weed, grass, pot, dope, whatever you’d like to call it, it’s ready and available in almost every corner of the United States. It is found growing in homes, in the suburbs, and in the cities. It is also being smuggled into the United States from places like Mexico and Cambodia.
Marijuana’s main mind-altering ingredient is THC. It gives you the feeling of being “high.” The amount determines the drug’s strength. The effects of smoking marijuana are generally felt within a few minutes and the short term effects wear off within two to three hours. Marijuana induces a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation and feeling mellow that encourages fantasies and distorts perception. Users often feel an increase of hunger, or the “munchies.” Long term effects are not yet known but the THC can play a role in causing problems in the respiratory and immune systems.
Knowing this, then why is it so popular? Most of you reading this probably know the answer. It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain. According to the 1998 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, half of all 13-year-olds said that they can find and purchase marijuana. Of teens surveyed, 49 percent said that they had first tried marijuana at age 13 or younger. The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found adolescents who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than their peers that do not smoke marijuana. Many high school students sell marijuana to one another. Teens say that it is easier to get than beer or cigarettes.
Average Street Prices / Amount / Quality
$17.50 / 3.5grams / low
$88.75 / 28grams / low
Marijuana Prices, Chicago, 2000
KEY: [ Commercial Grades = CG Higher Grades = HG ]
Gram
$3-$5 CG
$7–$10 HG
Ounce
$50–$75 CG
$200–$500 HG
Pound
$900–$1,200 CG
$2,500–$4,000 HG
These charts are good examples of just how cheap you can get this drug. The use of hydroponic techniques, which is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil, in growing marijuana, is likely to have enhanced productivity, with a result of lower prices for consumers. The rural areas of Illinois provide an environment for the domestic growth of marijuana.
Where does the use of marijuana sit in our culture? Today many are proposing that marijuana be legalized. Advocates for legal marijuana say that a regulated, taxed marijuana trade could help boost some state’s economy. Their goal is to reduce the abuse of cannabis, the elimination of marijuana related crimes, and set up a grading system for marijuana quality and would ban additives. I think that legalizing marijuana will not be something that will happen in my generation. People that are pro legalization of marijuana probably won’t stop until they get what they want. Until then, it is important for our youth especially to be educated in its risks and what it is because people are growing it, buying it, selling it, and using it, even though it is illegal.
Marijuana’s main mind-altering ingredient is THC. It gives you the feeling of being “high.” The amount determines the drug’s strength. The effects of smoking marijuana are generally felt within a few minutes and the short term effects wear off within two to three hours. Marijuana induces a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation and feeling mellow that encourages fantasies and distorts perception. Users often feel an increase of hunger, or the “munchies.” Long term effects are not yet known but the THC can play a role in causing problems in the respiratory and immune systems.
Knowing this, then why is it so popular? Most of you reading this probably know the answer. It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain. According to the 1998 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, half of all 13-year-olds said that they can find and purchase marijuana. Of teens surveyed, 49 percent said that they had first tried marijuana at age 13 or younger. The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found adolescents who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than their peers that do not smoke marijuana. Many high school students sell marijuana to one another. Teens say that it is easier to get than beer or cigarettes.
Average Street Prices / Amount / Quality
$17.50 / 3.5grams / low
$88.75 / 28grams / low
Marijuana Prices, Chicago, 2000
KEY: [ Commercial Grades = CG Higher Grades = HG ]
Gram
$3-$5 CG
$7–$10 HG
Ounce
$50–$75 CG
$200–$500 HG
Pound
$900–$1,200 CG
$2,500–$4,000 HG
These charts are good examples of just how cheap you can get this drug. The use of hydroponic techniques, which is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil, in growing marijuana, is likely to have enhanced productivity, with a result of lower prices for consumers. The rural areas of Illinois provide an environment for the domestic growth of marijuana.
Where does the use of marijuana sit in our culture? Today many are proposing that marijuana be legalized. Advocates for legal marijuana say that a regulated, taxed marijuana trade could help boost some state’s economy. Their goal is to reduce the abuse of cannabis, the elimination of marijuana related crimes, and set up a grading system for marijuana quality and would ban additives. I think that legalizing marijuana will not be something that will happen in my generation. People that are pro legalization of marijuana probably won’t stop until they get what they want. Until then, it is important for our youth especially to be educated in its risks and what it is because people are growing it, buying it, selling it, and using it, even though it is illegal.
