Marijuana in Ohio
Marijuana use is not only a problem in Ohio, but across the United States. It is derived from the dried flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. The dried hemp is rolled into a joint and smoked, smoked using a pipe, or burned and inhaled from a bong. "Blunts" are cigars filled with marijuana and possibly other drugs such as cocaine. Marijuana is also added to cookies, brownies, or tea in order to ingest the drug. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the active ingredient in marijuana and is absorbed by the body. Marijuana is the third most commonly used drug by teens, listed just after alcohol and tobacco.
For those living in Ohio, long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people. When a person becomes addicted to a substance, they use the drug compulsively even though it often interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 5.6 million Americans age 12 or older reported problems with illicit drug use in the past year. Of these, 3.6 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on an illicit drug. More than 2 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on marijuana/hashish. In 1999, more than 220,000 people entering drug abuse treatment programs reported that marijuana was their primary drug of abuse.
- In the 1970's Ecstasy was actually given to psychotherapy patients, but in 1986 this practiced was stopped when animal studies showed that Ecstasy use caused brain damage.
- Individuals who use PCP generally report an out-of-body experience where they feel detached from reality, or ones consciousness is disconnected from reality.
- Over one million adolescents each year are confirmed as victims of child abuse and neglect by state child protective service agencies. State welfare records indicate that alcohol and drug abuse is one of the top two problems exhibited by families in 81% of the reported cases.
- Methamphetamine use is associated with increased numbers of HIV infections in some populations.