Marijuana, in today's time, is the second most widely recognized mind-altering drug, next to alcohol. Marijuana has very many street names, and it can be smoked or eaten. Addiction to marijuana has not ever been proven, although consistent long term use of it can lead to major psychological dependence. Marijuana, as with any drug, can cause serious problems with the user's ability to function in everyday life.
A drug can be defined as any substance in small amounts that can produce significant changes in the body and mind. Most people don't realize that this term can mean anything from the caffeine in almost every soft drink made and the nicotine found in cigarettes, to really hard-core drugs such as cocaine, heroin, LSD, and marijuana. What about sugar, or chocolate, or even salt? Most people would say these are just foods or flavors, but every one of them alters the body or mind in some fashion, and whether people know it or not, are addicting.
Marijuana is a green-brown, or gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, and the stems, seeds, and flowers of the Indian hemp plant cannabis sativa. Marijuana can be smoked in a bong or pipe, or rolled up in "rolling papers", commonly known as a joint. It can also be eaten in such foods as brownies, and in practically anything else edible. Marijuana has over 200 slang or street names. Just a few of those are: pot, grass, reefer, weed, mary-jane, herb, boom, gangster or gangsta, and chronic. Marijuana has been known to be around as early as 3000 BC, located mostly in Central Asia and China. It wasn't until about the 60's and 70's, however, that marijuana gained widespread use in the United States.
Most people nowadays take and eventually abuse drugs simply because they want to vary their conscious experiences. In other words, people take them to get away from their everyday life, both mentally and physically. Drugs are sometimes used as an aid in religious practices.
