SCIENCE JOURNAL 2018

caused by long-term marijuana use will affect the body’s vital systems. The adverse impact on the brain – the organ that controls virtually every body system and movement in the body – shows how harmful marijuana is (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2007). Marijuana’s effect on the brain is devastat- ing, due to its effect on the brain’s microscopic neurons. Neurons work by transmitting signals between one another, after being exposed to a stimulus. The signals, which sensory neurons send to motor neurons via relay neurons, are called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmit- ters travel across the synaptic cleft (gap between the neurons) and are released by one neuron, to be received by receptors on the other neuron (Cherry, 2017). A receptor antagonist “prevents a neurotransmitter from binding to the recep- tor” (In The Know, 2011). The THC found in marijuana acts as a receptor antagonist, meaning the ability for neurons in the cerebellum, basal ganglia and limbic system to communicate is adversely affected, thus impairing the nervous system (In The Know, 2011). Continued use of marijuana can cause permanent damage to these parts of the brain, thus causing damage to the person’s body systems and function. Marijuana users pose a great risk to Australian society. The effect of THC on the hindbrain and midbrain forces the body’s memory, brain function, co-ordination and reactions to be impaired, thus leading to dangerous driving, violence, hallucinations and addiction (Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 2016). A study conducted in Cambridge showed that 4.4% of regular marijuana users were reported to display frequent violent behaviour, in comparison to 0.3% of non-marijuana users. This was believed to be due to the impact of marijuana on the brain (Fields, 2016). With those who smoke marijuana 10 times more likely to be violent based on these statistics, marijuna is extremely harmful to individual’s

behaviour. Whilst illegal, the punishment for people caught using marijuana is relatively lenient. Australian punishment for cannabis possession is a small fine, ranging from $50 to $150 (SBS News, 2015). Punishments should be made more severe, in order to deter users and lessen the implications for Australian society.

Graph 1: Total emergency department visits to hospitals in Central Oregon, U.S.A, with a cannabis diagnosis. Sourced from: (Hawryluk, 2016) In spite of the research detailing marijuana’s harmful effects, there remain worrying trends of marijuana use. Graph 1 shows a clear trend towards more emergency department visits with a cannabis diagnosis. From the start of 2010 to mid-2014, there were less than 100 visits per month, however this figure grows to around 200 visits per month from mid-2014 to the end of 2015 and 400 in the early months of 2016. The number of visits peak at nearly 700 in August 2016 (Hawryluk, 2016). As the number of emergency visits with a cannabis diagnosis increases, the burden of marijuana users on the health system also increases. A growing number of emergency department visits is caused by the increasing number of marijuana smokers, as seen in Graph 2. In Australia, the percentage of the adult (over 14 years old) population using an illicit drug has steadily increased by a total of 2.2% from 2007 to 2016 (SA Health, 2016). As marijuana is the most accessible drug in Austra- lia, it accounts for the majority of these percent- ages (Australian Seedbank, 2016). This means that harm caused by marijuana use is becoming more prevalent in society, thus emphasising the implications.

SC J SI

11

Somerset College Journal of Scientific Issues

Year 10