How abusing the Ganja/Marijuana side tracks teenager’s lives?
Marijuana/Ganja is popular with teenagers and is its highest level of usage in 30 years now. Marijuana abuse among teens is a cause of concern because it can affect physical and mental development among teenagers along with impacting their learning abilities, concentration, memory, coordination, emotional balance, decision-making skills and judgmental abilities. While regular use of Marijuana may cause some serious issues with social and behavioural skills in teenagers, the most worrisome concern is incidence of Cannabis use disorder. Also, quitting Marijuana all of a sudden also causes a plethora of health issues among teenagers that include and are not limited to irritability, anxiety, and changes in mood, sleep, and appetite.
From using Marijuana for more often than intended to inducing regular cravings and interfering with daily activities of the teenagers, Marijuana abuse can wreak havoc on teenager users’ lives in a myriad way.
Ways of using Marijuana/Ganja
- Eating Marijuana products as edibles that are baked goods
- Using electronic cigarettes to smoke liquid Marijuana which is also called vaping.
- Consuming beverages containing Marijuana products.
- Applying Marijuana products on the skin in the form of oils.
- Smoking dried products of the plants in a rolled cigarette.
Symptoms of Marijuana use in teenagers
- Having red eyes
- Being constantly irritated
- Exhibiting problems in carrying out regular activities including attending school, academic performance issues.
- Irregular meals and sleep timings
- New found group of friends
- Unexplained disappearances
- Using new words and phrases like “sparking up,” “420,” “dabbing,” and “shatter”
- Acting out of character
- Memory issues
- Stealing money
- Memory issues
How Ganja/Marijuana side tracks teenager’s development
- Hampered academic intelligence due to regular absenteeism and loss of focus in classes.
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Causing aggressive behaviour among your teen that can result in self-harm or harm to others thereby landing them in legal issues that hinder their career and developmental goals.
- Possibilities of injuries or death through road accidents after abusing substance.
- Learning to use other drugs or alcohol to keep the high up.
- Risky sexual behaviours
- Intensified underlying mental health conditions including psychosis, schizophrenia, mood changes and suicidal ideation.
- Interference with prescribed medication
- New habits of stealing money to keep their addiction continued.
- Lack of cultural or civilisational behaviour due to lack of enough exposure to the outside world.
How can parents help?
Once the parents identify that their teenager has been abusing Ganja/Marijuana from the above-mentioned symptoms, they can help them mainly by talking it out. Being honest while talking is important as they are still in late elementary or early middle school. Listening carefully to your children while conversing and avoiding negative talk could come a long way in making them listen to you.
In case you choose to talk to your child about your own experiences with Marijuana in teenage, be honest about why you opted to use and also mention the pressures that contributed to your use. Be careful not to minimize the dangers of marijuana or other drugs that can cause harm to their overall development as an adult and be open about any negative experiences that you may have had in the past.
Your teen’s overall growth is very vital to his/her development as an adult. If you notice or suspect your teen abusing Ganja/Marijuana, do not hesitate to consult the best of the rehabs for reliable treatment.
Phoenix Rehab Services is India’s leading Rehabilitation Centre for Substance Abuse and Behavioural Addiction. At Phoenix, we can help provide the right tools to you or your loved ones on the journey to lead a healthy life free from addiction.
Our reliable & effective Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Program is headed and supported by experienced & dedicated de-addiction therapists and is driven by motivated staff that is equipped to handle the various needs of patients and has years of experience in treating addiction.
Our top inpatient de-addiction program in the world, expert team handling this program, our state-of-the-art facility located in Hyderabad, India and our multi-disciplinary and medically guided holistic approach to individual patient scenarios will help you heal from your physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual ailments towards total Recovery.
