"Just say no to drugs," a phrase we were all brought up with. It's everywhere from our parent's mouths to every kids love, candy boxes. Marijuana, one of the most common illegal drugs smuggled and used in the United States, is every parents nightmare. Since .
I can remember I was always told "drugs are bad," and "never get mixed up with them." At the time I was young and that was more than enough information for me so I never once questioned it, but as I grew older my curiosity began to grow along with me. .
I wanted to know "Why is this drug so bad?" and "What exactly are its effects on the human body?" My questions began to expand over time. "If this drug is so bad, how come almost half of America is on it, well at least that's what it seems like in my neighborhood." With all these unanswered questions roaming around in my head there was no question that this was the topic I was going to write my I-search paper on. .
I began investigating the issue at home online. I started by searching various search .
engines such as yahoo, excite and dogpile. The one I found to be the most resourceful was .
dogpile. "Marijuana: facts for teens," was one of the web pages that contained an .
abundant amount of useful facts. I found it very easy to use because of its format. It contained frequently asked questions about marijuana along with scientific answers. The second step I took in locating my information was visiting the Mastic-Shirley Community Library, located in my town. In the library I stumbled upon books such as The Residual Cognitive Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use in College Students, by H.G Pope and Clinical Relevance Of Cannabis Tolerance and Dependents, by Ralph Jones These books also contained useful, relevant information such as the long term effects of marijuana. .
The first thing I researched was what marijuana exactly was. "Marijuana is a a green, brown or gray mixture of shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant" (Marijuana : Facts For Teens, pg 1.