Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is definitely one of the most commonly used illegal drugs in the United States. However, its effects and dangers have been greatly misrepresented to kids and teenagers as well as adults. Also, there are many misconceptions about the drug including how addictive it is, its effects on memory, the brain, the immune system, on crime & violence and traffic accidents as well as numerous others.
             In the nineties, many teenagers in the United States referred to the drug using slang terms. Some of the most popular names are 'weed', 'pot', 'reefer' and ' trees'. In actuality, "marijuana is a plant belonging to the hemp family... The active principle responsible for the drug's effects is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), obtained from the amber-colored resin of the flowering tops and leaves of the plant... it has been found to contain more than 400 separate substances"(Compton Encyclopedia).
             Cannabis sativa, "One of the oldest known drugs... was acknowledged as early as 2700 BC, in a Chinese manuscript" (Compton's Encyclopedia). In fact, the Chinese used it for many medical purposes and as an intoxicant. However, in the past few decades, many people have concealed the positive effects and medical uses of the plant and state it to be a harmful drug. Marijuana's harms have no been proven scientifically. According to Dr. Peter Reuter, director of the drug – policy research center at the Rand Corp., in Washington "it's not a very dangerous drug."" (p.64, Paul A Winters) also, "the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell structures. None of which reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the N...