Marijuana and amarillo

39% of teens in Amarillo have tried marijuana. 21% have used in the past 30 days. The average of first use in Amarillo is 12.8 years old.

There is a growing trend in Amarillo in which teens slice open a cigar, remove the tobacco and replace it with marijuana. It is called a blunt.

Young people who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of developing depression later in life, are 3 times more likely than non-users to have suicidal thoughts and have an increased risk for schizophrenia in later years.

Marijuana is addictive.The marijuana used today is three times more powerful than the marijuana in past years. Marijuana lowers IQ an average of 30 points effectively leaving an average IQ to functioning as borderline mentally retarded.

Marijuana impairs for 3 days minimum even though the high is much shorter.

THC (marijuana's active ingredient) actually "sticks" to brain cells.

Terms from years ago, such as pot, herb, grass, weed, Mary Jane, and reefer, are still used. You might also hear the names Aunt Mary, skunk, boom, gangster, kif, or ganja.

There are also street names for different strains or “brands” of marijuana, such as "Texas tea," "Maui wowie," and "Chronic."  One book of American slang lists more than 200 terms for various kinds of marijuana.

Signs of Use

There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:

• seem dizzy and have trouble walking
• seem silly and giggly for no reason
• have very red, bloodshot eyes
• have a hard time remembering things that just happened.

When the early effects fade, over a few hours, the user can become very sleepy.

Parents should be aware of changes in their child’s behavior, although this may be difficult with teenagers. Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility, and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends. In addition, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in sports or other favorite activities, and changes in eating or sleeping habits could be related to drug use. However, these signs may also indicate problems other than use of drugs.

In addition, parents should be aware of:

• signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers.
• odor on clothes and in the bedroom
• use of incense and other deodorizers
• use of eye drops
• clothing, posters, jewelry, etc., promoting drug use.